Transforming Lives, PhD Scholarship, Sheffield Hallam University: Acceptability and feasibility of using wearable technology in the delivery and assessment of outcomes in prehabilitation /rehabilitation for people with a cancer diagnosis

Applications are invited for a Full-time, PhD scholarship in Sport and Physical Activity: Acceptability and feasibility of using wearable technology in the delivery and assessment of outcomes in prehabilitation /rehabilitation for people with a cancer diagnosis, commencing 1 February 2025 

The scholarship is for 3.5 years full-time study and covers home PhD fees, currently £4,786 pa, and pays an annual stipend at the living wage foundation rate of £20,116 per year in 24/25. This stipend payment will increase annually based on the rate set by the living wage foundation for the duration of the scholarship. 

The scholarship will be based in The Academy of Sport and Physical Activity (ASPA), hosted by the Sport and Physical Activity Research centre (SPARC), co-hosted at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (https://www.shu.ac.uk/advanced-wellbeing-research-centre). The AWRC is a world-leading centre for physical activity research and innovation situated at the heart of the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park. The mission of the AWRC is to transform lives through innovations that help people move.  

We have a community of postgraduate students who are at the heart of contributing to our research. All doctoral students are supported by a programme of doctoral training and encouraged to present their research findings. 

Project Title: Acceptability and feasibility of using wearable technology in the delivery and assessment of outcomes in prehabilitation/rehabilitation for people with a cancer diagnosis 

The use of wearable sensors as an intervention in the prehabilitation/rehabilitation period of cancer treatment has received limited research attention but with some encouraging outcomes (Waller et al., 2021). There is, however, no acceptability data on longer-term (>3 months) use of wearable devices amongst people with a cancer diagnosis, particularly those from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Few studies (e.g. Waller, 2021) have explored the feasibility of using the data from wearables to monitor and tailor prehabilitation prescription. No studies have assessed the health inequalities these devices might exacerbate. 

We believe that wearable technologies could extend to the assessment of risk before surgery (with physiological exercise measurements when needed), currently requiring hospital attendance (e.g. cardio-pulmonary exercise testing) and is presently of limited utility. This is because current risk assessment procedures capture only one brief time epoch (30-60 minutes) in a patient’s journey to surgery. We believe a better approach could be the measurement of an individual’s physical behaviours (e.g., physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep) within the patient’s home over a longer time using wearable devices. We hypothesise that activity and sleep patterns directly reflect anaesthetic fitness and can be used to predict the risk of post-operative complications (to guide suitability for surgery and post-operative care needs). Advances in wearable technology now make this possible and affordable. Changes in clinical service delivery, with increasing telemedicine, make this necessary. Feasibility studies are needed that explore patient experience of wearables before using them as part of controlled trials as an intervention or a method of determining the effectiveness of prehabilitation/rehabilitation on longer-term behavioural outcomes such as return to employment and daily activities.  

Wearable technologies could enhance the quality of patient-reported treatment and experience outcomes from prehabilitation/rehabilitation, especially for remotely delivered services (Greiwe & Nyenhuis, 2020), but no studies have explored this.  

Personalised care is a fundamental approach in modern healthcare and is especially relevant in the context of cancer. The intervention will be co-designed with patients and health professionals, ensuring the intervention meets patient needs and preferences, enhancing engagement, user satisfaction, and adherence.  

The PhD will explore the association between preoperative physical behaviours and post-operative clinical outcomes to inform the design of future clinical trials, exploring the feasibility of using the data from wearable technology to identify and target components of prehabilitation/rehabilitation for a range of cancer patients. Data from this PhD programme of study could be used to identify appropriate outcomes for a future clinical trial, examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of prehabilitation delivered digitally using wearables, and assess patient risk before surgery using data from wearable sensors. 

Over several connected studies/work packages, this PhD will help understand to what extent; 

1. Co-designing a prehabilitation/rehabilitation intervention using wearable technology might enhance engagement with the intervention and improve patient experience
2. Wearable technology can be used to increase physical activity prior to surgery
3. Patients will engage in an exercise intervention delivered via wearable technology during the prehabilitation/rehabilitation period.
4. Wearable technologies enhance the quality of patient-reported treatment and experience outcomes from prehabilitation
5. Consumer-level activity monitors can provide a valid and accurate measure of physical activity upon which components of prehabilitation can be tailored.

How to Apply

We strongly advise all applicants to contact Liam Humphreys (l.humphreys@shu.ac.uk) prior to application, to discuss the scholarship and project.  

International / EU applicants – please see the funding section for important information around fees for the scholarship.  

Sheffield Hallam has a mandatory English language requirement of IELTS 7, or equivalent language qualification, for all applicants for whom English is not their first language. This qualification should have been taken within the last two-years, with a score of at least 7 in all test areas and may be required even if you have previous qualifications gained at UK institutions. Please do check with the admissions team prior to application, as this qualification must be submitted as part of the scholarship application process.   

To apply, please complete and submit an application form available at the following link: https://www.shu.ac.uk/courses/sport-and-physical-activity/phd-sport-and-physical-activity/full-time/2024 choosing the option for a February 2025 start.

You must provide a detailed 1,500-word research proposal addressing the project title. We do not accept proposals setting out an applicants own research and cannot consider applications where a research proposal addressing this specific project title has not been submitted.  

Please add the project title within the Personal Statement field of the application and ensure that all attachments have been uploaded to the application system before submission.  

If you are experiencing issues submitting your online application or for general enquires about this scholarship, please contact: Health-PGR-admissions@shu.ac.uk  

The closing date for applications is Monday 18 November 2024 at 12:00 GMT. Late applications will not be accepted  

Interviews: 28 November 2024