BU Research Blog

January 12, 2023

It is all about experience

BU research, Delicious links, Featured academics, international, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, Publishing, research methods, student research, Uncategorized, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week we published a paper on the experience of conducting fieldwork in the public health field in the Journal of Health Promotion. [1] Fieldwork is usually a crucial part of PhD research, not only in the health field. However, few researchers write about this, often challenging, process. This paper highlights various occasions where fieldwork in the area of public health, health promotion or community health was more difficult than expected or did not go as planned. Our reflections on working in the field are aimed at less experienced researchers to support them in their research development. Moreover, this paper is also calling upon health researchers to share more details about the process of doing fieldwork and its trials and tribulations. Our key advice is to be inquisitive and open-minded around fieldwork, followed by: be prepared for your fieldwork, conduct a risk assessment of what might go wrong, and consider your resources and options to overcome such trials and tribulations. Fieldwork can be unpredictable. We believe it is important to share practical lessons from the field which helps other to better understand these tribulations, and learn from them. Finally, sharing such information may guide new researchers and help them identify strategies that can address those issues and challenges in their future studies.

Dr. Preeti Mahato (at Royal Holloway, University of London), Dr Bibha Simkhada and Prof. Padam Simkhada (both based at the University of Huddersfield) are all BU Visiting Faculty. Moreover, I have had the pleasure of acting as PhD supervisor for five of my co-authors. I have included in this blog what is probably my favourite fieldwork photo taken a decade ago by former BU PhD student Dr. Sheetal Sharma.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

References:

Mahato, P., Tamang, P., Simkhada, B., Wasti, S. P., Devkota, B., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Reflections on health promotion fieldwork in Nepal: Trials and tribulations. Journal of Health Promotion 10(1): 5–12. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v10i1.50978

January 10, 2023

Two new papers by Dr. Pramod Regmi

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, PG research, Postgraduate Research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Pramod Regmi on having two papers published in the latest issue of the Journal of Health Promotion which appeared online this week. The first paper reports on eight focus group discussions (FGDs) which explored: (a) perceptions of and motives toward social media re. sexual communication in educated unmarried young people in Nepal; and (b) their views of the link between social media and risky sexual behaviour. [1] These FDGs were audio recorded, transcribed and thematically analyzed. All FGD participants were students (age range 15-22) from Kathmandu. Five themes emerged from the thematic analysis: a) use of and motives for using social media; b) sex education in general; c) sexual information through social media; d) social media’s role in forming romantic and sexual relationships; and e) negative experience of social media.

The second paper ‘Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers’ is led by FHSS PhD student Yagya Adhikari. This paper focuses on Pramod’s other research interest of the health and well-being of Nepali migrant workers. [2] The journal Journal of Health Promotion is freely available online through Open Access. Pramod is Senior Lecturer in International Health as well as Global Engagement Lead in the Department of Nursing Sciences.

Well done!

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

References:

Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E.R., Silwal, R.C., Dhital, R. (2022) Role of social media for sexual communication and sexual behaviors: A focus group study among young people in Nepal. Journal of Health Promotion, 10(1):153–166.
Adhikari, Y.R., Regmi, P.R., Devkota, B., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers. Journal of Health Promotion, 10(1):1–4.

January 9, 2023

Nepal publication PhD student Yayga Adhikari

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, Postgraduate Research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulation to FHSS PhD student on the publication of his article ‘Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers’ [1]. Yagya’s Ph.D. research title is “Parental migration and its impact on health and well-being of left-behind adolescents in Nepal” and his research is supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. The Journal of Health Promotion is Open Access and hence freely available across the globe for anybody with internet access.

Reference:

Adhikari, Y.R., Regmi, P.R., Devkota, B., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers. Journal of Health Promotion, 10(1):1–4. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v10i1.50976

January 6, 2023

BU research mentioned in The Washington Post

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today The Washington Post mentioned Bournemouth University’s research into kidney disease in migrant workers from Nepal. Our research was highlighted in an article with the title ‘The world’s torrid future is etched in the crippled kidneys of Nepali workers‘ written by journalist Gerry Shih. Dr. Pramod Regmi and Dr. Nirmal Aryal, both in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, are leading on a research project on kidney health and migrant workers. The paper mentioned in The Washington Post is titled: ‘Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists’ [1]. This survey paper was published just over a year ago, in late 2021, and it was preceded by other papers on this issue [2-3].

Dr. Pramod Regmi is Senior Lecturer in International Health and, Dr. Nirmal Aryal recently returned to BU as researcher on a study into kidney disease among Nepalese migrant workers (funded by the Colt Foundation).

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References

Aryal, N., Sedhain, A., Regmi, P.R., KC, R.K.,& van Teijlingen, E. (2021). Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 12(12), 126–132.
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Faller, E.M,, van Teijlingen, E., Khoon, C.C., Pereira, A., Simkhada, P. (2019) Sudden cardiac death and kidney health related problems among Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 9(3): 755-758.
Simkhada, P.P., Regmi, PR., van Teijlingen, E., Aryal, N. (2017) Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health & well-being: A review of literature, Journal of Travel Medicine 24(4): 1-9.

January 3, 2023

First BU paper of 2023

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

The first paper in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHSS) for 2023 appeared online today. The open access journal NursingOpen (publisher Wiley) add our paper ‘Stakeholders’ perceptions of continuing professional development among Nepalese nurses: A focus group study’. [1] The lead author Dr Bibha Simkhada and co-author Prof. Padam Simkhada are both Visiting Faculty at Bournemouth University. The paper reports on a study into stakeholders’ perceptions of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in nursing in Nepal. It is worth noting that nurses (and midwives) in Nepal have to renew their nursing licence every six years with the Nepal Nursing Council. However, there are no requirements of having completed any CPD in this post-registration renewal process, or to show any evidence of on-the-job learning. This qualitative study generated three major themes: (a) policy level including the national situation of CPD, political influence and training guided by the policy; (b) organizational level incorporating perceptions towards forms of CPD, staff shortage, poor staff retention, seniority for training, financial constraints and lack of continuity of training; and (c) individual level including motivation for training and lack of relevant training. It is the third paper from work supported by FHSS QR funding [2-3]

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Cenre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

References:

Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen, ER., Panday, A., Sharma, S.C., Simkhada, P., Singh, D.R. (2023) Stakeholders’ perceptions of continuing professional development among Nepalese nurses: A focus group study, NursingOpen (online first https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1586)
Simkhada, B, Mackay, S, Khatri, R., Sharma, CK., Pokhrel, T, Marahatta, S, Angell, C, van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P (2016) Continual Professional Development (CPD): Improving Quality of Nursing Care in Nepal, Health Prospect 15 (3):1-3.
Khatri, R., van Teijlingen, E., Marahatta, S., Simkhada, P., Mackay, S., Simkhada, B. (2021) Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities for Continuing Professional Development of Nurses: A Qualitative Study with Senior Nurse Leaders in Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 7(1); 15–29.

January 1, 2023

Tourism, marketing and health in 2022

BRIAN, BU research, Featured academics, international, Publishing, Research news, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

In his overview of 2022 on LinkedIn Professor Dimitrios Buhalis reminded us that: “The Encyclopedia of Tourism Management and Marketing Marketing was finally published with 1250 entries contributed by 1500 academics from all over the world to produce 4 volumes and 3528 pages. This will work brought together the best thinking process and brains in tourism management to contribute to the rebuilding of the tourism industry, globally, and contribution to communities around the world.”

We are happy to have made a small contribution to this book. Professor Padam Simkhada (BU Visiting Faculty and Professor at the University of Huddersfield) and I contributed the chapter on trekking guides in Nepal and sexual health [1].

Have a happy and healthy 2023!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

Reference:

Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E. (2022) Sexual relationships and trekking guides. In: Encyclopedia of Tourism Management and Marketing, Buhalis, D. (ed.), Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, pages: 77-79.

December 28, 2022

Remember South-Asian migrant workers in the Middle East

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, Public engagement, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

The precarious situation of migrant workers engaged in building the football stadiums in Qatar has been well documented. It was brought to the fore during the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup. Their working conditions as well as their living conditions are often very poor. During the games the Qatar World Cup’s chief executive, Nasser al-Khater reportedly made the rather flippant comment: “Death is a natural part of life, whether it’s at work, whether it’s in your sleep.” Begum and Worden see this as part of Qatar’s shameful government attitude towards the often preventable deaths of migrant workers, which in their view is reflected in the authorities’ failure to investigate the thousands of migrant worker deaths since 2010. [1]

Today Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, and BU Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada published ‘Excessive Mortalities among Migrant Workers: the Case of the 2022 FIFA World Cup’ appeared in print [12]. At the time of submission to the Europasian Journal of Medical Science we wrote “The men’s FIFA Football World Cup 2022 is in full flow in Qatar” [2], but, of course, it has finished with a very exciting final between Argentina and France. Even with a fast review and acceptance process there was no chance that our ‘Brief Communication’ was going to be published during the World Cup. The delay, however, gives us the opportunity today to remind our readers of the need to keep the plight of migrant workers in the Middle East on the world’s agenda.

The FIFA World Cup brought these poor conditions and exploitation of foreign workers in the Middle East to the world’s attention. However, there is a great risk that the attention of the world, including that of campaigners, pressure groups, the media, politicians, and so on moves on to the next ‘hot’ topic. [3]

References:

Begum, R., Worden, M. (2022) Qatar and FIFA’s Callous Response to a Migrant Worker’s Death. Migrant Workers, Their Families Should be Compensated for Abuses, Human Rights Watch News, December 8, 2022 7:26PM EST
Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., Aryal, N., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Excessive mortalities among migrant workers: the case of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences, 4:31-32. https://doi.org/10.46405/ejms.v4i0.455
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P.R. (2022). Migrant Workers in Qatar: Not just an important topic during the FIFA World Cup 2022. Health Prospect, 21(3):1-2. https://doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v21i3.49835

December 20, 2022

Journals, editors and censorship

BU Challenges, COVID-19, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, Publishing, research integrity, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

On the day that The Sun took down an column in which Jeremy Clarkson spat vitriol at Meghan Markle, it seems odd to question what the role is of an editor in preventing material from being published. Especially since Ipso (the independent press standards organisation) received more complaints (17,500+) about the column published on Friday 16th December than the total it received in the whole of 2021. Not publishing an article is of course censorship. Many will be calling for the column to be withdrawn and questioning why the editor accepted it in the first place. Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of a book, article, film, blog, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

But what if you are not a Mr. Clarkson, but you are a conscientious academic, doing proper research and drafting an evidence-based paper and the editor of an academic journal refuses to publish your article, not because of academic quality, but because the “…manuscript is likely to create disharmony in society”. With the additional detail, that according to the “National Ethical Guidelines for Health Research in Nepal, 2022, section 3, article 2.2 and section 3, article 3.1, this manuscript can’t be accepted for publication.” We (Nirmal Aryal, Pramod Regmi, Shovita Dhakal Adhikari, Shreeman Sharma & Edwin van Teijlingen) had submitted a paper with the title ‘Moral panic, fear, stigma, and discrimination against returnee migrants and Muslim populations in Nepal: analyses of COVID-19 media content’ to a health journal. We don’t think the title of the journal is relevant at this stage.

In the first round of reviewing one of the reviewers questioned our focus on the Muslim population. In our resubmission we stressed that we focused on two separate population groups because the media in Nepal did. In other words, we had noticed discriminatory media coverage towards returnee migrants (particularly those from India) and Muslim populations living in Nepal. These are key populations which experienced stigmatising and ostracising behaviour and media coverage further instigated moral panic and fear. We also conducted interviews with returnee migrants, Muslims in Nepal and key stakeholders, including agencies working with these sub-populations, and these findings have already been published. [1] Image how we felt being censored or in other words ‘cancelled’.

Our paper addressed issues, explanations and allegations related to COVID-19 as portrayed in the media in Nepal, indeed some discriminatory and many very unfair. However, as researchers we were merely the ‘messenger of bad news’. If Mr. Clarkson had not been headline news we would probably have called this blog ‘Don’t shoot the messenger!”.

References:

Regmi, P.R., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, N., Wasti, S.P. and van Teijlingen, E., 2022. Fear, Stigma and Othering: The Impact of COVID-19 Rumours on Returnee Migrants and Muslim Populations of Nepal. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (15). Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9331294/

December 16, 2022

Fifty citations announced: Great timing

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, PG research, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week the network ResearchGate alerted us that our paper ‘Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: a review of the literature’ has been quoted fifty times. An interesting achievement, but not particularly special, where it not for the FIFA men’s football World Cup. With the final weekend starting tomorrow and the winner being decided on Sunday in the match between Argentina and France, the timing of this announcement is impeccable. Since the health and well-being of many Nepalese migrant workers is determined by their working and living conditions in the Middle East, including Qatar.

All four authors of this review published five years ago are associated with BU, Dr. Pramod Regmi is Senior Lecturer in International Health, Dr. Nirmal Aryal recently returned to BU as researcher on a study into kidney disease among Nepalese migrant workers (funded by the Colt Foundation), and Prof. Padam Simkhada from the University of Huddersfield, who is also Visiting Professor in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS). In addition, further research on Nepalese migrant workers is conducted in FHSS by BU PhD student Yagya Adhikari, whose thesis addresses the question of the forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepalese migrant workers.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

December 9, 2022

Migrant labour, the not so nice side of the FIFA World Cup

BU research, Featured academics, international, Publishing, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Football has been referred to as ‘the beautiful game’. And to be fair, there has been some brilliant football at the men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Qatar’s records on human rights have been widely criticised in the run up to this global event. The global media have spent a lot of time on commenting on several social and economic issues in Qatar, such as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights, the role and status of women, and the exploitation of migrant workers. Migrant workers from South Asia, including those from Nepal, have helped build the stadiums and roads leading up to it, provide the security at venues, take the suitcases of the conveyor belts at the airport, and serve fans and visitors food and drink at the venues. Many of these migrant workers are exploited not just by employers in Qatar, but also by labour agencies in their home countries. The risks are high, especially for those migrant workers who do the dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs (i.e. the 3Ds).

As researchers conducting research in the area of migration and health, we are worried that when the world cup finishes next weekend the world’s media will move on from Qatar and the attention will disappear from the exploitation of migrant workers in the Middle East (and elsewhere). We all know that the media’s focus will shift to on another global event, next week or next month. We want to make sure that spotlight stays on this global problem.

Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Nirmal Aryal & Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

November 29, 2022

Congratulations to BU PhD student Yagya Adhikari

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, PG research, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Yagya Adhikari, PhD student in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, who had his protocol for a systematic review published on PROSPERO last week with the title ‘Parental migration and its impact on the health and well-being of left behind adolescents in selected countries of Asia: a systematic review’. [1]

He also found out this week that his editorial, also based on his PhD research, entitled ‘Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers’ has been accepted by the Journal of Health Promotion. [2] This the official publication of the Health Education Association of Nepal (HEAN). Yagya’s PhdD is supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

References

Adhikari, Y., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Parental migration and its impact on the health and well-being of left behind adolescents in selected countries of Asia: a systematic review. PROSPERO CRD42022359139 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022359139
Adhikari, Y., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers, Journal of Health Promotion (forthcoming).

November 16, 2022

Remember the stadium builders

BU research, Events, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, PG research, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

With the men’s FIFA football world cup starting on Sunday in Qatar it important to remember the human costs of those who build the infrastructure. The media coverage on the number of workers dying during the building of the football stadiums has highlighted the plight of foreign workers in the Middle East more generally. For example, BU’s researcher Dr. Nirmal Aryal was cited in The Sunday Times in an article with the title ‘Qatar 2022: Dying for the World Cup”, see the BU Research Blog published this time last year.

Here at BU we have conducted several studies into Nepali migrant workers, including those working in Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East [1-13]. In the Middle East working conditions for foreign labourers are often Dirty, Dangerous and Difficult (commonly referred at as the 3Ds). Migrant workers often perform physically demanding work in a hot unprotected environment, suffer dehydration and/or exposure to chemical, excessive use of pain killers, and unhealthy lifestyle factors (such as restricted water intake and a high intake of alcohol/sugary drinks) which may precipitate them to acute kidney injuries and subsequent chronic kidney disease [1]. Dr. Regmi and colleagues in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences are currently conducting a study into the kidney health of Nepalese migrant workers. This study is funded by the Colt Foundation.

From our work, we can say that in addition to the 3Ds, migrant workers are likely to experience a series of other challenges ranging from language and other cultural barriers, socio-economic problems and issues to do with their legal status, to a lack of health and safety training, difficulties in gaining access
to health services. If you have limited injury compensation in your line of work, a work injury attorney can answer commonly asked questions like “can employer make employee pay for accident?”

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K., Martinez Faller, E., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2021). Kidney health risk of migrant workers: An issue we can no longer overlook. Health Prospect 21(1): 15-17.
Aryal, N., Sedhain, A., Regmi, P., KC, R. K., van Teijlingen, E. (2021). Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 12(12), 126–132.
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Trenoweth, S., Adhikary, P., Simkhada, P. (2020) The Impact of Spousal Migration on the Mental Health of Nepali Women: A Cross-Sectional Study, International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 17(4), 1292; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph1704129
Regmi, P., Aryal, N., van Teijlingen, E., Adhikary, P. (2020) Nepali migrant workers and the need for pre-departure training on mental health: a qualitative study, Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health 22, 973–981.
Adhikary, P. van Teijlingen, E. (2020) Support networks in the Middle East & Malaysia: A qualitative study of Nepali returnee migrants’ experiences, International Journal of Occupational Safety & Health (IJOSH), 9(2): 31-35.
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Faller, E.M,, van Teijlingen, E., Khoon, C.C., Pereira, A., Simkhada, P. (2019) ‘Sudden cardiac death and kidney health related problems among Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia’ Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 9(3): 755-758. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/25805
Adhikary P, van Teijlingen E., Keen S. (2019) Workplace accidents among Nepali male workers in the Middle East and Malaysia: A qualitative study, Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health 21(5): 1115–1122. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10903-018-0801-y
Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen, E.R., Gurung, M., Wasti, S. (2018) A survey of health problems of Nepalese female migrants workers in the Middle-East & Malaysia, BMC International Health & Human Rights 18(4): 1-7. http://rdcu.be/E3Ro
Adhikary P, Sheppard, Z., Keen S., van Teijlingen E. (2018) Health and well-being of Nepalese migrant workers abroad, International Journal of Migration, Health & Social Care 14(1): 96-105. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-12-2015-0052
Adhikary, P, Sheppard, Z., Keen, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Risky work: accidents among Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia, Qatar & Saudi Arabia, Health Prospect 16(2): 3-10.
Simkhada, P.P., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Aryal, N. (2017) Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: A review of the literature, Journal of Travel Medicine 24 (4): 1-9.
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P., Bhatta, Y.K.D., Mann, S. (2016) Injury and Mortality in Young Nepalese Migrant Workers: A Call for Public Health Action. Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health 28(8): 703-705.
Adhikary P, Keen S and van Teijlingen E (2011). Health Issues among Nepalese migrant workers in the Middle East. Health Science Journal.5 (3):169-i75 DOI: 2-s2.0-79960420128.

November 10, 2022

New paper on ‘writing a reflective paper’

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, Publishing, Research Centres, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Arnold working at RDS on the publication of the paper ‘Writing and publishing a reflective paper: Three case studies’ in the inaugural issue of Welhams Academic Journal which an Open Access journal [1]. All authors of this new paper are affiliated with the Centre For Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH). Both Dr. Rachel Arnold and Dr. Preeti Mahato used to work in CMMPH, and both are Visiting Faculty now. Jillian Ireland, Professional Midwifery Advocate at Poole Maternity Hospital, UHD (University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust) is also one of CMMPH’s Visiting Faculty.

This publication is the latest in a long series of outputs focusing on academic writing and publishing written by staff in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences [2-20].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Arnold, R., Ireland, J., Mahato, van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Writing and publishing a reflective paper: Three case studies, Welhams Acad J, 1(1): 4-11. [the whole journal is online, not just the individual paper: Welhans book.indd (angels.edu.np) ].
van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Sathian, B., Simkhada, P., Robinson, J., Banerjee, I. (2022). The Art of the Editorial. Nepal J Epidemiol 12(1):1135–38.
Wasti, S.P. Regmi, P.R., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2022) Writing a PhD Proposal, In: Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P.P., Hundely, V. & Shreeh, K. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 176-183.
Harvey, O., Taylor, A., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Struggling to reply to reviewers: Some advice for novice researchers. Health Prospect, 21(2):19-22.
Harvey, O., van Teijlingen, A., Regmi, P.R., Ireland, J., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Co-authors, colleagues, and contributors: Complexities in collaboration and sharing lessons on academic writing Health Prospect 21(1):1-3.
van Teijlingen, E.R., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, A., Aryal, N., Panday, S. (2021). Publishing, identifiers & metrics: Playing the numbers game. Health Prospect, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v20i1.37391
Adhikari, S. D., van Teijlingen, E. R., Regmi, P. R., Mahato, P., Simkhada, B., & Simkhada, P. P. (2020). The Presentation of Academic Self in The Digital Age: The Role of Electronic Databases. International J Soc Sci Management, 7(1), 38-41. https://doi.org/10.3126/ijssm.v7i1.27405
van Teijlingen, E, Hundley, V. (2002) Getting your paper to the right journal: a case study of an academic paper, J Advanced Nurs 37(6): 506-11.
Pitchforth, E, Porter M, Teijlingen van E, Keenan Forrest, K. (2005) Writing up & presenting qualitative research in family planning & reproductive health care, J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 31(2): 132-135.
van Teijlingen, E, Simkhada, PP, Rizyal A (2012) Submitting a paper to an academic peer-reviewed journal, where to start? (Guest Editorial) Health Renaissance 10(1): 1-4.
van Teijlingen, E, Simkhada. PP, Simkhada, B, Ireland J. (2012) The long & winding road to publication, Nepal J Epidemiol 2(4): 213-215 http://nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/7093/6388
Hundley, V, van Teijlingen, E, Simkhada, P (2013) Academic authorship: who, why and in what order? Health Renaissance 11(2):98-101 www.healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Download/vol-11-2/Page_99_101_Editorial.pdf
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, BD. (2013) Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference, Kathmandu Univ Med J 11(3): 262-65. http://www.kumj.com.np/issue/43/262-265.pdf
Simkhada P, van Teijlingen E, Hundley V. (2013) Writing an academic paper for publication, Health Renaissance 11(1):1-5. www.healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Pp_1_5_Guest_Editorial.pdf
van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Sathian, B. (2014) Finding the right title for your article: Advice for academic authors, Nepal J Epidemiol 4(1): 344-347.
van Teijlingen E., Hundley, V., Bick, D. (2014) Who should be an author on your academic paper? Midwifery 30: 385-386.
Hall, J., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E. (2015) The journal editor: friend or foe? Women & Birth 28(2): e26-e29.
Sathian, B., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Roy, B, Banerjee, I. (2016) Grant writing for innovative medical research: Time to rethink. Med Sci 4(3):332-33.
Pradhan, AK, van Teijlingen, ER. (2017) Predatory publishing: a great concern for authors, Med Sci 5(4): 43.
van Teijlingen, E (2004), Why I can’t get any academic writing done, Medical Sociol News 30(3): 62-63. britsoc.co.uk/media/26334/MSN_Nov_2004.pdf

October 24, 2022

New Public Health publication on Nepal

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Over the weekend the Journal of the Nepal Public Health Association published our latest paper on the federalisation and health in Nepal research project [1]. The paper addresses some of the key Public Health approaches around the ongoing federalisation of the state of Nepal and the associated decentralisation processes in its health system. The article outlines the main roles of the discipline of Public Health and the contribution it can make to the reform process. Then the next section introduces our on-going study into the effects of the establishment of the Federal Republic of Nepal on the organisation and running of the country’s health system. To capture the Public Health benefits of decentralisation, the process should not be only ‘top-down’, directed by policy elites. Although in theory Nepal’s health system has undergone a process of decentralisation, in practice policy and planning is often still being led by the Federal government, despite the clear roles and responsibilities of the three tiers of government in health service delivery. To improve policy and planning in the newly decentralised health system structure, there needs to be meaningful incorporation of the views of stakeholders at all levels (even the very lowest levels). Our project aims to play a part in addressing this by capturing a wide variety of experiences of the decentralisation process.

The interdisciplinary and international research team has published two earlier articles on this on-going study [2-3]. This week is Open Access week, so it is worth noting that all three paper are freely available through Open Access.

Edwin van Teijlingen

Sapkota, S., Panday, S., Wasti, S.P., Lee, A., Balen, J., van Teijlingen, E., Rushton, S., Subedi, M., Gautam, S., Karki., J., Adhikary, P., Marahatta, S., Simkhada, P., for the Nepal Federal Health System Team (2022) Health System Strengthening: The Role of Public Health in Federal Nepal, Journal of the Nepal Public Health Association 7(1):36-42.
Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Gautam, S., Ghimire, S., Karki, J., Lee, A.C.K., Marahatta, S.B., Panday, S., Pohl, G., Rushton, S., Sapkota, S., Simkhada, P.P., Subedi, M., van Teijlingen, E. for the Nepal Federal Health System team (2020) The COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Emerging evidence on the effectiveness of action by, and cooperation between, different levels of government in a federal system, Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences 3 (3): 1-11.
Rushton, S., Pandey, S., van Teijlingen, E., Subedi, M., Balen, J., Karki, J., Simkhada, P. on behalf of the Nepal Federal Health System Team (2021) An Investigation into the Impact of Decentralization on the Health System of Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 7(1): 3–14. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v7i1.43146

October 4, 2022

Erasmus+ students from Nepal arrived at BU

Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Last Thursday the seven Erasmus+ exchange students arrived in Bournemouth from Nepal. The exchange is between Bournemouth University (BU) and Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Kathmandu, Nepal. On Friday, their first full day a BU the Nepalese M.Sc. students received a Global Engagement Welcome from Cathryn Street, followed by an International Orientation by Caroline Earth from the Transitions Team. The students were welcomed to the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences by Dr. Angela Turner-Wilson who is Deputy Head of the Department of Medical Sciences & Public Health as well as the faculty’s Interim Associate Dean of Global Engagement. The two main contacts for the students at BU will be Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. This student exchange follows the visit of BU staff (Profs. Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen) to Kathmandu and MMIHS staff visiting BU in return this summer.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

September 28, 2022

Two little mishaps in a row

BU research, COVID-19, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, PG research, Postgraduate Research, Research Integritiy, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

All research has its costs, we spend a lot of time as academics planning for and budgeting our studies. This starts with considering how much time each academic spends on preparing the grant application and finished with cost of dissemination of findings after the data have been analysed. We do risk assessments the try to reduce risk and mitigate unforeseen circumstances. My last two trips to Nepal both suffered from such unexpected events.

In May I traveled to Nepal with Prof. Vanora Hundley from the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) as part of the ERASMUS+ exchange with Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) where we joined by Bournemouth University (BU) PhD student Sulochana Dhakal-Rai. Sulochana was in Nepal on the Turing Scheme, the UK government’s programme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world.

As part of this trip we had organised a one-day Systematic Review on Dementia Research Workshop on Sunday 29th May in at MMIHS in Kathmandu. This Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) funded workshop was highly successful, it attracted 75% more participants than budgeted for, namely 53 instead of 30. However, the extra cost this incurred in terms of workshop resources, refreshments and lunches was not a great issue compared to the fact that I had contracted COVID-19 a few days before the workshop and had tested positive on a PCR test two days before. Thanks to the hard work of our colleagues at MMIHS, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Green Tara Nepal, and especially, Prof. Vanora Hundley, the workshop run very well. I even managed to make a guest appearance online from my hotel room 200 meters away from the workshop venue, albeit on a poorer quality internet connection than I would have had half way across the globe (at BU or at home).

This positive COVID-19 test also meant I could not travel on the India in early June due to COVID-19 travel restriction for entering India. There I had planned to meet Dr. Shanti Shanker from BU’s Psychology Department as part of our GCRF-funded project ‘Promoting dementia research in Nepal and India’. Again due to the presence of well organised colleagues the India part of the trip ran smoothly. Dr. Gayatri Kotbagi, who has works for us through the charity Sheetale Astitva, and Dr. Shanti Shanker managed to run the internal trip very well without me.

In August I traveled to Nepal again with two BU academics: Dr. Shovita Dhakal Adhikari, Lecturer in Criminology, Department of Sociology & Social Work, Dr. Pramod Regmi, Senior Lecturer in International Health (Department of Nursing Sciences) and a colleague from the University of Exeter Dr. Emma Pitchforth. The main purpose of this visit was to run two sets of three-day Academic Writing Workshop in two cities in Nepal, namely Kathmandu and Pokhara. These workshops were funded by the British Academy and supported by Dr. Rashmee Rajkarnikar from the Central Department of Economics at Tribhuvan University, Nepal’s oldest and largest university, the charity Green Tara Nepal and Social Science Baha. This time the trip itself went very well, both workshop were very well attended, and even made it into a newspaper in Nepal: The Rising Nepal.

The trouble started after we had left Nepal. Dr. Pitchforth and I helped both fell ill some five to eight days after returning to the UK. We both had flu-type symptoms, including sore joints, night sweats, feeling tired, coughing, etc., although these were not exactly the same, my symptoms were perhaps a bit more like COVID-19. Which is why I did three COVID-19 tests in one week (all negative). It was not until the blood test came back from the NHS lab last week that my family doctor could tell me that I had dengue fever. Dengue fever is on the rise in Nepal. The national English-language paper The Himalayan Times reported yesterday (27th Sept. 2022) that dengue fever “has afflicted almost 26,000 people in Nepal” In July in the capital Kathmandu “…35 people had contracted the mosquito-borne disease. The number increased to 727 in August and 8,132 in September.”

I’m looking forward to my next trip to Nepal, as we have loads of on-going project. I have been going there for nearly twenty years, and having two incidents in two decades is not a lot, pity these came in the same year and on subsequent trips.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

September 25, 2022

The difference between two editorials

BU research, COVID-19, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday the editors of the Journal of Asian Midwives published published a short editorial in the latest issue of this international journal. The editorial under the title ‘JAM – Summer 2022: One crisis after another….. ‘ introduces the four peer-reviewed research papers in the current issue [1]. The editorial is focused neatly on aspects of midwifery and maternity care and the Asian countries represented in the four articles: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan. Compare this to our editorial published a few weeks ago in Frontiers in Public Health [2]. The latter editorial again introduces four papers, this time papers included in a Special Issue of Frontiers in Public Health which focuses on ‘Integrated health service delivery and COVID-19’. One would expect an editorial in a Special Issue of a journal to be particularly focused. However, the four included papers on integrated care and COVID-19 are quite different from each other, making it harder for the guest editors to write a coherent editorial.

It is worth remembering that there is an art in writing an interesting editorial which motivates the reader to read further articles in the journal, and Prof. Vanora and I with four other colleagues discussed recently [3]. At the same time, the editors writing any editorial can only work with the material available to them at the time.

All three papers mentioned in this Bournemouth University Research Blog (and listed below) are Open Access, and hence all are freely available to any reader across the globe with internet access!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

References:

Jan, R., van Teijlingen, E., Mubeen, K. (2022) JAM – Summer 2022: One crisis after another….. Journal of Asian Midwives 9(1):1.
Sathian B., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2022) Editorial: Integrated health service delivery and COVID-19. Frontiers in Public Health 10:1008777. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1008777.
van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Sathian, B., Simkhada, P., Robinson, J., Banerjee, I. (2022). The Art of the Editorial. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 12(1):1135–38.

August 24, 2022

Media coverage of BU workshops in Nepal

Awarded & submitted bids, Featured academics, international, Publishing, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Earlier this week the Chitwan Post Daily in southern Nepal reported on our Writing Workshops conducted in Pokhara and Kathmandu. The headline photo of this newspaper article focuses on the keynote speech delivered by Prof Dr Prem Narayan Aryal, Vice Chancellor of Pokhara University. He highlighted many key issues around gender and development in Nepal and the importance of academic writing and publishing. This British Academy funded series of BU workshops is is led by Dr. Shovita Dhakal Adhikari (Dept of Sociology & Social Work), Dr. Pramod Regmi (Department of Nursing Sciences) and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences), Dr. Emma Pitchforth from the University of Exeter UK, and Dr. Rashmee Rajkarnikar from the Central Department of Economics at Tribhuvan University (Nepal’s oldest and largest university) with the support of local partners in Nepal, namely Social Science Baha and Green Tara Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

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