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3C Event: Research Culture, Community & Cake – Wednesday 12 November, 3-4pm

Join Our Researcher Social!

The Doctoral College is excited to invite all members of the BU Research Community to our informal social event.

This is a fantastic opportunity for all researchers to connect and exchange ideas over refreshments.

It is a relaxed forum where you can:

  • Meet fellow researchers from across the university
  • Share your research and hear what others are doing
  • Develop new connections
  • Ask any questions you might have, particularly if you’ve recently started

We’d love to see you there!

Event Details

  • Wednesday 12 November, 3-4pm
  • F202, Fusion Building, Talbot Campus

Find out more and register here

If you have any questions about the event, please do get in touch with the Research Development & Culture Team: researcherdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk

CARING AND WORKING: Developing insights into the world of the working carer and disseminating through art

Part 1: Developing insights into the world of the working carer

Background
Earlier this year we completed a study exploring the experiences of working carers in the South of England – part of a larger research project funded by NIHR ARC Wessex exploring carers needs, experiences and ideas about improving carers involvement in research (Pulman and Fenge, 2025).

A carer is anyone who provides unpaid care to a family member, partner, or friend who is unable to manage without support due to an illness, frailty, disability, mental health issue, or addiction.

Caring, unpaid, for older, disabled or chronically ill relatives or friends is something most of us will experience in our lives – all of us has a two in three chance of doing so. (HM Gov, 2023)

Carers who work in addition to their caring responsibilities – known as working carers – often face an ongoing struggle when trying to combine the dual demands of providing care with paid employment. There are nearly 3.7 million working carers in England and Wales; 2.6 million (72%) of these working in full-time paid employment alongside their caring roles, whilst about 1.6 million carers have problems combining work and care (Austin and Heyes, 2020).

The purpose of our research was to understand the experience of being in paid employment whilst providing unpaid care to someone, including adjustments made to employment, support provided by employers and support agencies, the impact on the carers perceived wellbeing and ideas for improving their involvement in carers research.

Realities of combining working with caring

Initial exploratory PPI work was carried out between September and December 2024 – including n=6 unpaid carers attending a one and a half hour facilitated workshop where they contributed to the design and development of the initial draft of the online questionnaire. Data was collected between December 2024 and May 2025, with n=51 working carers completing our online survey.

We found:

Several themes emerged concerning the carers experience at work, the support mechanisms in place which were helpful to them, issues and challenges experienced and ranked suggestions for future research to develop further understanding of the world of the working carer.

Our research highlighted the importance of developing more humanised ways of employers understanding a working carer’s needs and to meaningfully assist them in meeting their full potential within the workforce.

Employers need to think and plan differently for people with unpaid caring responsibilities and realise that working carers need more:

  • ENGAGEMENT from employers about how they can stay in work and be supported.
  • EMPATHY from employers regarding their caring responsibilities and demands.
  • EQUALITY from employers, showing respect and giving carers opportunities to thrive.

Increasing empathetic understanding

Participants in our study (Pulman and Fenge, 2025) felt that it was difficult for some managers and colleagues to fully appreciate working carer experiences unless they had personal experience of a similar situation. This highlights the need for more training for line managers and the wider workforce about the needs and experiences of working carers to promote supportive working environments.

Enhanced training about working carer lived experience, including examples from film and television, innovative higher education eLearning techniques, mixed media, or listening to carer experiences face-to-face could be very beneficial in helping managers and the wider workforce to become more aware of and immersed in the lifeworld of a carer (Todres and Galvin, 2006; Pulman, Todres and Galvin, 2010).

With these approaches in mind, we wanted to reach corporate hearts and change ‘head in the sand’ mindsets by evoking a sense of common connection. To engage with, and communicate to, employers across the Wessex region using innovative visual approaches which would help to open a window on the hidden world of the working carer.

An opportunity to collaborate with local artists

In June, Professor Mel Hughes and Dr Gladys Yinusa invited expressions of interest from university researchers to work with local artists to produce a creative output which would help maximise the reach and impact of current research projects. The pilot project being a collaboration with BEAF Arts Co, an open-access, multi-art form festival and year-round arts programme based in Boscombe.

BEAF (2025) are an innovative and independent organisation of freelancers and volunteers, who feel passionately that culture changes communities for the better and there is a strong evidence base for creative outputs being an inclusive tool for reaching and involving communities in research and for extending the reach of research findings, including to community, academic, policy and practice audiences.

The pilot was developed to build connections with a local artist network who would be involved in selecting their preferred research project – matching the research team with a local artist and then providing funding to cover artist fees and materials. After successfully applying for funding for our research project, we were matched with artist Adilson Naueji to communicate findings.

We look forward to sharing reflections from this collaborative project in the second part of this blog post series soon.

With thanks to:

  • Artist Adilson Naueji.
  • The working carer research project is supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Wessex.
  • The artwork being created is supported by BEAF Arts Co and Bournemouth University.

More information on our project:

Professor Lee-Ann Fenge – lfenge@bournemouth.ac.uk

Dr Andy Pulman – apulman@bournemouth.ac.uk

https://nccdsw.co.uk/clusters/research/carer-research

https://www.arc-wx.nihr.ac.uk/social-care

References:

Austin, A. and Heyes, J., 2020. Supporting working carers: How employers and employees can benefit. CIPD/University of Sheffield.

BEAF Arts Co (2025). BEAF Arts Co Homepage, available online at: https://gotbeaf.co.uk/ (accessed September 30, 2025).

HM Gov (2023). Carers Week 2023: crunching the numbers… HM Gov Social Care Blog, available online at: https://socialcare.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/09/carers-week-crunching-the-numbers/ (accessed September 30, 2025).

Pulman, A. and Fenge, L.-A., 2025. Caring and working: developing insights into the world of the working carer. Health & Social Care in the Community.

Pulman, A., Todres, L., & Galvin, K. (2010). The carer’s world: An interactive reusable learning object. Dementia, 9(4), 535-547.

Todres, L., & Galvin, K. (2006). Caring for a partner with Alzheimer’s disease: Intimacy, loss and the life that is possible. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 1, 50–61.

Researcher Development Opportunities for ECRs

Training

We are excited to introduce the new Researcher Development and Culture Team within the Doctoral College at BU

Our team – Enrica Conrotto, Beverley Allen, and Zoe Leonard support BU researchers at all career stages. We will work together to shape and deliver initiatives that strengthen researcher development and promote a positive research culture across BU.

As we are currently developing a more structured programme of support, specifically for Early Career Researchers, we are pleased to offer you immediate access to 10 core online workshops from the Researcher Development Programme

You can register for the following online workshops via Eventbrite, where you will also find an overview of each session.

Research data management: An introduction – Friday 10 October, 12-1pm

Ethics: Values, standards, and BU process Q&A – Monday 3 November, 12-1pm

Ethics: Clinical research governance – Monday 3 November, 2-3pm

Presentation skills for researchers – Friday 7 November, 10am-1pm

NVivo: Day 1 – Setting up your qualitative database – Thursday 13 November, 9am-5pm

NVivo: Day 2 – Analysing your data – Friday 14 November, 9am-5pm

Publishing your research: Mastering journal paper writing (SSH) – Wednesday 19 November, 2-4pm

Publishing your research: Mastering journal paper writing (STEM) – Thursday 27 November, 10am-12pm

Academic writing: Reduce anxiety – Friday 5 December, 10am-1pm

Integrating GenAI in our Research: A practical guide – Monday 17 November, 10am-12pm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional opportunities are available via the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network

The British Academy Early Career Researcher Network is an inclusive, researcher-led membership body accessible to all UK-based early career researchers working in the humanities and social sciences.

Finding your Voice – Stream 2 Advancement – Wednesday 8 October, 10:30am-4:30pm

Early Career Researcher Network Welcome Session and Development Fund Drop In – Thursday 9 October, 11am-12:30pm

Mastering CV and Cover Letters for International Scholars in the UK – Friday 10 October, 10am-12pm

Being Strategic & Prioritising Your Time – Stream 2 Advancement – Wednesday 15 October, 9:30am-12:30pm

Empirical Research – Coding and Analysing interview data with Dr James Lovelock – Wednesday 15 October, 3-4:30pm

Curating Conversations: Setbacks, support and success – Thursday 16 October, 10am-4pm

Compass 1: Reframing Research Identity – Thursday 16 October, register to access

Finding your Voice – Stream 2 Advancement – Thursday 16 October, 10am-4pm

Compass 2: Pathways Beyond Academia -Thursday 6 November, register to access

Conference: Company Law and Sustainability – Friday 7 November, register to access

Compass 3: Strategic Action Planning – Thursday 27 November, register to access

Other useful resources for ECRs are available on the Elsevier Research Academy. The Elsevier Researcher Academy is a free e-learning platform designed to unlock the potential of early and mid-career researchers.

Finally, we are pleased to invite you to our 3C event, taking place on Talbot Campus, Wednesday 12 November 3-4pm

These regular social events provide an informal forum to connect with fellow researchers, exchange ideas, and develop new collaborations over refreshments. All members of the BU research community are invited to attend and contribute.

Find out more and register here

Please keep a look out for further announcements regarding the Early Career Researcher Network.

Should you have any questions, suggestions, or would like to discuss your development needs, please contact the team: researcherdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk

CWLTH Research Seminar Series

writing

The Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health (CWLTH) will be hosting a series of virtual research seminars in October and November (see below).  All are welcome … please join us if you are able.  Contact CWLTH@Bournemouth.ac.uk to receive the meeting link.

The Centre is also collaborating with the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health (CMWH) to host ‘Writing in Health and Social Sciences’ on Monday 20th October.  During this three-hour workshop, experienced authors and editors will focus on multiple aspects of writing and publishing journal papers.  For more information contact CWLTH@Bournemouth.ac.uk.

We are delighted to re-launch the 2025-26 Researcher Development Programme

PG research

We are delighted to re-launch the 2025-26 Researcher Development Programme.

Bookings for sessions until December are now open via the RDP Brightspace! There are more than 30 different workshops to choose from, with more opening in November!

The programme has been recently reviewed to align with the new Vitae Researcher Development Framework.

Have a look at the 2025-26 brochure (if you would like a printed version, just pop into the Doctoral College).

Not sure whether to attend an RDP session? Feedback across the programme in 2024-25 was again overwhelmingly positive with attendees reporting the following:

  • 96% would recommend a workshop
  • 97% found the workshops relevant and useful
  • 93% found the workshops interesting and engaging
  • 93% reported improved research/personal/professional skills and increased confidence in topics covered

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the exceptional academics and professional staff who facilitated workshops within the Researcher Development Programme. Their expertise and dedication have significantly contributed to the success of the programme, providing immense value to all participants. Their commitment to fostering an enriching learning environment greatly contributes to the academic and professional growth of our research community.

If you have any queries about the programme, please contact: pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk.

CMWH well represented at International Labour and Birth Conference

The Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health was well represented at last week’s International Labour and Birth Conference with presentations from Sara Stride, Dominique Mylod, and Vanora Hundley.

Sara StrideSara was presenting her doctoral work where she has used appreciative inquiry to explore midwives’ experience and processing following the occurrence of Obstetric Anal Sphincter injury (OASI) during spontaneous vaginal birth. Sara said that she found the conference and networking opportunities “inspiring and helpful for her PhD.”

Dominique and Vanora brought their prototype app, which has been designed to support women in the early phase of labour. This was well received by attendees and the next step is to evaluate its implementation into practice.Dom and Vanora

Dominique’s attendance at ILB Conference 2025 was supported by an award from the Science of Birth Research Cluster, University of British Columbia.

Megan Perkin’s work exploring breastfeeding experiences of women with visual impairment was presented as a poster. Unfortunately Megan was not able  to attend due to her clinical commitments, but Vanora was on hand to answer any questions.

 

BU paper among top 20 most cited papers

BRIAN, PG research, writing

The international journal Sociological Research Online ranked a paper written by Bournemouth University academics in its top twenty most cited papers in the past three years.  The methodological paper ‘Using a range of communication tools to interview a hard-to-reach population’ has as lead author Dr. Orlanda Harvey in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Science.

Reference:

  1. Harvey, O., van Teijlingen, E., Parrish, M. (2024) Using a range of communication tools to interview a hard-to-reach population, Sociological Research Online 29(1): 221–232 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/13607804221142212

Reflections on My Social Work Summer Internship

student research

For six weeks of my summer between the 2nd and 3rd year of my Social Work degree I completed an internship with the aim of improving my skills relating to the facilitation of PPI (Patient and Public Involvement) workshops and working with people, as well as expanding my knowledge of the issues women of ethnic minority/migrant communities face.

Week 1: I spent this first week getting to know the professionals I would be working with throughout the six weeks and forming positive and trusting relationships with them. I also worked on getting to grips with what the project was, what my role as the intern was, and how the world of PPI works.

Week 2: The majority of this week I read information/research on the various methods we could use for the workshops and general project. I also met with more professionals and learnt about the PPI process and benefits. To prepare further for the workshops I, along with two experienced colleagues (including my internship supervisor), selected the participants we would talk with in the workshops.

All the above information then started to be drafted into the report document to explain the method, reasoning and research behind the project.

Whilst we originally aimed for one (maybe two) workshop groups where we would use the methods I researched within the week, to engage the participants in a productive conversation, we ended the workshop week with an entirely different plan, two workshop groups, a few one-to-one conversations and email responses for those unable to attend.

Week 3: This week saw me preparing for the workshops by talking to other professionals more experienced in the field, amending the questions we aimed to use to engage the participants in a really positive and productive conversation and ensuring that the workshop space would be as equal, fair and safe as we could make it. I learnt this week, the importance of not guaranteeing a safe space as this removes all space for human error. This can make others uncomfortable as they fear making a mistake (and their apology not being accepted).

Week 4: Week four was workshop week. During this week two large group workshops were and four, one-to-one workshops were conducted. I learnt to co-facilitate workshops with both people I do and do not know, and how to engage participants in difficult conversations. I learnt the importance of ensuring participants felt validated and accepted in the space. Each of these workshops were transcribed and written up into a large document collectively.

Week 5: I, along with my internship supervisor, conducted a thematic analysis during this week (putting all the participants contributions and ideas from the workshops into different themes to make the report easier to write and read as it flows easier). A few last minute workshops were held in this week (one-to-one) and I also started writing up our findings in the report.

Week 6: In week six, I, along with my internship supervisor, wrote the majority of the report draft to be sent to the project leads. I also created a PowerPoint presentation to present the findings from this project to the project leads and outline my learning experiences and how they will aid in my final year of university and future career.

Lessons I learnt:

  • Flexibility (I learnt to be flexible BEFORE the workshops began but also DURING (where our method did not fit with the participants we were talking to, especially during one-to-one conversations)
  • Time management
  • Working with others
  • Co-facilitating workshops with people I do and do not know and ensuring the participants feel accepted in the space and their feelings/experiences validated
  • Presenting my ideas to professionals I do not know
  • Professional report writing
  • Ensuring the space is as safe as possible without guaranteeing a safe space for all

This project has taught me a significant amount about working with Women from ethnic minority/migrant communities and the challenges they face both in research but also in daily life. I am sure this understanding as well as the knowledge I gained about working with other professionals and presenting my ideas to them effectively, will stand me in good stead for my final university year and future career in social work.

Megan Jukes, Social Work Student

A note from Dr Orlanda Harvey:
‘It was a joy to support Megan in developing her research skills, and work alongside her on this project. She was very committed to understanding what was required and her confidence grew in leaps and bounds over the course of the project. I am very grateful to the many colleagues at BU who  gave up their time to help support her learning and development, and I am particularly grateful for the help of Kate Jupp as without her the PPI sessions would not have happened. The report that has been drafted will be very helpful to anyone seeking to understand how to engage participants in research in a meaningful way.‘

New Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMHW) paper on Nepal

international, open access, Publishing, writing

Last week the international Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development emailed to tell that our paper ‘Exploring handwashing knowledge and practice among lactating mothers in Kathmandu’s slum communities’ [1] had been accepted for publication.

It is widely known that poor access to good quality water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) lead to high morbidity in young children. The paper reports on a cross-sectional study conducted with 127 breastfeeding mothers in two slum settlements in Nepal’s capital.  It found that most had a good knowledge of WASH and appropriate washing of hands. However, the prevalence of illness among children whose mothers had only basic education was 26% higher than those whose mothers had completed secondary education. Family income and hand-washing practice were also significantly associated with child health (p < 0.01). Nearly three in four (73.2%) of children had experienced health issues, particularly diarrhoea, in the past half year.

The authors concluded that strengthening maternal hand-hygiene education programmes, particularly for lactating mothers, and improving WASH infrastructure are necessary, as well as promoting affordable hand-washing solutions in urban slums.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

Reference:

  1. Devkota, G.P., Sharma, M.K., Sherpa, S., Khanal, T.R., Devkota, B., van Teijlingen, E. (2025) Exploring handwashing knowledge and practice among lactating mothers in Kathmandu’s slum communities, Nepal, Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 15:1-10. doi: 10.2166/washdev.2025.084

The Toxic Legacy of a Crisis

Why do so many new CEOs fail to turn around struggling companies, even with a fresh strategy? Maybe it’s not just about leadership.

My new book Corporate Trauma:The toxic legacy of a crisis introduces a powerful new concept – the lasting impact of a past corporate crisis. Drawing from the biological field of Epigenetics, the book argues that a significant organizational shock can embed dysfunctional patterns deep within a company’s cultural DNA that leads to decreased morale and productivity, a breakdown of trust amongst investors, employees, leadership, and a culture of fear, blame, and risk avoidance.

This book offers a new lens to diagnose why companies get trapped in a downward spiral. It goes beyond the classic turnaround playbook to identify and address the root cause of persistent failure, offering an invaluable path to strategic renewal and injecting vitality back into any organization. The book is on AMAZON and now available for pre-order.

The foundational research previously informed the UK Government’s ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’ and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Committee’s ‘Innovation Strategy’ in 2021.

If any BU research group would like me to present the research findings, please get in touch with me at: joliver@bournemouth.ac.uk

Nepal migrant workers returning from India

international, open access, Publishing, writing

Nepal has been in the world news this week for the wrong reasons, with young protesters burning down the parliament, and damaging many government building in all seven provinces.  Some 30 young people died in the process and and thousands of sometimes dangerous prisoners were freed.   After the political and social upheaval in the country this past week, Nepalese migrant workers are beginning to return home from India to be with their families. Today (Friday 12th September) the BBC online reported under the heading ‘Worried migrants head home from India after Nepal turmoil‘.

The journalist interviewed both migrant workers and students from Nepal living in India.  The piece also cited several studies on Nepalese migrant workers in India, including a Bournemouth University (BU) study with the title ‘The Health of Nepali Migrants in India: A Qualitative Study of Lifestyles and Risks‘ [1].  This publication is one of the many published papers on the health and well-being of Nepalese migrant workers conducted in BU’s Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences.  The lead author of this paper in theInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is Dr. Pramod Regmi, Principal Academic in International Health. 

 

References:

  1. Regmi PR, van Teijlingen E, Mahato P, Aryal N, Jadhav N, Simkhada P, Zahiruddin QS, Gaidhane A. (2019) The Health of Nepali Migrants in India: A Qualitative Study of Lifestyles and Risks. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 16(19):3655. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16193655.

 

New BU midwifery publication

NHS, open access, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

Congratulations to Laura Stedman in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) on the publication of a new paper in the international academic journal Midwifery.  This new paper ‘Then they’re not there. Women’s experiences following admission of their newborn to a neonatal intensive care unit‘ [1], has been co-authored with two fellow midwives: Associate Prof. Catherine Angell and Prof. Vanora Hundley.

The paper reports an online study into the experiences of UK women been diagnosed with Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) whose baby was admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at or shortly after birth. The qualitative analysis identified two themes: ‘experience’ and ‘understanding’; the former had five sun-themes and the latter was based on three sub-themes. A lack of understanding and knowledge was identified, with calls for enhanced education and joint decision making. Women recalled feelings of grief, isolation and stress as a result of the admission. For many, this experience was traumatic with lasting effects. For babies born at term, feelings of surprise and separation were paramount, in contrast to those born pre-term.  The authors concluded that there is need for more education and improved material to support for those facing this outcome. Future research should also focus on reducing the incidence of admission to NICU for women who have received a diagnosis of GDM.

Well done!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Reference:
  1. Stedman, L., Angell, C., Hundley, V. (2025) Then they’re not there. Women’s experiences following admission of their newborn to a neonatal intensive care unit, Midwifery [online first]

Events to celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2025

PG research

National Postdoc Appreciation Week is just around the corner, taking place 15-19 September 2025

UK National Postdoc Appreciation Week (UKNPAW) is an annual nationwide event celebrating the vital contributions postdocs make to research and academic life.

This year, from Monday 15 September to Friday 19 September 2025, events will take place to connect and support researchers. To celebrate, you can attend a special online flagship event: “From surviving to thriving: planning your future” designed to help you take control of your career path. Join to explore self-leadership and hear from those who have successfully navigated their own professional journeys.

The event will feature a screening of “Postdoc: The Musical,” an entertaining musical celebrating the lives and achievements of postdocs. Following the film, Dr Chris Russell will deliver a masterclass on resilience and self-leadership in an uncertain world. The event will conclude with a discussion featuring a diverse panel of academics who will share their career journeys and offer tips on navigating professional uncertainties.

Event Details:

  • Date: Monday 15 September 2025
  • Time: 10:30am – 12:30pm
  • Register here

For more information and to catch up on past events, visit the UKNPAW website