Doctoral student in Medical Science - Fulfilling Unaccompanied Girls' SRHR in Healthcare

Om jobbet

The University of Gothenburg tackles society's challenges with diverse knowledge. 58 000 students and 6800 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract researchers and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

Doctoral positionin Medical Science

Project title: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Unaccompanied Girls in Sweden: Identifying Risks of Human Rights Violations in Healthcare and Mapping Opportunities for Support

The School of Public Health and Community Medicine is located at the Institute of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. The School of Public Health and Community Medicine conducts extensive education and research in global public health, general medicine, occupational medicine, environmental medicine, social medicine, medicine use and pharmaceutical policy. We also conduct education and research within nutritional epidemiology, insurance medicine, innovation and utilization, health economics, biostatistics and register epidemiology.

General information about being a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg can be found on the university's doctoral student pages https://www.gu.se/en/doctoral-studies

Duties

Doctoral education in Medical Science comprises carrying out a scientific project and completing at least 30 credits of courses at third-cycle level. The doctoral student must also write a scientific compilation thesis or monograph corresponding to at least 120 credits. For more information about third-cycle studies at Sahlgrenska Academy, see https://www.gu.se/en/sahlgrenska-akademin/doctoral-studies

Project: Unaccompanied girls constitute a particularly vulnerable group among children and young people on the move due to forced migration. Research shows that their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are often overlooked due to cumulative risks such as migration-related trauma, mental health challenges, limited SRHR literacy, and structural barriers within healthcare and support systems. Simultaneously, professionals in healthcare and civil society report uncertainty, limited agency, and gaps in competencies when working with these young people. This creates notable discrepancies between policy, clinical practice, and the SRHR needs that unaccompanied girls themselves describe. The overall aim of this doctoral project is to investigate how unaccompanied girls' SRHR are understood, enacted, and constrained within Swedish policy and practice, and to co-create empirically grounded solutions that strengthen their access to SRHR-related care. The project examines how unaccompanied girls' SRHR are defined in international, European, and Swedish policy; how healthcare professionals and civil society actors perceive the girls' SRHR needs; how support is organised; and how barriers in care can be transformed into opportunities for support. The doctoral project aims to develop concrete recommendations and tools that can inform policy, clinical guidelines, and local support practices.

The project comprises four sub-studies using quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and participatory approaches: (1) a critical policy analysis, (2) participatory focus groups with healthcare actors and civil society, where young women who previously arrived in Sweden as unaccompanied minors actively contribute to design and analysis, (3) a national survey mapping organisational barriers within healthcare, SRHR literacy among healthcare staff, and variations in practice, and (4) participatory community mapping workshops in which young women with lived experience of unaccompanied migration, healthcare professionals, and civil society advocates jointly identify critical risk points and develop implementable solutions.

It is considered an asset if the applicant has experience from healthcare or clinical research environments, particularly within areas such as migration and health, sexual and reproductive health, and mental health. Competence in both qualitative and quantitative research methods-such as interview techniques, thematic analysis, working with clinical data, or survey studies-is also valuable. Strong ability to collaborate in interdisciplinary settings and to work together with vulnerable groups, clinicians, and other stakeholders at different organisational levels is important for the implementation of the project. Excellent skills in both Swedish and English, spoken and written, are required. Swedish is needed for data collection and the participatory process, while English is essential as it is the primary language of research, scientific publications, and international collaboration.

Doctoral studies comprises four years of full-time study, and leads to a doctoral degree. As part of your employment as a doctoral student, you may have departmental duties corresponding to up to 20 % of full-time employment, distributed throughout your study period, and result in a corresponding extension of the studies. Departmental duties usually consist of teaching at first- and second-cycle levels, but may also include research and administration.

Eligibility

Doctoral education requires general eligibility and, where appropriate, specific eligibility as set out in the general syllabus for the subject.

The general eligibility requirements for doctoral studies are:

1. having completed a degree at second-cycle level, or
2. the fulfilment of course requirements totalling at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits must be at second-cycle level, or
3. the acquisition of equivalent knowledge in some other way, either in Sweden or abroad.

Specific entry requirements for this subject, according to the general syllabus, are:

having successfully completed the English B/6 course or is considered to have acquired equivalent knowledge through previous studies.

Assessment criteria

The selection of applicants who meet the basic and specific eligibility requirements will be based on the ability to assimilate the doctoral studies. The assessment shall attach particular importance to documented qualifications for:

- specific knowledge and skills within the subject area and related research fields
- experience of scientific theory and relevant research methodology
- scientific analysis and presentation verified through an academic paper, degree project, scientific
journals or the like.

Admission and employment

Once you have been admitted to doctoral studies, you will be employed as a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg. The provisions for employment as a doctoral student can be found in ordinance SFS 1993:100. Initial employment as a doctoral student may apply for a maximum of one year, and may be renewed by a maximum of two years at a time. A doctoral student may be employed as a doctoral student for a maximum of eight years, but the total period of employment may not be longer than the equivalent of full-time education at doctoral level for four years.

Location: Sahlgrenska Academy, Institute of Medicine, The School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Extent: 100%. First day of employment: as agreed.

The University applies a local agreement on salaries for doctoral students.

Please note, doctoral studies at the Institute of Medicine requires physical presence to conduct the studies. If the admitted applicant needs a residence permit for higher education to pursue studies in Sweden, the Institute of Medicine has the right to revoke the admission decision if the applicant cannot present a valid residence permit no later than at the start of the studies.

Contact information

For more information about the project please contact
research group leader, Josephine T V Greenbook, Institute of Medicine,
e-mail: josephine.greenbrook@gu.se

Unions

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here:
https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/jobba-hos-oss/hjalp-for-sokande

Application

You can apply to be admitted to doctoral education via the University of Gothenburg's recruitment portal. It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per this notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline.

You must include the following, in pdf format

• Personal letter
• CV
• Diploma and transcripts showing that you meet with the general entry requirement
• Proof of completion of English 6 course or the acquired equivalent knowledge through previous studies

If your degree is from a university outside of Sweden, make sure that you attach a diploma and full transcripts that makes assessing your degree easier.

If your degree has not been verified by a Swedish authority you need to provide contact details to the issuing university, registrar or similar, that can verify the degree at our request.

For information on what you need to submit in order to fulfill the English language requirement see https://www.universityadmissions.se/en/entry-requirements/english-language-requirements/

Applications must be received by:2026-01-02

Information for International Applicants

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. Thus, to give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner please visit:

https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services
https://www.movetogothenburg.com/

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden's regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.