You have a university degree (Master in Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Bio-Engineering, Biochemistry & Biotechology, Pharmacy, or an equivalent degree)
You are highly motivated with a strong interest in quality of care
You can work both independently and in a team
You can work with great precision and you are flexible
You have a good knowledge of Dutch and English
Recently, a minimum set of standardized outcomes for IBD has been identified through the IMI sponsored Health Outcomes Observatory (H2O) initiative, including recommendations for use in daily clinical practice. Several European academic hospitals collaborated on this effort, of which at least five are currently implementing the preparatory work. On top, a set of improvable quality indicators for the Belgian Health Care system has been agreed on through a Delphi-process including a wide variety of stakeholders coming from more than Belgian hospitals. The next phase will be to implement the proposed outcome measurements through user friendly dashboards, and to evaluate its cost-effectiveness.Keywords: inflammatory bowel diseases, quality of care, quality indicators, patient reported outcomesLinks: https://www.ibd-leuven.com/https://health-outcomes-observatory.euhttps://gbiomed.kuleuven.be/english/research/50000625/50000628Some references: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38019894/ and https://academic.oup.com/ecco-jcc/article/17/Supplement_1/i318/7009694The IBD Group at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Belgium) is looking for a highly motivated PhD student to further investigate and improve the Quality of Care in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are complex, heterogenic disorders of unknown etiology, characterized by chronic relapsing and remitting inflammation of the gastro-intestinal tract. These diseases require specialized care and regular follow-up for assessing disease activity, disease progression, adverse events and adjustment of medical therapy. Significant variability of IBD care exists, ranging from differences in use of diagnostic tests to differences in therapeutic approaches. We offer a 4 year PhD position in a stimulating environment at a top European university, in well-equipped, experienced and internationally-oriented research units. In this enriching environment you will have the chance to acquire new knowledge and skills within a team of multidisciplinary researchers.Starting date is to be agreed but no later than 1 October 2024.