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Successful scale-up of public health interventions is essential to equitable and sustainable population health improvement. Scaling up is, however, a lengthy, complex and dynamic process, influenced heavily by contextual and setting-specific factors that impact community-level adoption, delivery and sustainability. Systems approaches are increasingly recognised and encouraged for use in public health, yet, for physical activity, research has shown that systems approaches are vastly underutilised to achieve sustainable system-wide change at scale.

We currently lack an understanding of how to operationalise systems approaches when scaling up, including how to identify strategies, mechanisms (which are causal pathways explaining how strategies work to achieve desired outcomes) and leverage points (places to intervene in a system) to improve scale-up outcomes.

This PhD will involve synthesising the current literature on the application of systems approaches to understand and influence population physical activity, including the effectiveness of systems approaches on implementing and scaling population interventions globally. The PhD will also provide the opportunity to collect new data on ways that researchers, practitioners and policymakers can operationalise a systems approach to scaling up in practice. The PhD will involve mixed methodology, and will also provide the opportunity to collaborate internationally.

Project aim

To understand the application of systems approaches to understand and influence population physical activity, and the effectiveness of systems approaches on intervention implementation and scale up. The PhD may include development of an evidence-based resource to support operationalisation of systems approaches to scaling up that can assist others wishing to increase the reach and sustainable impact public health interventions in the future.

Eligibility

• Applicants must meet Deakin’s PhD entry requirements, be enrolling full time and hold an Honours degree (First Class) or an equivalent standard Master’s degree with a substantial research component. Please refer to the entry pathways to higher degrees by research for further information.
• The opportunity is open to domestic and international students
• Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree with Honours or a Master’s degree with a substantial research component, or equivalent, in health promotion, systems science, implementation science, public health, nutrition or exercise science.
• Applicants must have experience in quantitative and qualitative methodology.
• Fluency in verbal and written English (evidence of English proficiency is required), highly motivated and able to work in a multidisciplinary team.
• Previous research or practice-based experience in public health, systems science methodology, intervention implementation/evaluation is desirable but not essential.

How to apply

• Refer to our How to apply webpage for more information.