BU Research Blog

Research from Bournemouth University was showcased at the Global Women`s (GLOW) conference organised by University of Manchester on 24th November 2016. The GLOW annual conference is designed to provide a platform for academics, policy makers and researchers involved in international maternal, child and reproductive health to share their experiences, build collaborations and inspire upcoming researchers to make a difference.

Under the theme `innovations to accelerate saving lives at birth` researchers were given the opportunity to share their ideas and novelties on improving newborn, child and maternal health. A key message echoed by speakers at the conference was on improving quality of maternity services at health facilities with a call to ensure interventions translate into saving lives along the continuum of care.

PhD student, Alice Ladur presented a poster In mama` shoes. Using board games with men to influence uptake of skilled birth attendants in Uganda. This research is about using educational board games as a means to engage with men to address barriers that hinder pregnant women from accessing skilled care at birth a key factor contributing to high maternal deaths in low income countries. Alice`s PhD project is supervised by Dr Zoe Sheppard and Professor Vanora Hundley.

Key highlights for me from the GLOW conference was receiving feedback on the game that will be tested next year in Uganda and a call for excellence as articulately stated by one of the keynote speakers ` let us all do our part in saving lives at birth and do it well`. It is possible to improve health outcomes for pregnant mothers and babies in resource constrained settings.

If you are interested in finding out more about this research, please contact me at aladur@bournemouth.ac.uk