Midwifery and Public Health: Fully Funded PhD in Developing digital innovations for autism-informed maternity care (RS808)

Funding provider: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science Studentship  

Subject areas: Midwifery and Public Health 

Project start date: 1 July 2025 (Enrolment open from mid-June) 

Supervisors: Dr Holly Morse, Prof Amy Brown and Dr Aimee Grant 

Aligned programme of study:  PhD in Health Science 

Mode of study:  Full-time   

Project description: 

Autistic people face challenges in accessing healthcare, especially during pregnancy, due to sensorily aggressive clinical environments, and systemic barriers in healthcare, which can make continuity of care and tailored support difficult to provide. Also, maternity professionals often lack training in neurodiversity-affirming and autism-informed approaches, leading to unmet needs and poorer outcomes for staff and service users.  

This project aims to investigate how digital training tools can be used to improve the confidence and competence of maternity health professionals in providing autism-informed maternity care. The focus will be on co-producing the training approach with autistic researchers, service users and maternity staff. This includes creating and evaluating accessible digital resources and exploring the potential of VR scenarios to improve knowledge, confidence, empathy, and skills, with a particular emphasis on fostering inclusive practices. The outcomes will provide critical insights and methodologies for embedding autism-informed practices into maternity services, enhancing care quality and support for staff. 

Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a master’s degree. Alternatively, applicants with a UK first class honours degree (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) not holding a master’s degree, will be considered on an individual basis. See - Country-specific Information for European Applicants 2019 and Country-specific Information for International Applicants 2019. 

English Language
IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. Full details of our English Language policy, including certificate time validity, can be found here.

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.

To apply, please complete your application online here with the following information

1. Course choice– please select as per preferred mode of study: Health Science / PhD / Full-time / 3 Years / July
2. Start year– please select 2025
3. Funding (page 8 on the application process)

In the event you have already applied for the above programme previously, the application system may issue a warning notice and prevent application, in this event, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk where staff will be happy to assist you in submitting your application.

• ‘Are you funding your studies yourself?’ – please select No
• ‘Name of Individual or organisation providing funds for study’ – please enter ‘RS808 – Maternity Care'

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award.

One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.

NOTE: Applicants for PhD/EngD/ProfD/EdD - to support our commitment to providing an environment free of discrimination and celebrating diversity at Swansea University you are required to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form in addition to your programme application form.  

Please note that completion of the EDI Monitoring Form is mandatory; your application may not progress if this information is not submitted.

As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email):

• CV
• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient)
• A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project
• One reference (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference
• Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable)
• Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable)
• Confirmation of EDI form submission

Informal enquiries are welcome; please contact Holly Morse via H.A.Morse@swansea.ac.uk 

*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable.