BU Research Blog

21 May 2023

Disability in Nepal

international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today there was an interesting article in The Himalayan Times about Hari Budha Magar who became the world’s first double above-the-knee amputee to climb Mount Everest. He lost both his legs as a British Gurkha soldier, in the words of the newspaper put it “while fighting for the UK alongside Prince Harry in April 2010.” Budha Magar wants to inspire people with disabilities, and he highlights that disabilities are not sins of a previous life that people with disabilities are a burden.”

A decade ago we conducted research into attitudes towards disability in rural Nepal and found very similar notions [1]. At the time we wrote most participants only considered physical conditions that limit function of an individual and are visible to naked eyes, such as missing a leg or arm, to be disability. Attitudes towards people with disability were generally positive, for example most women believed that disabled people should have equal rights and should be allowed to sit on committees or get married. Most respondents thought that disability could result from: (i) accidents; (ii) medical conditions; or (iii) genetic inheritance. Fewer women thought that disability was caused by fate or bad spirits.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

References:

Simkhada, P. P., Shyangdan, D., Van Teijlingen, E. R., Kadel, S., Stephen, J., & Gurung, T. (2013). Women’s knowledge of and attitude towards disability in rural Nepal. Disability and Rehabilitation, 35(7), 606-613. https://doi.org/10.3109/09638288.2012.702847

19 May 2023

BU Workshop on Health Systems in Nepal

open access, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

You are invited to a two-hour ‘Workshop on Health Systems in Nepal’ at Bournemouth University (BU) on Thursday 25^th May in the Bournemouth Gateway Building (BGB room 315) starting at 14.00, aiming to finish at 16.00. We have the pleasure of welcoming three academic visitors from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Kathmandu who are at BU on an Erasmus+ exchange.

‘Prof. Sujan Marahatta, Dr. Sujata Sapkota and Dr. Sujan Gautam from MMIHS are part of an international project examining the consequences for the health system of Nepal’s move to a federal government structure. This project, launched in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, is led by the University of Sheffield, in collaboration with BU, the University of Huddersfield, PHASE Nepal and MMIHS. This nearly four-year project is UK-funded by the MRC (Medical Research Council), the Wellcome Trust and DFID (now called Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office [FCDO]) under the Health Systems Research Initiative.

The project has resulted in several publications, all in Open Access journals. The first of three papers introduced the research project ‘The impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system: a longitudinal analysis’ [1], the second focused on COVID-19 when examining the effects of changing Nepal’s constitution towards a federal republic on its health system [2], and the third one highlighted Public Health approaches around the ongoing federalisation of the state of Nepal and the associated decentralisation processes in its health system [3].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (formerly CMMPH)

References:

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 Nepal Public Health Association 7 (1): 36-42.
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
Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Gautam, S., Ghimire S., Karki J.K., Lee A.C., Marahatta S.B., Pandey S., Pohl G., Ruston S., Sapkota S., Simkhada P.P., Subedi M., van Teijlingen E.R., on behalf of the NFHS 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)

14 May 2023

New ways of publishing?

international, open access, PG research, Publishing, student research, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Last we took a new step into the academic publishing by submitting a paper to Qeios. This Open Access journal publishes papers for free, more or less immediately and after the paper has appeared online peer-reviewers are being invited. The paper ‘Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review‘ [1] is part of Shraddha Manandhar’s Ph.D. study at the University of Huddersfield. Her supervisors are Huddersfield’s Prof. Philip Brown and Prof. Padam Simkhada and Bournemouth University’ Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. This journal uses AI to find and invite reviewers, and these reviews will the be are published alongside our article. Should we advised by reviewers to make changes, edits or improvements the next version of the paper will be published online alongside the original submission and the reviews.

We have had some previous experience with the process of post-publication review, in 2017 BU’s Dr. Sarah Collard and Prof. van Teijlingen wrote a referee report for F1000Research after it published a methods paper on online focus groups [2]. More recently we published a COVID-19 paper in a so-called pre-print journal SSRN [3], but this was later in published in a traditional peer-reviewed journal called Scientific Reports [4], part of the Nature publishing family.

References

Manandhar, S., Simkhada, P., Brown, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review, Qeios,
May 13, https://doi.org/10.32388/BX9WFC
Collard, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Referee Report For: Insights for conducting real-time focus groups online using a web conferencing service [version 2; referees: 2 approved]. F1000Research 6:122 (doi: 10.5256/f1000research.11236.r21467) https://f1000research.com/articles/6-122/v1#referee-response-21467
Parajuli, R.R., Mishra, B., Banstola, A., Ghimire, B.R., Poudel, S., Sharma, K., Dixit, S.M., Shah, S., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., (2020) Multidisciplinary Approach to COVID-19 Risk Communication: A Framework and Tool for Individual and Regional Risk Assessment. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3634190 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3634190
Parajuli, R.R., Mishra, B., Banstola, A. et al. Multidisciplinary approach to COVID-19 risk communication: a framework and tool for individual and regional risk assessment. Sci Rep 10, 21650 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78779-0

9 May 2023

The Journal of Asian Midwives accepted for inclusion by Scopus

international, Knowledge Exchange, open access, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today one of my co-editors of the Journal of Asian Midwives emailed me to announce that our journal has been accepted for inclusion by Scopus.

Scopus, which is owned by the publishing house Elsevier, is the world’s largest electronic database of peer-reviewed literature. The Scopus assessors of our application made some very nice comments about the Journal of Asian Midwives, for example that it:

“consistently includes articles that are academically sound and relevant to an international academic or professional audience in the field. The journal has scholarly relevance as evidenced by citations in other journals currently covered by Scopus… The journal has clear aims and scope/journal policies that are consistent with the journal’s content. Although the scope of this journal is narrow, it addresses the need of an important niche audience.”

We are very proud of this achievement and we, as editors (Prof. Rafat Jan, Ms. Kiran Mubeen, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, with editorial assistant Ms. Abeer Musaddique), thank all our supporters, especially the library staff at The Aga Khan University in Pakistan, our reviewers, our authors and of course, you, our readers! I personally like to thank our former CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health) PhD student Dr. Sheetal Sharma for suggesting many years ago that I might like to help this, at the time, new journal. It is a proper well-run peer-reviewed journal, and I know that from personal experience, as a few years ago one of the papers on which I am a co-author was rejected after peer review by ‘my’ journal!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

Co-editor Journal of Asian Midwives

6 May 2023

New COVID-19 paper on Nepal

BRIAN, international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday Plos ONE published our latest study on the health system in Nepal under the title ‘Barriers in accessing family planning services in Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study‘ [1]. This qualitative study, in an Open Access journal, explores what sorts of barriers are faced by women needing family planning services in Nepal during the pandemic. It was conducted in five districts of Nepal. Telephonic in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 women of reproductive age (18–49 years) who were the regular clients of family planning services. Data were coded deductively using the preexisting themes based on a socio-ecological model (e.g., individual, family, community, and health-facility levels).

The paper reports that individual level barriers included low self-confidence, inadequate knowledge on COVID-19, myths and misconception related to COVID-19, limited access to family planning services, low priority to sexual and reproductive health services, low autonomy in family and limited financial ability. Family level barriers comprised partner’s support, social stigma, increased time at home with husbands or parents, not accepting family planning services as essential health services, financial hardship due to loss of jobs, and communication with in-laws. Movement restrictions and transportation hindering access, unsecured feeling, violation of privacy, and obstacles from security personnel were the community level barriers and unavailability of preferred choice of contraception, increased waiting time, limited outreach services by community health workers, limited physical infrastructures, the behavior of health workers, stock out of commodities, and absence of health workers were health facility level barriers.

The authors conclude that policymakers and programme managers should consider strategies to ensure continued availability of the full method mix during emergency, particularly since disruptions may go unnoticed and strengthen the provision of services through alternative service delivery channels to ensure sustained uptake of such services in this sort of pandemic.

This is the latest addition to the pool of academic papers published by Bournemouth University academics on the effects of COVID-19 on health care in Nepal or issues related to Nepal [2-11].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

References:

Sigdel A, Bista A, Sapkota H, van Teijlingen E (2023) Barriers in accessing family planning services in Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study. PLoS ONE 18(5): e0285248. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285248
Mahato P., Adhikari B., Marahatta S.B., Bhusal S., Kunwar K., Yadav R.K., Baral, S., Adhikari, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) Perceptions around COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy: A qualitative study in Kaski district, Western Nepal. PLOS Global Public Health 3(2): e0000564.
Regmi, P., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, N., Wasti, S.P., 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 & Public Health 19(15), 8986.
Simkhada, P., Tamang, P., Timilsina, L., Simkhada, B., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E., Sah, S.K., Wasti, S.P. (2022) Factors Influencing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Nepali in the UK: A Qualitative Study, Vaccine 10(5): 780. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10050780
Khanal, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Sharma, M.K., Acharya, J., Sharma, C. (2021) Perceived threats towards COVID-19 pandemic among Nepali migrant workers returned from India, Journal of Health Promotion 9(1):87-99.
Wasti, SP., Simkhada, P., Magar, S.A., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) Nepalese Health System Response to Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic, Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences 3(1): 98-104.
Simkhada, P., Mahato, P., Tamang, P., van Teijlingen, E., Shahi, P. (2020) The Role of Health Promotion during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Health Promotion, 8:1-4. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v8i0.32964
Parajuli, R.R., Mishra, B., Banstola, A., Ghimire, B.R., Poudel, S., Sharma, K., Dixit, S.M., Shah, S., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2020) Multidisciplinary Approach to COVID-19 Risk Communication: A Framework and Tool for Individual and Regional Risk Assessment. Scientific Reports 10: 21650
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.
Mahato, P., Tamang, P., Shahi, P., Aryal, N., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2020) Effects of COVID-19 during lockdown in Nepal, Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences 2(2):1-5.
Tamang, P., Mahato, P., Shahi, P., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Amgain, K. (2020) COVID-19 Quarantine: A Key Part of Prevention in Nepal. Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences 3(1):1-14.

5 May 2023

Measuring Health Literacy & Health Promotion in Adolescents

international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Our team published the article ‘Systematic Review of Health Literacy and Health Promotion in School-Aged Adolescents‘ in the Journal of Education and Community Health [1]. The authors include a Bournemouth University PhD graduate Dr. Jib Acharya and a former BU member of staff Dr. Cate Wood.

This paper identified gaps in adolescent health literacy (AHL) measurements, as well as how the health literacy (HL) level is related to health promotion (HP) aspects. This study aimed to examine the tools used to measure HL and determine its relation with HP among adolescents. In this review three databases were searched for papers published between January 2016, and January 2021. In this review, 373 articles were identified and after removing duplicates and screening titles and abstracts of articles, 49 full texts were selected for full-text reading. After appraisal 23 papers were included in the synthesis.

The paper reports that of these 23 papers, 21 focused on assessing AHL measures, and 15 addressed the association between AHL and HP. Seven studies used the HL School-Aged Children instrument. The findings suggested that the methodological and conceptual underpinnings of HL measures are insufficient. Furthermore, HL acts as an independent and positive mediator for many facets of HP. Overall, this review offers a warning to practitioners and educationists interested in measuring HL as the number of measurement tools is substantial with different tools applying different scales.

Congratulations to all.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

Reference:

Khanal SP, Budhathoki CB, Okan O, van Teijlingen E, Sharma MK, Acharya J, Wood C. Systematic review of health literacy and health promotion in school-aged adolescents. Journal of Education & Community Health. 2023; 10(1):49-57. doi:10.34172/jech.2023.1982

3 May 2023

Erasmus exchange visit to Nepal by Dr. Jon Williams

Knowledge Exchange Edwin van Teijlingen

Dr Jonathan Williams, Principal Academic and Deputy Head of the Department of Rehabilitation & Sports Science is the latest BU academic to visit Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Nepal as part of the Erasmus+ exchange funding. Yesterday he run a workshop in Kathmandu on how to conduct a Literature Review for Health Professionals. This session was well attended by medical doctors at Manmohan Memorial Teaching Hospital.

The workshop was organised buy Prof. Sujan Marahatta at MMIHS, who is also Visiting Faculty member in FHSS. BU is currently in the process of renewing its MoA with MMIHS, to continue working together after this successful Erasmus+ programme.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

1 May 2023

PhD paper on health management in pre-Taliban Afghanistan

BRIAN, international, open access, PG research, Publishing, student research, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday FHSS graduate Dr. Shaqaieq Ashrafi Dost heard from Razi International Medical Journal the the paper from her Ph.D. study had been accepted for publication. Her paper ‘Management capacity in the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) Afghanistan: Political and socio-cultural issues’ is based on a mixed-methods case-study was conducted with staff at the Afghan Ministry of Public Health. The Ph.D. study explores MoPH’s management capacity. Interviews were conducted with 12 senior staff and qualitative data were analysed thematically. A quantitative survey, covering directors of 30 departments, was analysed using descriptive statistics.

The paper reports that management capacity was generally weak. Key appointments including directors were subject to political interference and many directors appointed by politicians lacked the skills to manage well. Consequently, those directors were not able to support employees appropriately or to create a healthy work environment. The respondents reported that there were strong socio-cultural influences such as nepotism and favouritism. Often employees believed they were not treated consistently or fairly. This was compounded by overly complex administrative systems. The authors concluded that the Afghan government needs to appoint competent and committed staff who can recognize/address the gaps in the functioning of the Ministry, especially the negative political and socio-cultural practices that undermine effectiveness.The reader needs to bear in mind that this Ph.D. study was conducted prior to the 2021 takeover by the Taliban. Putting the paper’s conclusion in perspective.

Razi International Medical Journal founded in 2021 is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal from Afghanistan that aims to impact public health and global health and distributed internationally. The journal is Open Access and published in electronic and paper-based format twice a year, and there is no article publishing charge (APCs).

24 April 2023

BU PhD student publishes in The Conversation

international, Publishing, Student Engagement, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations the Abier Hamidi, PhD student in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) whose PhD work was published in The Conversation this week (24 April) under the title Social media now trumps traditional family networks in Libya – my Facebook survey reached 446,000 women. Her piece in The Conversation on the recruitment of female participants for a PhD study in a rather patriarchal society brings together issues of anonymity, gender, and wider social culture.

This is Abier’s PhD research is supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi, Senior Lecturer in International Health and the Global Engagement Lead in the Department of Nursing Sciences, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH).

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

24 April 2023

Several BU papers at this week’s BNAC Nepal Study Days

conferences, international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

The BNAC (Britain-Nepal Academic Council) twentieth Nepal Study Days (24-25 April) start today in Huddersfield. BU is directly represented through Dr. Pramod Regmi who will be presenting ‘Health Research Priorities and Needs in Migrant Health: A Review of Reviews’ today. Dr. Regmi based in the Department of Nursing Sciences and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences are also part of the paper ‘Nepal Family Cohort Study: Starting a Longitudinal Population Health Study’ which will be presented by our colleague Dr. Om P. Kurmi from Coventry University.

There will also be a BU paper on ‘Perceptions Around Covid-19 and Vaccine Hesitancy: A Qualitative Study Among People Living in Kaski, Western Nepal’ , presented by Dr. Preeti Mahato. Preeti is based at Royal Holloway (University of London) and she is also a Visiting Faculty member of FHSS. She’ll presenting a study recently published in PLOS Global Public Health.

These Nepal Studies Days pay serious attention to our ongoing interdisciplinary study ‘The impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system: a longitudinal analysis’ which was reported in several national newspapers in Nepal last week. Tomorrow there will be a plenary session by Prof. Simon Rushton, the PI on this project in which BU collaborates. He will be talking about ‘Nepal’s Health System During Federalisation: Emerging Issues and the Co-production of Policy and Practice Recommendations’. Later that day there will be two further presentations based on this large-scale study, the first one by Dr. Sharada P. Wasti followed by one delivered by Dr. Sujata Sapkota.

22 April 2023

Extensive media coverage in Nepal last week

international, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

The interdisciplinary research project ‘The impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system: a longitudinal analysis’ was reported in several national media in Nepal last week. This project running from 2020 to 2024 is, funded by the Health System Research Initiative, a UK collaboration between three funders: the MRC (Medical research Council), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and the Welcome Trust.

The 2015 Constitution brought federalisation and with it, significant changes to the health system. To understand these changes researchers worked in three provinces where they interviewed 243 stakeholders, at all three levels of government. They also conducted 31 Participatory Policy Analysis workshops at local and province levels. The team includes researchers from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (Kathmandu), and PHASE Nepal (Bhaktapur), and three UK institutions (the Universities of Sheffield, Bournemouth, and Huddersfield). It researchers from the UK and Nepal meet with Provincial and Federal MPs to discuss the interim findings of a federalisation and health study.

News articles appeared in national newspapers in Nepal, both in English and Nepali. The Nepali article appeared in the country’s oldest newspaper Gorkhapali, see copy here! Bournemouth University [Thank you Nathaniel Hobby and Stephen Bates] also publicized our press release on this project online. The journalist Nam Raj Bhatta published an item in the online Nepali-language newspaper NepalHealthOnline on April 13. The main meeting to discuss the interim findings of our project took place on Thursday 13 April an hotel close Nepal’s parliament. The interim results highlight how federalisation of the political system has affected Nepal’s health care organisation. The research team summarized the findings for the invited MPs and local and provincial political leaders, and invited their reflections on the political possibilities and obstacles to moving forward with the development of the country’s health system. The Himalayan Times published the article on top of this BU Research Blog as well as the special interview with the University of Sheffield based PI Prof. Simon Rushton.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

20 April 2023

New publication Abier Hamadi, PhD student in FHSS

international, open access, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Abier Hamidi on the acceptance of her Ph.D. paper ‘Facilitators and barriers to condom use in Middle East and North Africa: a systematic review’. [1] This review has been registered on PROSPERO. [2] The Journal of Public Health is part of BU’s publishing deal with Springer, hence it will free open access when published.

Abier is supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi, Senior Lecturer in International Health and the Global Engagement Lead in the Department of Nursing Sciences, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH). Earlier Abier published ‘HIV epidemic in Libya: Identifying gaps’ in 2021. [3]

References:

Hamidi, A., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) Facilitators and barriers to condom use in Middle East and North Africa: a systematic review, Journal of Public Health, (accepted)
Hamidi, A., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P. (2021) Facilitators and barriers to condom use in Middle East and North Africa: a systematic review. PROSPERO CRD42021297160
Hamidi, A., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) HIV epidemic in Libya: Identifying gaps, Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, 20 :1-5 https://doi.org/10.1177/23259582211053964 .

27 March 2023

Free webinar Wednesday 29th March: Developing capability and capacity – releasing nurses’ research potential

ngkounta

Free webinar: Developing capability and capacity – releasing nurses’ research potential

Registration is now open for a webinar placing the spotlight on the importance of nurse leadership in developing capacity and capability in research. Join Professor Mark Radford, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England, two experienced nurse researchers and a highly skilled nurse leader in the field of research and innovation, who will showcase initiatives and activity in support of developing research capability and capacity in nursing. Book your place: Developing capability and capacity – releasing nurses’ research potential Tickets, Wed 29 Mar 2023 at 15:00 | Eventbrite

19 March 2023

A global health journal with a diverse editorial board

international, open access, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

A recent study of 43 journals in the global health field found that PLOS Global Public Health has the joint highest diversity index, whilst also recording the maximum geographic diversity score! [1] The paper by a team from Pakistan and Canada addressed the question: “What is the current state of ethics of diversity and representation in global health publications?” In order to be able to answer this question they developed their own Journal Diversity Index (JDI) to measure three parameters of diversity and representation, namely gender, geographic & socioeconomic status.

The fact that PLOS Global Public Health came out top is good news for the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) as we published a paper in this journal last month. [2] Our qualitative paper ‘Perceptions around COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy: A qualitative study in Kaski district, Western Nepal’ comprises 19 interviews in the city of Pokhara and its surrounding rural areas.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Manan, M.R., Nawaz, I., Rahman, S. et al. (2023). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on Editorial Boards of Global Health Journals. Asian Bioethics Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41649-023-00243-8
Mahato P., Adhikari B., Marahatta S.B., Bhusal S., Kunwar K., Yadav R.K., Baral, S., Adhikari, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2023). Perceptions around COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy: A qualitative study in Kaski district, Western Nepal. PLOS Global Public Health 3(2): e0000564. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000564

18 March 2023

Establishing an evidence-based centre in Nepal

international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

A team of Nepal and UK-based researchers are in the process of setting up a National Evidence Synthesis Centre under supervision of the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC). Recently, we published a paper [1] setting out our arguments on why such a centre is important for a low-income country like Nepal. This centre needs to be responsible for synthesizing evidence specifically relevant to Nepal, as well as producing actionable messages for evidence-informed decision-making.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (CMMPH)

&

Prof. Padam Simkhada, University of Huddersfield and Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University

References:

Simkhada, P., Dhimal, M., van Teijlingen, E., Gyanwali, P. (2022) Nepal Urgently Needs a National Evidence Synthesis Centre, Journal of Nepal Health Research Council, 20 (3): i-ii.

2 March 2023

Setting up a longitudinal health & lifestyle study in Nepal

international Edwin van Teijlingen

The Nepal Family Cohort Study (NeFCoS) is a multidisciplinary cohort study into the prevalence, incidence, and determinants of various diseases from childhood to adulthood in children and their parents for over two decades. NeFCoS is a longitudinal study which recently started collecting health and well-being data, and which will collect data repeatedly from the same individuals at certain intervals for years to come. Our primary focus is understanding the multiple risk factors of health conditions in children and their families, early diagnosis of diseases, and prevention and management of diseases through effective intervention. The team aims to this by examining associations between exposure to known or suspected causes of disease, so-called risk factors and subsequent morbidity and mortality.

Our large international team is led by Dr. Om Kurmi, Associate Professor and Respiratory and Environmental Epidemiologist at Coventry University in the UK, and associated with McMaster University, Canada. The Bournemouth University team comprises Dr. Pramod Regmi (Senior Lecturer in International Health), Dr. Edwin van Teijlingen (Professor of Reproductive Health), and Dr. Vanora Hundley (Professor of Midwifery).

The team is currently recruiting six-to-nine-year-old children and their parents who have provided written consent to participate. The parents offer information on socio-demographics, lifestyle factors, dietary habits, occupational history, educational history, environmental conditions at home and outside, physical activities and any diseases they or their children have had since birth. They also undergo a series of measurements such as lung function, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, hand-grip strength, anthropometry, body fat percentage, muscle mass, body water content and skin-fold thickness as an indirect measure for malnutrition. The study is also measuring eleven different parameters in spot urine samples semi-quantitatively and plan to collect the biological specimen in future follow-ups studies. The study is currently being conducted in two regions of Nepal in the south, the Terai and in the more central hill part of the country, with plans to expand to extend to other provinces of Nepal in the future.

The baseline study is ongoing. So far, the team has collected over 4250 participants’ data from both study sites. We plan to complete the baseline data by the end of December 2023 with about 15,000 participants from the two regions. Our study is urgently needed in Nepal as it will provide valuable information for evidence-based decision-making regarding disease prevention and management along with changing policy.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

28 February 2023

Congratulations to Dr. Pramod Regmi

international Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Pramod Regmi for his appointment this month as Visiting Faculty at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS). Dr. Regmi is Senior Lecturer in International Health as well as Global Engagement Lead in the Department of Nursing Sciences. He is also REF Outputs Champion for Unit of Assessment 3 ‘Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing, Midwifery & Pharmacy’.

Bournemouth University has currently a staff-student exchange with MMIHS which is funded under the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme. Whilst BU and MMIHS also have a partnership agreement which we are currently in the process of renewing.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

19 February 2023

New paper on COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy in Western Nepal

international, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This weekend saw the publication of our paper ‘ Perceptions around COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy: A qualitative study in Kaski district, Western Nepal’ in the international journal PLOS Global Public Health. [1] This paper reports on a qualitative in-depth study comprising nineteen interviews in the city of Pokhara and its surrounding rural areas. In the interviews people expressed fears about COVID-19, and adherence to public health measures such as social distancing and warring masks. The interviewees generally saw the COVID-19 vaccine as solution but mentioned the vaccine’s potential lack of effectiveness, the uncertain duration of protection and its side-effects.

This paper adds to a growing volume of public health papers on COVID-19 in Nepal or Nepalese people living in the UK written by Bournemouth University academics. [2-11] These papers are co-authored with colleagues based in Nepal and in the UK. They include Nepalese academics based at the University of Sheffield, Royal Holloway, the University of Huddersfield, The University of Greenwich

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

References:

Mahato P., Adhikari B., Marahatta S.B., Bhusal S., Kunwar K., Yadav R.K., Baral, S., Adhikari, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) Perceptions around COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy: A qualitative study in Kaski district, Western Nepal. PLOS Global Public Health 3(2): e0000564. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000564
Sharma, M., Adhikari, R., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Handwashing station in Nepal: Role of wealth status in establishing a handwashing station, World Medical & Health Policy Online first https://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.523
Simkhada, P., Tamang, P., Timilsina, L., Simkhada, B., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E., Sah, S.K., Wasti, S.P. (2022) Factors Influencing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Nepali in the UK: A Qualitative Study, Vaccine 10(5): 780. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10050780
Regmi, P., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, N., Wasti, S.P., 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 & Public Health 19(15), 8986; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19158986
Khanal, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Sharma, M.K., Acharya, J., Sharma, C. (2021) Perceived threats towards COVID-19 pandemic among Nepali migrant workers returned from India, Journal of Health Promotion 9(1):87-99.
Simkhada, P., Mahato, P., Tamang, P., van Teijlingen, E., Shahi, P. (2020) The Role of Health Promotion during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Health Promotion, 8:1-4. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v8i0.32964
Parajuli, R.R., Mishra, B., Banstola, A., Ghimire, B.R., Poudel, S., Sharma, K., Dixit, S.M., Shah, S., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2020) Multidisciplinary Approach to COVID-19 Risk Communication: A Framework and Tool for Individual & Regional Risk Assessment. Scientific Reports 10: 21650 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-78779-0 .
Tamang, P., Mahato, P., Simkhada P., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) Pregnancy, Childbirth, Breastfeeding and Coronavirus Disease: What is known so far? Journal of Midwifery Association of Nepal (JMAN) 2(1): 96-101.
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.
Mahato, P., Tamang, P., Shahi, P., Aryal, N., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2020) Effects of COVID-19 during lockdown in Nepal, Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences 2(2):1-5.
Tamang, P., Mahato, P., Shahi, P., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Amgain, K. (2020) COVID-19 Quarantine: A Key Part of Prevention in Nepal. Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences 3(1):1-14.

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