Co-design for care and service delivery of school support strategies for adolescents with chronic pain

About the project 

Improve outcomes for adolescents living with chronic pain 

If you are keen to launch your career in allied health and motivated to tackle chronic pain issues in youth, the University of South Australia – Australia’s University of Enterprise – is offering a hands-on project-based PhD within IIMPACT in Health (IIMPACT), in partnership with the Department for Education (SA) and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.  

Chronic pain in adolescents is a substantial problem. The school context is a potentially important but thus far unaddressed avenue through which we can improve lives.

Our project will bring together adolescents with pain, their families and experts in health and education to collaboratively identify potential areas of improvement. We aim to develop an implementable strategy to help youth with chronic pain have better school-based experiences.

You will be based within IIMPACT, working in a dynamic research concentration, under the leadership of world trailblazers in pain care and research. You will experience lively discussions about research, pain and equity of care over shared lunches, and gain a broad understanding of participatory research and co-design by contributing to other projects that are currently underway.

Our project will evolve alongside a Medical Research Future Fund project to integrate care and service deliver in the community for adolescents with chronic pain. This project involves collaboration with colleagues in Canada and the United States, including Harvard Medical School. This experience and interaction with international colleagues and institutes will position you well in the jobs market. 

What you’ll do

In this project-based research degree, you will undertake desk research (a scoping review), and participatory research which involves working with a wide range of external interest holders and children. You will need to obtain both a working with children clearance and a national police clearance.

Industry placement is possible at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in the Paediatric Chronic Pain Service to see how a multidisciplinary team coordinates to provide optimum care. You will have the opportunity to experience the integration of care across sectors of health and education through interactions with the Hospital School.

Industry placement is not compulsory, but if you wish to undertake it you will need a healthcare degree and appropriate vaccinations.

There are also opportunities for you to travel nationally and internationally to present your work and start building your professional platform.

Where you’ll be based

You will be based in IIMPACT in Health. Persistent pain, stroke recovery, persistent breathlessness, child health and the rural health inequity are now recognised as grand health challenges. They are multifactorial and complex. Solving them will require innovation, collaboration and whole of community involvement.

IIMPACT in Health brings together internationally renowned research groups intent on understanding and solving real-world problems and fast-tracking our discoveries to bring about effective and sustainable improvements in health outcomes. Financial Support 

This project is funded for reasonable research expenses. Additionally, a living allowance scholarship of $35,200 per annum is available to Australian and New Zealand citizens, and permanent residents of Australia, including permanent humanitarian visa holders. Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants will be eligible to receive an increased stipend rate of $52,352 per annum (2025 rate). A fee-offset or waiver for the standard term of the program is also included. For full terms and benefits of the scholarship please refer to our scholarship information. International applicants are not invited to apply at this time.

Eligibility and Selection

This project is open to applications from Australian or New Zealand citizens, and Australian permanent residents or permanent humanitarian visa holders. International applicants are not invited to apply at this time.

Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria for entrance into a PhD. 

Additionally, applicants must meet the project selection criteria: 

• Undergraduate sciences, health or education degree
• An honour's by research or masters by research degree, or compelling evidence of commensurate research training
• Evidence of high-level communication skills in scientific/academic writing, other written and verbal communications
• Experience working with a wide range of external interest holders.

All applications that meet the eligibility and selection criteria will be considered for this project. A merit selection process will be used to determine the successful candidate.

The successful applicant is expected to study full-time and to be based at our City East campus in the heart of Adelaide. 

Essential Dates 

Applicants are expected to start in a timely fashion upon receipt of an offer. Extended deferral periods are not available. Applications close on Wednesday, 4 June, 2025.