Job Description

About ARU:

We are ranked in the world\xe2\x80\x99s top 350 institutions in the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and we are a global university transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research. Our research institutes and four faculties bridge scientific, technical and creative fields. We deliver impactful research which tackles pressing issues and makes a real difference to our communities. Our academic excellence has been recognised by the UK\xe2\x80\x99s Higher Education funding bodies, with 16 of our research areas assessed as world-leading. In 2021, we were awarded the Queen\xe2\x80\x99s Anniversary Prize for our world-leading music therapy work.

About the Role:

Anglia Ruskin University is inviting applications for a fully-funded Vice-Chancellor\xe2\x80\x99s PhD Scholarship for a period of 36 months within the School of Allied Health and Social Care, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

Project Description:

Out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major international public health challenge. Incidence in Europe is between 67 to 170 per 100,000 inhabitants (Gr\xc3\xa4sner et al., 2021), and in the United Kingdom there are over 30,000 OHCAs each year (British Heart Foundation, 2023). Survival rates are low; a meta-analysis of global survival reported that 8.8 percent of adult patients survive to hospital discharge and only 7.7 percent survive to one year (Yan et al., 2020).

The \xe2\x80\x98chain of survival\xe2\x80\x99 describes a sequence of actions that maximise likelihood of survival following OHCA (British Heart Foundation, 2023). Of critical importance in the chain of survival is cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (Giugni et al., 2018). Survival and favourable outcome in OHCA increase between two- and fourfold with early bystander CPR (Holmberg et al., 2000; Kragholm et al., 2017). Early CPR following OHCA is often performed by public bystanders, defined as persons not responding as part of an organised emergency response system (Perkins et al., 2015). Reflecting its fundamental importance, there are national and international initiatives to train the public in CPR and the use of automated external defibrillators.

Although the importance of bystander CPR is widely recognised, little is known about the quality of CPR (Gyllenborg et al., 2017). This is important to address, as the effect of early bystander CPR on survival depends on the quality of CPR performed (Wik et al., 1994).

The current project will address this by developing and validating a measure of quality of bystander CPR for use in real-life scenarios. The first stage will be a literature review on quality of bystander CPR. Findings will inform the development of a modified Delphi study (McKenna, 1994) with an expert panel, to establish consensus on quality indicators for the measure and a scoring system.

The award is subject to the successful candidate meeting the studentship Terms and Conditions which can be found on our website alongside further information about the project: and enquiries can be directed to

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare of our staff and students and expect all staff to share this commitment.

We value diversity at ARU and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Anglia Ruskin University