Specialist who has aspirations of becoming a Ph.D. student
Reykjavik University is looking for specialized staff member who has aspirations of becoming a Ph.D. student for the project: Digital Platform for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Parents of Children with Anxiety Disorder. Commission. The project is led by Reykjavik University (RU), in collaboration with the Icelandic government, the healthcare centers in Iceland (Heilsugæsla Höfuðborgarsvæðisins), University of Oxford and a software development company called Bitjam.
Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders that affect people. Research indicates that up to 30% of individuals will develop an anxiety disorder at some point. Half of all anxiety disorders begin before the age of 12, and up to 8% of children are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder at any given time. This is a major concern, given that anxiety disorders are unlikely to resolve on their own without professional help. In addition, anxiety disorders have a negative impact on children's social and emotional development, disrupting learning and family life in general. It is therefore important that children with anxiety disorders and their relatives get quick and safe access to psychological treatment resources that are effective.
Digital platforms are certainly changing healthcare delivery across the globe but their effects on care pathways, have yet to be studied. In this research project, we will study the adoption and effects of digital health platforms and more specifically, the creation of novel care pathways through digital means. We are looking for an individual with a background in information systems, information technology, computer science, software engineering or similar fields, with a desire to do good through technological innovations. We hope to find an individual that is willing to be immersed in the project with us, helping us with the day-to-day operations while also doing research (preferably willing to become a Ph.D. student or PostDoc in the project), in this paid position.
This year, a multidisciplinary research team at Reykjavík University's Department of Psychology and Computer Science received a grant to implement and study the results of a new digital platform for delivering treatment resources to parents of children with anxiety disorders, based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In the RU research team are the psychologists Brynjar Halldórsson and Hafrún Kristjánsdóttir alongside Anna Sigríður Islind within the field of information systems. The foreign experts involved in the project organized by the University of Oxford are Cathy Creswell and Chloe Chessell.
This multidisciplinary innovation project includes, among other things, cooperation with institutions in Iceland, the University of Oxford in England and Bitjam, who have designed and developed a cutting-edge digital platform, which adoption and effects we would now like to study in a comprehensive research project spanning several years. The aim with the project is to bring benefits in the form of better inclusion and access to much needed digital content for children with anxiety disorders and their parents while also increasing the knowledge of new digital pathways and treatment options in modern digital healthcare.
We are looking for one staff member that has aspirations of becoming a Ph.D. student or PostDoc to work with us on the adotion of the digital platform in Iceland and to study its effects. The project is large-scale and there is a need to help out with various tasks in the setting up of it, but for the right condidate, the project can outline a unique opportunity to excel both on a domestic and international arena.
In addition to that, the candidate should be independent, flexible and with a passion for this particular project. The candidate will work closely with the developers, so being able to work in a multidisciplinary team is a requirement. This position will entail exciting, cutting-edge opportunities for designing the future of digital health for the right candidate, and the candidate will be a part of creating the digital care pathways of the future.
