BU Research Blog

Most grant awarding bodies expect a well thought through communications and dissemination plan.  As Research Culture Champion in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) I thought it might be useful to outline some of the kind of dissemination processes we have employed in the past.  Sometimes funding agencies’ requests for a communications and dissemination plan are framed in terms of knowledge transfer and engagement with end users. In a typical research communication plans, apart from excellent scientific publications, we outline our experience of publishing research finding in practitioners journals, online sites, and pressure groups.  Depending on the research topic, population and country we may include the production of a short research summary in lay language [see picture Research Brief Migration & Health Jan 2019] and/or organising a dissemination meeting to national stakeholders. In addition we may highlight our experience in writing press releases and some of the subsequent media interest/coverage we have generated.

When writing articles for practitioners’ journals remember: First, do not to publish in practitioners’ journals before your scientific papers in academic journals, as some high-quality journals will not accept papers with findings that have been published/publicized elsewhere.  Secondly, aim your paper at the target professional audience and stress the practical implications of your work.  For example, BU Visiting Faculty Dr. Emma Pitchforth  and I wrote an article from our NIHR-funded study on the role and place of community hospitals in the NHS in HRJ, a professional journal for health service managers [1], this had a very different slant than papers our team in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) we has written for, for example, practical midwifery journals [2-8]. Of course, articles in practitioners’ journals don’t have to be published in English [9-11].

Apart from practitioners’ journals there is growing array of online sites interesting in publishing research findings to a wider audience.  The first one that comes to mind is The Conversation; for example, some CMWH contributions on aspects of midwifery and maternity care [12-13], the latter article on Nepal was duplicated in several Indian online newspapers [14-16].  There are plenty of other online outlets available, such as research institutions’ websites [17-19], as well as websites of pressure groups.  When writing press releases it is useful to put the actual press release online, for example one on NIHR-funded drowning prevention project in Bangladesh, or write a blog about the press event, for example one in Nepal, all this adds to your overall dissemination plan (and profile).

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

References:

1. Pitchforth, E., van Teijlingen, E., Nolte, E. (2017) Community hospitals: a traditional solution to help today’s NHS? HSJ (11 July)  hsj.co.uk/community-services/community-hospitals-a-traditional-solution-to-help-todays-nhs/7020019.article#/scientific-summary
2. Way, S, Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E, et al. (2016) Dr Know. Midwives 19: 66-7.
3. Ireland, J., van Teijlingen, E. (2013) Normal birth: social-medical model, The Practising Midwife 16(11): 17-20.
4. van Teijlingen E., Ireland, J.C. (2014) Community midwives on the go. Midwives 1: 54-55.
5. Hundley, V., Duff, E., Dewberry, J., Luce, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2014) Fear in childbirth: are the media responsible? MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 24(4): 444-447.
6. van Teijlingen E., Pitchforth, E (2011) One-stop shop, Midwives (The official magazine of the Royal College of Midwives) issue 1: 30-32.
7. Pitchforth, E, van Teijlingen E, Ireland, J. (2007) Focusing the group, RCM Midwives Journal 10(2): 78-80.
8. Eboh, W., Pitchforth, E., van Teijlingen E (2007) Lost words: research via translation, RCM Midwives Journal 10(8): 374-377.
9. van Teijlingen, E., De Vries, R., Luce, A., Hundley, V. (2017) Meer bemoeien met media (In Dutch: more engagement with media). Tijdschrift voor Verloskundigen (in Dutch: J. for Midwives), 41 (6):28-29.
10. Grylka-Baeschlin, S., van Teijlingen, E., Gross, M.M. (2017) Postpartale Lebensqualität beurteilen (in German: Assessing postnatal well-being), ch (April): 20-23.
11. Nieuwenhuijze, M., van Teijlingen, E., Mackenzie-Bryers, H. (2019) In risiko’s denken is niet zonder risiko (In Dutch: Thinking in terms of risk, it not with its risk). Tijdschrift voor Verloskundigen (in Dutch: Journal for Midwives), 43 (4): 6-9.
12. Hundley, V., van Teijlingen E (2017) Why UK midwives stopped the campaign for ‘normal birth’, The Conversation [31 Aug.] https://theconversation.com/why-uk-midwives-stopped-the-campaign-for-normal-birth-82779 Re-printed in UK newspaper The Independent   http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/why-uk-midwives-stopped-the-campaign-for-normal-birth-a7925496.html
13. Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen E (2018) Why suicide rates among pregnant women in Nepal are rising , The Conversation [8 Mar.] https://theconversation.com/why-suicide-rates-among-pregnant-women-in-nepal-are-rising-86252
14. Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen E (2018) ‘A project is training midwives in Nepal to stem rising suicides of pregnant women’ Scroll.in
15. Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen E (2018) Why Suicide Rates Among Pregnant Women in Nepal Are on the Rise The Wire 
16. Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen E (2018) Why suicide rates among pregnant women in Nepal are rising MedicalXpress (18 March) .
17. Pitchforth E., van Teijlingen E, Nolte E. (2017) Community Hospitals: Traditional Solution to Help Today’s NHS? RAND website https://www.rand.org/blog/2017/07/community-hospitals-a-traditional-solution-to-help.html
18. Sheppard Z, Hundley V, van Teijlingen E, Thompson P. (2014) Collaborative ‘science of science’ needed to ensure research & education make a difference to practice. LSE Impact Blog http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/12/15/the-impact-agenda-in-healthcare/
19. van Teijlingen E, Simkhada P (2016) Publishing in journals of the NepJOL family. INASP website http://blog.inasp.info/publishing-journals-nepjol-family/
20. Tamang, P., Mahato, P., van Teijlingen E, Simkhada, P. (2020) Pregnancy & COVID-19: Lessons so far, Healthy Newborn Network [14 April] healthynewbornnetwork.org/blog/pregnancy-and-covid-19-lessons-so-far/
21. van Teijlingen, E. (1992) ‘The Organisation of Maternity Care in the Netherlands’, The Association for Community-based Maternity Care Newsletter, No.5:2-4.