We want to respond to the urgent need for integrating environmental sustainability into healthcare decision-making, particularly in the context of the Netherlands' proactive stance on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With the healthcare sector accounting for a significant portion of the country's CO2 emissions, there is a clear call to action. But formal healthcare decision-making methods, such as Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and economic evaluations, have traditionally overlooked environmental impacts, even if they were done from a societal perspective, and this project aims to bridge this gap with your help. Together, we can set a precedent for more holistic assessments of health technologies, underscoring the importance of sustainability in shaping future healthcare policies and practices.

We recognise the need to explore the comparative importance individuals and stakeholders place on sustainability versus health gains. Therefore, the aspect of preferences plays a vital in this research, requiring dedicated preference research to truly understand how sustainability is valued within the healthcare context. By integrating this dimension into your methodological toolbox, we aim to provide a wholistic perspective considering the potential trade-offs individuals and stakeholders are willing to make.

Job description
With a focus on Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), you will develop and refine methodologies that evaluate the environmental impact alongside the cost-effectiveness of healthcare technologies. In addition to assessing impact, you will issue recommendations to ultimately shape and ensure the future of sustainable healthcare practices.

As a PhD candidate in this role, your research will not only contribute to academic knowledge but also have practical implications, influencing policy decisions and healthcare practices. You will be working in an exciting, dynamic academic environment, under the guidance of leading experts in the field. Your work will involve systematic literature reviews, data collection, preference research, and analyses like decision modelling. You will play a crucial role in developing a framework that could redefine how healthcare technologies are assessed and implemented in the future, considering their environmental footprint.

We are looking for someone who is not only academically talented but also able to critically assess the sustainability of healthcare. If you are ready to take on this challenge and contribute to a project with far-reaching impact, we encourage you to apply.

Join us in this ambitious endeavour to harmonize healthcare efficiency with environmental stewardship, setting new standards for sustainable healthcare technology assessment if you fulfil the following:

Requirements

• You hold a master’s degree in health economics, economics, econometrics, health sciences, science and technology research, public health or another related Master’s programme.
• You have a good understanding of qualitative and quantitative reseach methods.
• You have an analytical mindset and some knowledge of health economic theories and environmental sciences.
• You have excellent communication and writing skills in Dutch and you can communicate and write to an academic standard in English.
• Your computer skills include at least Microsoft Office, SPSS or similar statistical software, and preferably R or a similar (statistical) programming language
• You are a team player who wants to contribute to the research agenda of ESHPM.

As a PhD student affiliated with ESHPM’s HTA department, your primary duty will be to conduct research. In the process, you will be given plenty of opportunity to work on your personal development, e.g., by attending relevant courses and attending conferences. In addition, you will be given some teaching duties, worth 15% of your hours in a given academic year.

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 2 September 2024 and you will be based at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM). This position is for 1 fte. We offer a 1,5-year position which will be extended to 4 years based on performance. The salary ranges from a minimum of € 2.770 to a maximum of € 3.539 gross per month Scale PhD on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The contract is entered into for the duration of the contract.

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

• Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!
• Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.
• Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget, foreign exchange opportunities with most costs paid by EUR, and free access to our university library.
• Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.
• Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare.
• Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 3.700 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service
The Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM) is a leading institute in the Netherlands, specialising in healthcare policy and management across disciplines like economics, law, socio-medical sciences, organisation science, and public administration. Located in the Bayle Building at Erasmus University Rotterdam and closely associated with Erasmus Medical Centre, ESHPM educates about 1,600 students and employs around 200 faculty members, focusing on internationalisation and multidisciplinary research.

Facing the challenges of limited healthcare budgets and resources, ESHPM emphasises the prioritisation of cost-effective healthcare interventions and the integration of these considerations into clinical guidelines. This effort is supported by its acclaimed Health Technology Assessment (HTA) department and IMTA institute, which are recognised for their work in economic evaluations, preference research, and developing tools for assessing interventions from a societal perspective.

Strategically, ESHPM addresses three main themes: broadening HTA to include considerations of equity, efficiency, and environmental sustainability; enhancing the use of Real World Evidence (RWE), digital health, and AI to fill evidence gaps; and advancing personalised medicine that incorporates patient preferences and genetic testing. Through these initiatives, ESHPM is at the forefront of shaping healthcare policy and management, innovating for a holistic and sustainable future in healthcare.

The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) department within ESHPM, and its linked contract research institute iMTA, are distinguished by and internationally renowned for independent and excellent research in HTA, health economics and health outcomes research. The HTA department contributes to important and influential methodological innovations in these areas. It is dedicated to stimulating the use of cost-effectiveness information in healthcare decision making. The department is responsible for teaching HTA in several courses of the bachelor Health Policy and Management, the master programmes Health Economics Policy and Law (HEPL), and Health Economics (HE), and the European master programme Health Economics and Management (Eu-HEM).

For this PhD position, the selected candidate will have the opportunity to join a committed team led by Dr. Frederick Thielen, Prof. Dr. Carin Uyl-de Groot, Prof. Dr. Maureen Rutten-van Molken, Dr. Hedwig Blommestein, and Dr. Brenda Leeneman. Should you require further details regarding this role, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Frederick Thielen at thielen@eshpm.eur.nl or on +31 10 408 8617.