Evaluating the food and nutrition provision in palliative and end-of-life care in London

Palliative and end-of-life care (PEoLC) is part of the human right to health. It should be a sustainable, high quality and accessible system that is integrated into primary care, community and home-based care. Food, nutrition and hydration are critical to the well-being of people living in PEoLC. Beyond nutrition, food is relational, providing love and care and holds cultural, social and spiritual meanings. It has a significant psychological impact, especially with taste and appetite changes due to illness and treatments.

Based on the Lancet’s Commission on the Value of Death, this research takes a systems approach to examine the current state and needs of food and nutrition provisioning in PEoLC in London. It will map the policy terrain and explore the system’s capacity and capabilities: the key components, organisations, people, the balance of professional and lay helpers, communities, connections, gaps, points of leverage, opportunities and innovation for interventions. This knowledge is important to inform the public health approach to death and dying and the role of food and nutrition in death literacy. 

The PhD researcher will need a professional background in primary care as a dietitian or in public health nutrition. Applicants with other medical backgrounds relevant to PEoLC would be considered. Experience in the whole systems approach, mixed methods, including participatory methods, is essential for the researcher to co-design, with partners across sectors and communities, the development of a systems map of food and nutrition in PEoLC in London.

These PhD opportunities will include comprehensive personal and professional development training and a mentoring programme from the University of Westminster Graduate School. The researchers will join a School firmly committed to decolonising and diversifying policies, practices, and cultures within, and beyond, Higher Education. 

Entry requirements and how to apply

Candidates should have a minimum classification of 2.1 in their bachelor’s degree or equivalent and preferably a Masters degree. Applicants whose secondary level education has not been conducted in the medium of English should also demonstrate evidence of appropriate English language proficiency normally defined as IELTS: 6.5 (overall score with not less than 6.0 in any of the individual elements).

You can read more about what should be in a PhD research proposal here:

https://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research-degrees/entry-requirements/how-to-write-your-research-proposal

You can read more about our entry requirements here:

http://westminster.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research-degrees/entry-requirements

Applications should be submitted by Friday 16^th May 2025. Interviews will take place in June.

It is essential you include the code of the project you are applying for in your personal statement i.e. “SLS SF1”.

Also include the title of the specific project you wish to apply for in your application.