Category / REF Subjects

Professionals’ Event – Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls

Please feel free to book on or share with your networks.

Professionals Conference in Support of the 16 Days of Activism to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls

Wednesday 2 December  •  12:30 PM – 5 PM

Overview

An event for all who work, research or support people in the field of Violence Against Women and Girls

Bournemouth University and BCP Council are collaborating to support the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a global campaign dedicated to raising awareness and driving action to end violence against women and girls.

Join us for an important (free) afternoon of learning, reflection and action as professionals, academics, practitioners, charities, NGOs and community partners come together to address the ongoing challenge of violence against women and girls.

This event provides a valuable opportunity for those from the criminal justice, social care, health, education and charity sectors to engage in critical discussion, build collaborative networks, and contribute to meaningful change in tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.

The event will be opened by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Dorset, Michael Dooley. Highlights include a keynote address from Kate Beesley, breakout sessions exploring topics such as lived experience through collaborative textile art, the growing threat of AI and deepfakes, international perspectives on gender-based violence, police perpetrated domestic abuse and early intervention for better societal outcomes. The afternoon also features a presentation from Dr Jade Levell culminating in a multidisciplinary panel discussion on Child Sexual Exploitation.

Keynote Speakers

Kate Beesley, a survivor of domestic abuse, has transformed her personal journey into a meaningful mission aimed at fostering change and enhancing outcomes for women and girls worldwide. Kate has undergone extensive training in trauma and the pivotal issues surrounding violence against women and girls.

Dr Jade Levell has spent her whole career working to end violence. In recent years this has been through the academic exploration of masculinity, vulnerability, and violence.

More information and to book on: Professionals’ Conference: Violence Against Women and Girls Tickets, Wednesday 2 December  •  12:30 PM – 5 PM | Eventbrite

Verbal autopsy paper published two days ago

Over the weekend the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology published our latest article on the health and well-being of migrant workers in Nepal, under the title Investigating the unresolved causes of sudden cardiac deaths among Nepalese labour migrants in Malaysia: A verbal autopsy study.  The lead author, Dr. Pramod Regmi, is Principal Academic-International Health in BU’s Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Science.  His international co-authors are former BU academic Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Green Tara Nepal’s researcher Mr. Sankalpa Bhattarai, Prof. Erwin Faller who is Academic Director of Holy Child Central Colleges in the Philippines, Mr. Adrian Pereira and Mr. Bed Kuma Khatiwada from the North South Initiative (NSI) based in Malaysia, as well as BU’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.  HEMS academics have been collaborating for a long time with Green Tara Nepal and NSI, both are non-governmental organisations working for marginalised groups.

The paper explored (a) the circumstances surrounding unexplained deaths of Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia and (b) potential contributing factors.  Following public and patient involvement and engagement (PPIE) activities with key stakeholders and Nepalese migrant communities in Malaysia, we conducted a verbal autopsy study of 57 friends, roommates, and relatives of 40 Nepalese nationals who had died unexpectedly in Malaysia.

Since the overwehelming majority of Nepalese labour migrants is male, it was not surprising that most of the deceased were men (92.5%, n=37), with a mean age of 34.5 years (SD 8.3) and a mean duration of employment in Malaysia of 5.9 years (SD 4.4). Only 40.0% (n=16) reportedly received a regular weekly rest day, while 80.0% (n=32) worked more than 8 hours per day. Among those who consumed alcohol (n=33), one-third (33.3%, n=11) drank daily. More than half of the deceased (55.0%, n=22) had at least one pre-existing health condition, most commonly hypertension (32.5%, n=13), followed by diabetes (7.5%, n=3).  The authors conclude that circumstances surrounding sudden deaths among Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia suggest a potential contribution from cardiovascular risk factors, lifestyle behaviours, and adverse working conditions. Reducing this burden will require targeted health-promotion interventions, improved prevention and management of cardiovascular risk factors, stronger occupational health protections, and measures to prevent the production and consumption of counterfeit alcohol.

The Nepal Journal of Epidemiology is an Open Access journal hence the paper will be freely available to anybody interested in the health and well-being of migrnat workers.   

Reference

  1. Regmi, P.R., Aryal, N., Bhattarai, S., Faller, E.M., Pereira, A., Khatiwada, B.K., van Teijlingen, E. (2026). Investigating the unresolved causes of sudden cardiac deaths among Nepalese labour migrants in Malaysia: A verbal autopsy study. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 16(3), 1534-1547. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v16i3.99396 16(3), 1534-1547. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v16i3.99396

SONAMONI contributions to Safety Conference 2026 in South Africa

In the first week of September colleagues working on our SONAMONI project presented preliminary results at the Safety Conference 2026 in Cape Town, the Republic of South Africa.   In total, six abstracts from the Sonamoni Project had been accepted.  The first paper presented by BU PhD student Md. Shafkat Hossain was highlighted in a previous BU Research Blog (see here!).

Our Bangladesh-based collaborators, CIPRB (Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh) presented papers with the following sunmmaries:

  • Understanding mothers’ caregiving routines is essential to develop appropriate interventions; however, traditional local practice restricts opportunities for women to participate in the HCD process. Therefore, a study was conducted to explore ways to overcome these restrictions to ensure gender representation during the development and implementation of drowning prevention interventions in rural Bangladesh.
  • The objective of the second abstract was to explore community perceptions and their prioritization of the proposed drowning prevention solutions.
  • The objective of the third abstract was to explore the use of different visual tools that assisted the researchers, designers, and the community to develop more acceptable and sustainable drowning prevention interventions in rural Bangladesh.
  • The objective of the fourth study was to identify the association between household income, caregiving investment, child supervision, childcare-related expenses, and exposure to drowning risk among children under 2 years in Bangladesh.

The presenters’ names were: Notan Chandra Dutta, Research Manager; Shibat Mirza Rowshan, HCD Specialist; Mahbub Hasan, Research Officer (Health Economics).

Furthermore, our collaborator Dr. Becky Sindall, Senior International Advocacy Manager at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in Poole contributed to a session on ‘Drowning Prevention and Water Safety Policy’.

SONAMONI is jointly coordinated by Bournemouth University (BU) and CIPRB), working with the University of the West of England, Bristol, the University of Southampton, Design Without Borders (DWB) in Uganda, and the RNLI. We are working to reduce drownings among newly-mobile children, generally those under two years old. This £1.6m project has been made possible thanks to a grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through their Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Science

 

REF adds ‘midwifery’ to Unit of Assessment 3 name

Late last week, after years of being lobbied, the Research Excellence Framework (REF) has renamed its sub-panel 2 to ensure midwifery is explicitly recognised within its assessment structure ahead of REF 2029.  Sub-panel 3, previously titled “Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing & Pharmacy”, will now be known as “Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Midwifery, Nursing & Pharmacy”.   Bournemouth University is represented on this prestigious sub-panel by Prof. Vanora Hundely for the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health.

Three CMWH presentations at Berlin conference

Two Ph.D. students and one member of staff from Bournemouth University’s Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)  presented their work at the 25th International Normal Labour and Birth Research Conference held in mid-September 2026 in Berlin.  Ph.D. student and CMWH midwifery lecturer Kate Burgess presented her poster ‘Sustaining Maternity Care: Intrapartum Leadership, Teamwork and Workforce Wellbeing’.  This poster shared her on-going literature review on how leadership and teamwork influence midwives’ courage and capacity to provide personalised care during labour. 

Whilst Joanne Rack presented work from her clinical doctorate ‘Beyond the Risk Label: Communication, Autonomy and Care for Women of Advanced Maternal Age’.   Joanne’s Ph.D. research (the ParentAge Study) started from an important observation: births to women aged 40+ are at record levels in the UK, these women consistently experience increased morbidity and yet report limited risk discussions, unmet information needs, and anxiety-provoking encounters with maternity services. This, combined with the last three MBRRACE reports, that have repeatedly identified this as a discrete and growing population at increased risk of poorer mortality outcomes.

Furthermore, CMWH academic Dr. Dominique Mylod presented ‘The Early Labour App as a Digital Solution: Ten Lessons Learned’ based on midwifery research conducted with Prof. Vanora Hundley.  The Early Labour App is in development as an innovative digital tool which combines evidence-based strategies to support families in preparing for early phase labour. It includes a dedicated website, an educational video to promote birth ball use and a Slow and Deep Breathing visual graphic. The project has been underpinned by co-creation since its inception, involving women, birth partners and midwives, with the recognition that current service users are the first digital natives. This collaboration has validated the app concept and informed the content, structure and design of the app.

 

Well done!

Prof.Edwin van Teijlingen

 

New interdisciplinary paper on Nepal

Congratulations to Dr. Pramod Regmi on yesterday’s publication of ‘Strengthening evidence on migrant workers’ health in Nepal’ in the international scientific journal Discover Public Health [1].  Co-authors on this paper include Bournemouth University’s (BU) Ph.D. student Anjana Paudyal and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (in CMWH), former BU member of staff Dr. Nirmal Aryal, and BU’s Visiting Faculty Prof.Padam Simkhada (based at the University of Chester) as well as our North American collaborator in the ENSURE project, Dr. Heath Prince.

Further congratulations are due to Dr. Regmi who was also accepted as by the UKGCE as recognised research supervisor!

Labour migration is a vital economic driver for Nepal, yet it poses significant health risks to migrant workers, with many suffering from chronic illnesses and high mortality rates abroad. This paper emphasizes the need for a systematic approach to utilize existing health data from pre-departure screenings and returnee assessments, advocating for an integrated electronic health database to inform targeted health interventions and improve the overall well-being of Nepalese migrant workers.

 

Reference:

  1. Regmi, P., Pant, P.R., Faller, E.M., Paudyal, A.R., Aryal, N., Paudyal, P., Simkhada, P., Prince, H.J., van Teijlingen, E. (2026) Strengthening evidence on migrant workers’ health in Nepal. Discover Public Health 23, 1495. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-026-02877-z

New BU Social Work paper published this week

Congratulations to Dr. Louise Oliver and Orlanda Harvey on yesterday’s publication of ‘A Picture of Christian Grey: Using Narrative Analysis to Explore How Coercive Controlling Behaviors in Intimate Relationships Can Be Romanticized Within Fiction’ in the academic journal Humanities [1]. Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse (IPVA) is a public health phenomenon due to its prevalence and impact across the world.

The authors examine how coercive and controlling behaviors within intimate relationships are obfuscated, in other words, thrown into the shadows, romanticized, and normalized within romantic fiction, further adding to this global issue. Fifty Shades (novel series) - Wikipedia The “Fifty Shades of Grey” series is interpreted through the use of narrative analysis and the framework of Craven’s “Dominator” model. This illustrates how the distinct perpetrator personas, the Headworker, the Persuader, the King of the Castle, the Jailer, the Liar, the Bully, and the Sexual Controller, are present in the actions of the male protagonist throughout the series of books. This paper identifies how these books portray such behaviors that are used to coerce and control as desirable expressions of protection, masculinity, desire, and love. This paper, therefore, suggests that such texts contribute to the normalization of abusive relationships, embedding them within the cultural ideals of romantic love and, therefore, sustaining abusive relationships.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

 

Reference:

  1. Oliver, L., & Harvey, O. (2026). A Picture of Christian Grey: Using Narrative Analysis to Explore How Coercive Controlling Behaviors in Intimate Relationships Can Be Romanticized Within Fiction, Humanities 15(10): 141. https://doi.org/10.3390/h15100141

ESRC SWDTP – PhD Studentships | September 2027

Bournemouth University is delighted to be part of the Southwest Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP), one of the UK’s largest centres of postgraduate research training for social scientists, including in the fields of Health, Wellbeing & Society, Psychology, Climate Change & Sustainability.

Since the outset of the partnership, Bournemouth University has been successful in securing awarded 7 PhD studentships and 1 Post Doc Research Fellow.

The call for PhD Studentships starting in September 2027 will shortly be live. 

Applicants may apply for an ESRC studentship at Bournemouth University in one of the following pathways:

Studentships cover tuition fees and provide a maintenance stipend for living costs and other additional forms of support and are normally for 3 years 3 months plus 3 months “Research in Practice” (placement). Part-time studentships will be offered pro rata to their full-time equivalent.

Applicants should contact potential supervisors (see SWDTP Supervisor Database) and submit an applications via myHUB, together with the relevant supporting information:

  • SWDTP Studentship Application Form 2026 Entry (Annex A) (docx 224kb) which includes the research proposal, the name(s) of the potential supervisors
  • Supervisor Supporting Statement Form for 2026 Entry (Annex B) (docx 183kb) which must be completed by the nominated primary supervisor
  • One reference from someone familiar with the applicant’s academic work
  • Verified transcript of the applicant’s highest qualification to date or an interim transcript if they are still studying
  • If the applicant is not a national of a majority English-speaking country, they will need to submit evidence of their proficiency in English.

To find out more, please join us for an online information session:

Wednesday 30 September | 12-00 – 13:00 | Online – Microsoft Teams.

To join the meeting, please use the details below:

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/374940735497135?p=s0pVsPBYXBLN9168pY

Meeting ID: 374 940 735 497 135

Passcode: Zj2sY3QP

 

Journal of Advanced Nursing 50 years of publishing

I would like to thank my colleague Dr. Leslie Gellingm, Associate Professor of Nursing in the Faculty f Health, Environment and Medical Science (HEMS) for reminding my on LinkedIn that one the leading global nursing journals, the Journal of Advanced Nursing is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Over the past five decades the Journal of Advanced Nursing has published nearly 14 thousand papers.  According to SCOPUS our 2008 paper ‘Factors affecting the utilization of antenatal care in developing countries: systematic review of the literature‘ [1] is still in the top 30 most cited papers of the journal.  With 661 citations it is the 30th most quoted paper out of 13,585!  It is also the most cited paper on SCOPUS for all four co-authors, two of whom, Dr. Bibha Simkhada (University of Huddersfield) and Prof. Padam Simkhada (University of Chester) are BU Visiting Faculty in HEMS .

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Reference:

  1. Simkhada B, van Teijlingen ER, Porter M, Simkhada P. (2008) Factors affecting the utilization of antenatal care in developing countries: systematic review of the literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing,  61(3):244-60. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04532.x. PMID: 18197860.

 

NIHR Insight South West Central Conference 2026 at Bournemouth University

Today Bournemouth University (BU)  is hosting the annual NIHR-funded Insight South West Central Conference.  The event bring together current students, prospective students and past students on the Insight programme from both BU and the Bristol-based UWE (University of the West of England).

The opening two key note speakers were BU’s Professor of Social Care Lee-Ann Fenge and Helen Lewis-White, Deputy Director of Research and Innovation at North Bristol NHS Trust and a Health and Care Research Director (NMAHP) for the NIHR Southwest Central Research Delivery Network.  The conference includes invited speakers, research speed-dating sessions as well as students’ presentations (both oral and posters).

BU PhD student presented at World Safety Conference in South Africa

PhD student Mr. Md. Shafkat Hussain was invited to present at the World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety in South Africa at the beginning of September.  Shafkat based in the Faculty of Health, Environemnt & Medical Science (HEMS) is conducting hs PhD on the use of human-centred design in drowing prevention interventions and programmes aimed at children under the age of two, which is part of our NIHR-funded Sonamoni project.

The SONAMONI Project is a large interdisciplinary research project co-ordinated by Bournemouth University (BU) and CIPRB (Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh) to help reduce drowning in young children (under the age of two) in rural Bangladesh.  The SONAMONI project is a collaboration between BU, CIPRB, the University of the West of England, the University of Southampton, the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) and Design Without Borders (Uganda).

This £1.6m project has been made possible thanks to a UK grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through its Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme. This exciting four-year project will run until February 2027.

BU Research blog in 2023 grows into 2026 publication

What started as a BU Research Blog in September 2023 became a properly published paper last week when the Nepal Journal of Public Health published our paper ‘The Final Hurdle: Proofreading your Academic Paper’ [1].  This paper started life as short BU Research Blog with the title ‘Proofreading your article accepted for publication’.  After sharing further experiences about proofreading mishaps the four authors decided to write a paper which is both a reminder to all academics, and piece of advice to perhaps more junior authors.

This paper is the latest in a long line of publications by the authors in the field of health and social care on different aspects of academic writing and publishing.  Earlier articles covered, for example, the writing process, the role of the editor, advice of constructing titles, plagiarism, and many more [2-40].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

 

References:

  1. Harvey, O., Arnold, R., Ireland, J., van Teijlingen, E. (2026). The Final Hurdle: Proofreading your Academic Paper. Nepal Journal of Public Health, 3(1), 58–62. https://doi.org/10.70280/njph(2026)v3i1.65
  2. van Teijlingen E (2004), Why I can’t get any academic writing done, Medical Sociology News 30(3): 62-63. britsoc.co.uk/media/26334/MSN_Nov_2004.pdf
  3. Pitchforth, E, Porter, M, van Teijlingen, ER, Forrest Keenan K. (2005) Writing up and presenting qualitative research in family planning & reproductive health care, Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care 31(2): 132-35. http://jfprhc.bmj.com/content/31/2/132.full.pdf+html
  4. van Teijlingen E. (2008) RAE pulls academics away from applied multidisciplinary health promotion research International Journal of Health Promotion & Education 46: 116.
  5. van Teijlingen E, Ryan, K., Alexander, J., Marchant, S. (2011) The Research Excellence Framework (REF): new developments to assess research in higher education institutions and its impact on society. MIDIRS 21(3): 298-301.
  6. Hartwell, H., van Teijlingen, E., Parker, J. (2013) Nutrition; Effects of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) Nutrition & Food Science 43(1): 74-77.
  7. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, BD. (2013) Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference, Kathmandu University Medical Journal 11(3): 262-65. http://www.kumj.com.np/issue/43/262-265.pdf
  8. van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Sathian, B. (2014) Finding the right title for your article: Advice for academic authors, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 4(1): 344-347. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/10138/8265
  9. van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Bick, D. (2014) Who should be an author on your academic paper? Midwifery 30: 385-386.
  10. Hall, J., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E. (2015) The journal editor: friend or foe? Women & Birth 28(2): e26-e29.
  11. van Teijlingen E, Simkhada P (2016) Publishing in journals of the NepJOL family. INASP website http://blog.inasp.info/publishing-journals-nepjol-family/
  12. Pradhan, A.K., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2017) Predatory publishing: a great concern for authors, Medical Science 5(4): 43.
  13. 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
  14. Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P.P., Hundley, V. with Shreesh, K. (Eds.) (2022) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books [ISBN: 9789937117609]
  15. Arnold, R., Ireland, J., Mahato, P.,
  16. (2022) Writing and publishing a reflective paper: Three case studies, Welhams Academic Journal 1(1): 4-11. https://college.angels.edu.np/images/Academic_Jornal/Welhams_Academic_Journal_Vol-1.pdf
  17. van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P.P., Wasti, S.P. (2022) Introduction, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 1-4.
  18. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Swoveet, P. (2022) Writing an Academic Paper, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 6-14.
  19. Hundley, V., Luce, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Collaborative Writing for Publication, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 15-19.
  20. van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Shanker, S. (2022) Selecting an Appropriate Journal and Submitting your Paper, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 20-31.
  21. van Teijlingen, E., Thapa, D., Marahatta, S.B., Sapkota, J.L., Regmi, P. Sathian, B. (2022) Editors and Reviewers: Roles and Responsibilities, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 32-37.
  22. van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Hundley, V, Dhakal Rai, S., Simkhada, P., Sathian, B. (2022) Identifying an appropriate Title, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 39-47.
  23. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, B, Acharya D.R. (2022) Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 48-56.
  24. Subedi, M., van Teijlingen, E., Baniya J., Sijapati, B. (2022) Writing the Introduction and Background, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 57-67.
  25. van Teijlingen, E., Pitchforth, E., Keenan Forrest, K., Mahato, P. (2022) Writing a Qualitative Paper, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 88-97.
  26. Wasti, S.P, Devkota, B., Bhatta, D.N., Pitchforth, E., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Writing the Introduction and Background, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 112-120.
  27. Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2022) Writing up the Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 121-129
  28. Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Simkhada, B., Subedi, M., van Teijlingen, E., Wasti, S.P., Hundley, V, Khatri, R. (2022) Being Ethical in Writing and Publishing, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 153-161.
  29. van Teijlingen, E., Venter, K. (2022) Writing a Book Review, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 162-167.
  30. Devkota, B., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V, Wasti, S.P. (2022) Writing a Research Proposal, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 168-175.
  31. Wasti, S.P. Regmi, P.R., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2022) Writing a PhD Proposal, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 176-183.
  32. Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Converting your Master’s or Doctoral Thesis into an Academic Paper for Publication, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 184-189.
  33. van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Acharya, J., Silwal, R.C., Wasti, S.P. (2022) Academic Writing: Final Thoughts, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 201-20
  34. 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. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/HPROSPECT/article/view/39320/31432
  35. 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. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v12i1.43104
  36. 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.
  37. Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2024) ChatGPT: Challenges to editors and examiners. Health Prospect, 23(1): 21–24. https://doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v23i1.60819
  38. van Teijlingen, E., Subedi, M., Parker, S., Khattri, M.B. (2024) The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Academic Writing and Publishing Papers, Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology & Anthropology, 18(2): 1-4. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/DSAJ/article/view/73358
  39. van Teijlingen, E., Balen, J., Regmi, P., Rushton, S., Simkhada, P., Aryal, N. (2025). Bridging Research and Policy: Practical Tips for Writing Policy Briefs. Journal of Health Promotion, 13(1): 89–96. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v13i1.87170
  40. Pandey, R., Khattri, M.B., Subedi, M., Dixit, K.M., van Teijlingen, E. (2026) Navigating Plagiarism in Social Science Research: Epistemic Re-framing or Unethical Redundancy? Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology & Anthropology, 20(1): 1-6.

 

REF 2029 Sector Survey: Have Your Say

The REF2029 team has launched an informal sector survey to gather targeted feedback on a small number of policy areas for final development, in order to get feedback on the clarity, robustness and implementation of a small number of proposals that have emerged through the criteria-setting process.

The survey topics cover:

  • draft assessment criteria for Strategy, People and Research Environment (SPRE)
  • SPRE arrangements for institutions submitting to a single Unit of Assessment (UoA)
  • submitting outputs to more than one Unit of Assessment
  • equality-related unit reductions
  • collection of research income data
  • 100-word statements for submissions to UoA 12 – Engineering

If you would like to contribute to the institutional response, please can you share your thoughts with REF@bournemouth.ac.uk by Tuesday 1 September so we can collate responses into an institutional response for submission before 4 September 2026.

Alternatively, there is an opportunity to respond on behalf of another group or organisation or as an individual here.

Dr. Paul Whittington attends Technology and the SEND Reforms Roundtable in the House of Commons

Dr. Paul Whittington was invited to attend the Technology and SEND Reforms Roundtable at the House of Commons on Wednesday 8th July. The event was organised by Policy Connect through the All Party Parliamentary Group for Assistive Technology with the focus on the role of technology in SEND support and SEND teacher training incorporating technology and responsible AI. The session was held in a committee room within the Palace of Westminster and included a panel of experts from CENMAC, University of East London, LEP Academy Trust, TechEdology and Nasen, chaired by Peter Swallow MP.

The Roundtable discussed the recent work undertaken by the Department for Education since the 2019 Education Technology Strategy. This included assessments for assistive technology and meeting digital standards by using AI and teacher training. The Government has committed £200m to provide this training including funding assistive technology lending libraries in local authorities throughout the UK. This is an important area of research for pupils with SEND as suitable assistive technology can reduce barriers and enable more individual needs to be met. The event was also an opportunity for Dr. Paul Whittington to promote the EduAbility research conducted by the Department of Computing and Engineering, involving Professor Huseyin Dogan.

The EduAbility application provides assistive technology recommendations and training for pupils with disabilities as well as teachers, support staff and parents/carers. It is therefore closely related to the SEND Reforms. Following the development of the Android application in 2025, funding was awarded from the department’s Quality Research Fund for the iOS development of EduAbility. Since March 2026, the application has been converted to the Flutter platform that allows EduAbilty to be maintained for both Android and iOS simultaneously using a shared codebase format.

Now that the application is compatible for both Android and iOS, we will be publishing EduAbility on Apple Store and Google Play Store in Autumn 2026. This will initially be as a free application, with future potential to be a paid application to support ongoing development and maintenance. Policy Connect have expressed interest in EduAbility to promote the application through their networks, including the Schools within the EdTech Demonstrator Programme. It is anticipated that Dr. Paul Whittington will attend future events organised by Policy Connect within the domain of education and assistive technology.

BU Prof Jonathan Parker promoting social work in Malaysia

BU Professor Emeritus Jonathan Parker recently discussed his recently published latest edition of the book Newly-Qualified Social Workers: A Practice Guide to the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment to Prof. Denison Jayasooria from Malaysia.  Prof. Parker has a longstanding collaboration with social work researchers in Malaysia, for example in the field of social work education or the inclusion of indigenous people’s voices in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

New interdisciplinary paper accepted for publication

Today we heard from the Editor in Chief of the Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences that our paper ‘Ethical Entrepreneurship in Pharmacy: An Interdisciplinary Solution to a Global Public Health Problem‘ has been accepted for publication [1].  This paper has three Bournemouth academics as co-author: Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Sukanya Ayatakshi-Endow and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. The paper is truly interdisciplinary, the six authors have disciplinary backgrounds in: pharmacy, health education, public health, business studies, economics, health services research and sociology. 

This viewpoint offers a different way of looking at the worldwide problem of the increased use of antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance. In low-income countries, such as Nepal, pharmacies have a key role in dispensing medicine, and local pharmacies often provide health care advice in rural communities. However, the way many pharmacies operate can easily lead to unethical practices that are harmful to the health of their recipients, but also to the wider population. Such dangerous business practices involve inappropriate prescription and dispensing of medicine (i.e. antibiotics). Public health professionals have promoted better regulation and education to reduce the use of antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance. These approaches have an important place to play, but in this paper, we propose one particular intervention, namely the training of community pharmacy shop owners in sustainable and ethical entrepreneurship. To offer greater insights into the issue we have produced a theoretical framework. We suggest interventions should be co-created with all relevant stakeholders to change perceptions of entrepreneurship, offer management training, thus promoting an ethical and sustainable business culture, and in the long run, improve pharmacy education in these areas.

The Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences is an Open Access journal, hence freely available to read when it gets published.

Reference:

  1. Regmi, P.R., Ayatakshi-Endow, S., Rajkarnikar, R., van Teijlingen, E., Khanal, D.P., Poudel, R.S. (2026) Ethical Entrepreneurship in Pharmacy: An Interdisciplinary Solution to a Global Public Health Problem?” Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences (EJMS) (accepted July 2026).