EQUITY MS

This doctoral research project will explore the individual factors which impact on the experience of the diagnosis of MS in Leeds and Bradford, including understanding of MS, information gathering/interactions with family, friends and networks, access to health care and the journey to final diagnosis and treatment. Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, live, work and age. Many such conditions are studied in research, including wealth, income, housing, geographical location, and factors related to ethnicity such as racism. In this PhD you will explore the lived experience of people living with MS on their journey from initial symptoms to the diagnosis of MS and start of treatment. Research into the effect of socioeconomic status on multiple sclerosis (MS) disability outcomes indicate a relationship between greater deprivation at disease onset and greater disability, even in countries with a universal health-care system. Some studies suggest that people with MS with higher socioeconomic status are more likely to be diagnosed earlier and to be prescribed disease-modifying therapy than people with lower socioeconomic status .

This PhD is embedded in a multi-centre UK study to investigate the social determinants of MS treatment and outcomes in Bradford, Leeds, East London, and Cardiff. The study is led by Professor Helen Ford.