Doctorate of Health Studies MQF/EQF Level 8
This doctoral programme will prepare you to be a leader and advocate for best practices in healthcare by acquiring advanced skills to lead projects and deliver implementation strategies for effective operation in a 21st-century healthcare landscape fuelled by change, complexity and innovation.
Through this program, you will seek to advance your practice through research, innovation, and leadership. By integrating your professional expertise with research-led enquiry, you will push your knowledge boundaries in your professional practice/discipline and contribute new knowledge to the field.
You will develop advanced proficiencies in research, analytical skills and critical reasoning. Through the systematic application of appropriate theories and the undertaking of research, you will:
- contribute to and enhance the body of knowledge of healthcare research
- contribute to the effectiveness of the environments in which the research takes place
The programme will provide you with a unique opportunity to combine your professional expertise and academic endeavour in exploring practical, real-world issues in your chosen field through a framework of research training.
Designed to offer flexible online learning, this course is relevant to healthcare practitioners worldwide.
This programme is currently not being offered and going through a review and update. The next enrolment will be on 1 September 2024.
Programme Name: Doctorate in Health Studies
Accreditation: Malta Further and Higher Education Authority
Credits: 180 ECTS
Qualification or Award: Qualification
Programme duration: 48-72 months part-time, 36-60 months full-time
Target Audience: 25-65+
Entry Requirements:
- Relevant MQF/EQF L7 degree or equivalent, 5 + years’ work in a health/social care or another professional area at a mid-senior level.
- An MQF/EQF L6 full qualification or alternative, 8-10 years’ work in either a health/social care or another professional area at mid-senior level. Interview with the course coordinator or nominee. Undertake the Graduate Record Examinations Test (GRE) with a minimum score of 150 for Verbal and 152 for Math
Target Group: Health care professionals
Language of instruction: English
If English is not your first language, you must have an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 7 or more.
MQF/EQF Level: 8
Mode of delivery: Online learning
Hours of Total Learning: 4500
Tuition Fees: Euro €15900
Next intake: Not enrolling students.
This programme – Doctorate in Healthcare Studies enables candidates to develop their knowledge as both practitioners and researchers. It prepares them to lead projects and deliver implementation strategies for effective operation in a 21st century healthcare landscape fuelled by change, complexity and innovation. Candidates will:
- Enhance their practice through research, innovation and leadership
- Integrate their professional expertise with research-led enquiry
- Reflect on their professional knowledge domain, generate new knowledge from research and contribute to the latest evidence-based practice.
- Produce an original and significant contribution to scientific research in the relevant area of knowledge, receiving recognition by the national scientific community
- Proven competence to participate in scientific discussions at National and/or international level, within the relevant knowledge area, as well as to communicate the results of research activity to all types of audiences
- Represent with peers, the larger scholarly community and with society in general their areas of expertise, results of research and innovation
- Advise within academic and professional contexts, technological, social or cultural advancement in a knowledge-based society
- Manage the design of a research project so as to carry out critical analysis and the evaluation of loosely defined contexts, to which the acquired knowledge, relevant contributions and work methodology can be applied, in order to synthesise new and complex ideas that may lead to a deeper understanding of the relevant field of research
- Represent substantial scholarly and professional integrity and sustained commitment to the construction of new theories or processes at the forefront of healthcare studies
- Manage large scale transformation projects and deliver effective evidence-based solutions for complex advanced service transformation and implementation projects within healthcare environments
- Appraise, categorise and formulate solutions to complex unstructured healthcare problem
Knowledge
- Display self-directed and autonomous mastery in acquiring, planning and implementing advanced healthcare knowledge and to be able to demonstrate within the context of healthcare research a comprehensive understanding of the theory and practice of one or more healthcare fields
- Has theoretical and practical expertise in a specialised field of knowledge which may contribute to social and ethical issues in a national and international dimension
- Develop the necessary ability to carry out research autonomously, with social responsibility and scientific integrity
- Expand existing healthcare knowledge which impacts and redefines professional practice
- Define and interpret new knowledge, through original research, advanced scholarship, of a quality to satisfy review by peers
- Identify and examine advanced tools/frameworks that will generate strategies for implementation of research in complex settings
- Describe how to solve critical problems in research and/or innovation to extend existing healthcare knowledge.
- Develop a Systematic understanding of epistemologies and methodologies in the field of healthcare and implementation science research
- Identify and Integrate theoretical knowledge and practical application by performing research that produces fruitful results in healthcare and related fields.
- Define service quality and implementation science concepts in the implementation of transformational activities and improvements in-healthcare services.
Skills
- Develop the necessary ability to carry out research autonomously with social responsibility and scientific integrity and demonstrate the ability to synthesise new and complex ideas that leads to a deeper understanding of the relevant field of research
- Has theoretical and practical expertise in a specialised field of knowledge which may contribute to social and ethical issues in a national and international dimension
- Responds to abstract problems that expand and redefine existing procedural knowledge in Health studies contexts
- Responds to technological, social and cultural issues and addresses the needs of a knowledge-based society Is responsible for the leadership of a number of specialised projects and an authority in a specialised field of work or study
- Demonstrates expertise in critical evaluations and analysis with incomplete or limited information to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments produces original research
- Applies in depth knowledge and understanding, based on previous work experience and advanced study, to complex professional practice situations.
- Demonstrates the ability to design a research project, to carry out critical analysis and to evaluate loosely defined contexts, to which the acquired knowledge, relevant contributions and work methodology can be applied.
- Explains new and complex ideas that may lead to a deeper understanding of the relevant field of research
- Evaluates complex and incomplete data making sound judgements to communicate conclusions clearly to a range of audiences in healthcare and other environments
Academic Entry Requirement
- Relevant MQF/EQF L7 degree or equivalent, 5 + years’ work in a health/social care or other professional area at a mid-senior level.
Alternative Entry pathway
- An MQF/EQF L6 full qualification or alternative, 8-10 years’ work in either a health/social care or other professional area at mid-senior level. Interview with the course coordinator or nominee. Undertake the Graduate Record Examinations Test (GRE) with a minimum score of 150 for Verbal and a 152 for Math
Non-native English-speaking applicants
If English is not your first language you must have an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 7 or more. Exemptions of the IELTS are available for students holding a qualification at MQF Level 6 or higher from institutions who hold courses in English e.g. a UK, US qualification.
Aged 27 years or over at the start of the course
The programme is open to all health professionals seeking senior roles in clinical/nonclinical practice and or education, locally, nationally, or internationally. Who wish to expand their subject expertise with the knowledge needed to translate research evidence into real world practice. e.g.
- Advanced Paramedics
- Health Administrators
- Physician Assistants
- Nurses
- Dietitians/Nutritionists
- Physical or Occupational Therapists
- Couple and Family Therapists
- Behavioural or Mental Health Specialists
- Healthcare Educators
Full Time; 36-60 Months
Part-Time; 48- 72 Months
Required Modules
DHS801 Strategic Leadership & Project Management
In this module, candidates will begin by developing a detailed understanding of traditional and contemporary theories of leadership and management, these theories are critically examined by the candidates who will critically review their assumptions about leadership within healthcare both separately through their own thinking and collectively in group discussions. This will be achieved through exploring and analysing key leadership issues in health and social care practice, with the emphasis on challenging and debating contemporary theory and practice, focusing upon aspects of collective leadership and followership in the context of leading large-scale projects, implementing and managing change. Candidates will challenge traditional views and work to identify both barriers to change and strategies for successful project delivery and implementation to identify and implement quality improvements and organisational change; candidates will examine in detail and discuss project management, project implementation strategies tools and quality management methodologies such as lean and six sigma together with contemporary quality improvement tools. Throughout the module, candidates will reflect upon the skills, behaviours and techniques required to lead a team within a clinical environment, including the role of clinical supervision, governance frameworks and personal and professional development.
Click here for the full module specification
DHS802 Transforming Services & Delivering Quality
This module is designed to meet the needs of health and social care professionals and develop a detailed understanding of the concept of Quality and the process of Quality Improvement across the Health Care continuum. Candidates will develop a deep and comprehensive understanding of the diverse collection of methods of improving quality, including but not limited to continuous Quality Improvement and Total Quality Management, and to the guidelines for implementing quality management and the continuous quality improvement processes. Building on module DHS801 (previous module), Candidates will conduct a comprehensive and in-depth exploration of Lean/Six Sigma and other tools that are an integral component of Process Improvement and Customer/Patient Satisfaction. The developments of delivering quality and research will be examined via the exploration of system enhancement, theoretical frameworks and tools for measuring system improvements.
Candidates will be encouraged to reflect upon how innovative practice could transform service delivery to drive up the quality of the patient experience and will:
- Examine the challenges for modern healthcare provision
- Construct opportunities to improve quality
- Formulate a comprehensive understanding of the concept of quality
- from differing perspectives
- Experiment with innovations and service redesign in practice
- Analysis of services transformation theory and construction of novel quality implementation strategies.
Click here for the full module specification
DHS803 Implementation Science
Candidates will critically appraise theories, models and the practice of implementation science in health and social care. Critically examining diagnostic, behaviour change and sociological models of implementation, with strategies to increase utilisation of the scientific evidence base in health and social care that flow from these theoretical positions. Candidates will develop the skills to evaluate theories of implementation and will be able to demonstrate insight into how innovation and behaviour change can be planned and delivered in modern health services. Candidates will identify and critically appraise evidence about implementation science from different sources and consider how these can be integrated into a plan for action. This module will enable candidates to develop a detailed, theory-informed strategy for achieving evidence-based change in an area of health care practice.
Candidates on completion will be able to:
- Evaluate the evidence base in an effective intervention
- Choose a strategy that produces the most significant impact
- Design an appropriate and effective study
- Track essential outcomes
- Account for the barriers to uptake in communities, social service agencies, and health care facilities
Click here for the full module specification
DHS804 Research Methods: Qualitative & Quantitative
This module has been designed to enable candidates to undertake an in-depth critical analysis of research methods currently used in various settings. The module provides a detailed overview of quantitative and qualitative research methods focusing on:
- Developing a detailed understanding of the theories of science, methodological views and paradigms
- Understanding the process of research and knowledge production in a wide variety of settings as well as in Healthcare
- Formulation of suitable problem statements and research questions, from relevant academic and professional literature, and appropriate methods.
- Critical appraisal of the philosophical, ontological and epistemological basis of research in healthcare and education.
- Appraisal and consideration of alternative research methodologies and analytical techniques for different research questions and proposals
- The principles of study design and mixed research methodologies will be discussed and critiqued in detail.
Click here for the full module specification
DHS805 Literature Review & Research proposal
This module will build on the research methods module and enable candidates to undertake an in-depth critical appraisal of published research evidence. Building on Module DHS804, candidates will develop a deeper understanding of methods commonly used in health care research. Various research methods such as interviews, focus groups, Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) and other epidemiological methods will be explored in detail, and candidates will be taken through the process of critically appraising these methods as well as qualitative and quantitative research methods in general, using appropriate techniques. Candidates will critique published research to develop the formation of their own research skills. This module will also address searching for appropriate literature, ethical principles surrounding the research, methods of analysing and interpreting data and explore evidence-based practice issues surrounding applying research into practice. The module is designed to guide candidates through the process of carrying out a systematic review in any health-related field to advance existing models, theories, instruments, methods, and practice. The candidate will also develop the skills to define a topic, and search parameters, conduct a search using appropriate databases and sources, and summarise findings from the review.
Click here for the full module specification
DHS806 Doctoral Dissertation
This advanced research requires candidates to produce a comprehensive integrative research product incorporating the developed knowledge and skills from the programme into a final thesis of (55,000 words min – 60,000 max). The research must make a significant contribution to the knowledge domain, be of publishable quality (National or international refereed publication) and be aimed at dissemination through the field. The research should also position the candidate at the leading edge in their chosen field.
Tuition fees
Domestic & International fees
Euro 15,900
Payment plans are available, to discuss please contact info@corom.edu.mt