[IRIS] PhD Research Fellowship in Digital Disease Surveillance

[Petter Nielsen]

Position as PhD Research Fellow in Digital Disease Surveillance available at the Information Systems research group at the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway.

:: The fellowship period is for 3 years and is devoted to research education. Candidates may be offered one additional year by the Department of Informatics; the 4 years position then entails a compulsory work load of 25% that consists of teaching and supervision duties.

:: The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has shown the importance of disease surveillance. Disease surveillance entails monitoring the spread of disease to predict, observe, and minimize the harm of disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics. The basis of disease surveillance is case reporting which is a part of the routine reporting from primary health facilities. Digital interventions has the potential to support timely reporting, outbreak detection, information use and the integration of surveillance with processes of response planning and effectuation.

:: The topic of this ph.d.-project is the role of digital technologies in disease surveillance. A particular focus will be on what we can learn from the Covid-19 pandemic and related implications for routine health information systems. The research fellow will empirically study the use of the dhis2 software platform and related resources in selected countries such as Norway, Tanzania and Uganda and actively participate in HISP activities geared towards disease surveillance. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, data quality, system resilience and sustainability, interoperability and coordination, data use, policy, privacy and integration of disease surveillance in the broader health system.

:: The Information Systems group at the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, is a thriving research and innovation environment, considered as a leading Information Systems (IS) and ICT for Development (ICT4D) research group on a world scale. We are the core developers of the DHIS2 software, the world's largest health management information system (HMIS) platform, in use by 80 low and middle-income countries. We are also the WHO Collaborating Centre for Innovation and Implementation Research for Health Information Systems Strengthening. We have strong ties to international partners in public health in developing countries, including universities, ministries of health, policy makers, donors and NGOs. Faculty and students in the group engage in health information systems strengthening globally, making a significant contribution to the functioning of health services, ultimately improving people's health and wellbeing. The successful candidate could expect a future career in the health sector or academia. Our PhD alumni hold positions in academia globally as well as ministries of health and international organizations. The Department of Informatics, as well as the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, of which it is part, has a strategic ambition informed by its position as a leading research faculty on a global scale. Publication of research results in top discipline journals, and dissemination of research through conferencing and active participation in the IS academic community, as well as in dedicated ICT4D symposia, is at the core of the Department's work.

For more information about our research group, please have a look at: http://hisp.uio.no and http://dhis2.org
For more information about the position and to apply, please go to: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/199999/phd-research-fellowship-in-digital-disease-surveillance 


Br.
- Petter


Associate Professor
Head of Information Systems Research Group
Department of Informatics
University of  Oslo
Ole-Johan Dahls Hus
Gaustadalleèn 23B
N-0373 Norway

+47 41506058
pnielsen at ifi.uio.no
http://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/people/aca/pnielsen/index.html
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Petter_Nielsen