项目介绍

2026年9月15日

The Department of Public Health Sciences is a department at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Stockholm University, with around 60 employees. We offer a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and internationally leading research environment. The Department houses two research centres: Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS) and Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs (SoRAD). We offer education on basic, advanced, and doctoral level. More information is available at: Department of Public Health Sciences

Project description

The thesis work will be conducted within a project entitled “Women’s health and ageing” and   will focus on the burden, determinants and consequences of conditions related to ageing of the female reproductive system.

Comorbidities of menopause are common and up to half of post-menopausal women experience urogenital problems and urinary symptoms including incontinence. These common conditions have important implications for women’s social involvement and quality of life. Despite that, women’s health and ageing are still an under-developed area of public health and inequities are particularly under-researched.

The project will contribute to mapping the burden and inequalities among women in Sweden, analyze existing data and compare results from Sweden with data collected in other countries. Representatives of women and patient groups and care providers will contribute to co-creation of knowledge. The project work will include quantitative analyses of data from registers, surveys and cohort studies as well as qualitative analysis of data collected through stakeholder meetings and focus groups.

Expected research outputs will help to identify vulnerable population groups, empower post-menopausal women, inform policymakers, employers, and care providers, and increase health literacy of the general population.

Qualification requirements

In order to be admitted to postgraduate education, the applicant must have the general and specific entry requirements. The qualification requirements must be met by the deadline for applications.

You meet general entry requirements if you have completed a second-cycle degree, or completed courses equivalent to at least 240 higher education credits, of which 60 credits must be in the second cycle, or have otherwise acquired equivalent knowledge in Sweden or elsewhere.

In order to meet the specific entry requirements, according to the General Syllabus for Doctoral Level Education in Public Health Sciences, the applicant must have good oral and written skills in English. In addition, the candidate must have completed coursework of at least 7.5 credits on advanced level in quantitative or qualitative methods relevant to public health sciences. The entry requirements can also be fulfilled by those who have acquired equivalent competence in Sweden or abroad. Assessment of equivalent competence is made by the Director of Studies for the doctoral program in Public Health Sciences, and the decision is made by the Head of Department.

Selection

The selection among qualified candidates is based on their ability to benefit from the doctoral studies. The criteria used in the selection process are:

• subject-specific knowledge of relevance to public health sciences
• subject-specific knowledge of relevance to the research project to which the employment is linked (where applicable)
• independence in the analysis and planning of previous scholarly work
• scholarly stringency and quality of previous work and of the outline of the concept note
• the ability to communicate and collaborate
• the department’s possibilities to provide adequate supervision for the planned research.

Admission Regulations for Doctoral Studies at Stockholm University.

About the employment

We offer a fixed-term employment as a doctoral student according to Chapter 5 of the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100). The period of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education for four years. As a doctoral student, you should primarily devote yourself to your own doctoral education, but the employment may include work with education, research and administration to a limited extent (maximum 20 %).

A new employment as doctoral student is for a maximum of one year, the employment is then renewed for a maximum of two years at a time.

The doctoral student is expected to primarily work on-site at Stockholm University.

Stockholm University strives to be a workplace free from discrimination and with equal opportunities for all.

Contact

For more information, please contact the project leader Ilona Grünberger, ilona.koupil@su.se. 

For more information about the doctoral student programme, please contact the director of studies, Sara Brolin Låftman, sara.brolin.laftman@su.se.