Category / REF Subjects

BUDI presents at the 2014 meeting of the North Sea European dementia group

 

I recently had the pleasure of attending the 2014 meeting of the North Sea European dementia group, held in Dijon, France. This was an unusual meeting in that it was not a large formal scientific conference attracting only researchers, but a small and informal meeting that attracted researchers, practitioners, private care directors, and a research funder. Around 25 were in attendance and over three days we got to know each other, exchange ideas, and make important connections for potential future pan-European collaborations.

Days 1 and 2 – the meeting

The first two days was a series of presentations with discussion. This began with a representative of each European country providing an introduction of their organisation and an update on work in progress. We then had a series of presentations, and of note, some was of work that was just starting or half way through, and some presented service improvement initiatives yet to be evaluated using research methodology. This was good as it afforded the sharing of ideas at their initial stages when changes can be made, rather than at the end when already completed. I presented a qualitative paper on our NIHR-funded project on the social care and support needs of people with dementia and sight loss. This was well received and as suspected, not been given much consideration before. It led to an interesting discussion around diagnosis, given that tests to indicate dementia symptoms often rely on good vision (e.g. to the clock drawing task).

Perhaps the most useful aspect of these two days, during the presentations and informal discussions over meals, was the sharing of what current dementia care looks like in each other’s countries, the limitations to such care, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in driving forward improvement. The mix of researchers and those directly involved in managing services provided a useful forum for the identification of the challenges and opportunities to working together. In particular, to make sure that research is grounded in the real-world constraints practitioners work within, and to make sure that the novel initiatives practitioners try out are formally and systematically evaluated in order to demonstrate benefit to people with dementia and cost-effectiveness. In particular, fidelity of interventions was raised as an issue, in ensuring that those who claim to deliver best practice actually do deliver it and in the way specified.

Day 3 – the visits

Before heading back, we spent the last morning visiting local services for older people with dementia. I was with the group that visited a day care centre and an intergenerational area. The day centre was a relatively large space and so caters for up to 20 older people per day, much more than the average day centre. They had several rooms for different activities (rest room, computer room, physical activity room, etc.), along with a garden. This was on the same site as a care home, and so for those that eventually need to move into a care home, the day centre provides a nice source of continuity for those that become residents. It was pleasing to see a lot of the creative work that the older people there as this was on display all over. One display that caught my eye was one of the older people helping children with their art work.

We then went on to an initiative that is rare in France and one that I had not come across before. Over ten years ago a plot of land was allocated for providing services for people in the city. At the time it was decided that the same space be used not only for catering for older people to live independently but with support (like sheltered housing), but also to provide for children under five (pre-school) and social housing for the general adult population who need it. In this same plot we got to see the living spaces for older people with dementia, social housing, and could see the pre-school right next to it. I unfortunately had to cut this visit short to head back for my flight, but it was great to see an initiative that at its heart was trying to re-connect the generations. We know from classic theories of the psychology of ageing that intergenerational relationships provides benefits for all, whereby the older person shares their wisdom and perspective to the benefit of the younger person, let alone connection with everyday family life. It would be interesting to see what activities best bring these groups together to facilitate social interactions between the generations.

In sum, the meeting was a useful learning experience of what is happening in other European countries and provided an important set of connections for potential future collaborations. I can recommend attending such meetings, even if they do not have the prestige of large scientific conferences. The more intimate and informal environment was useful for learning about work in its early stages and to learn more about the contexts in which our European collaborators operate within.

Dr Samuel Nyman

BUDI and Psychology Department, SciTech

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Delphi comes to Leipzig via BU

Delphi method is an unsung qualitative research technique used for investigating complex issues. It was the subject of one of The Media School’s Prof Tom Watson’s teaching actions during his Erasmus visit to Leipzig University in Germany last week.

He was hosted by Prof Gunter Bentele and Prof Ansgar Zerfass of the university’s Communication Management Research Institute (Instituts KMW), who are also co-researchers with him.

“Delphi method has been little used in PR and Communication Management research. So this was an opportunity to present it to a group of Early Career Researchers and PhD students,” said Prof Watson who used it for an international study of PR research priorities in 2007/08.

He is hopeful that Delphi method, which draws its name from the oracle of Delphi as it is used for forecasting and policy creation, will be more widely used at both universities. “It gets very rich results amongst practitioners and from international experts.”

Other actions during Prof Watson’s Erasmus visit, supported by the British Council and a FIF SMN selection, were two seminars to Masters students on PR history and PR measurement as well as mentoring meetings with PhD students.

Leipzig University has been an Erasmus partner of BU for the past four years. It has one of Europe’s leading communication management and PR research teams, with an international reputation. Professors Bentele and Zerfass have both visited BU under the Erasmus banner. Students have also come from Leipzig to BU for six months’ study on the MA Public Relations.

“As well as being where J.S. Bach composed his music in the Thomaskirche (St Thomas’s Church) in the 18th century, the venue of the annual World Goth Festival and a charming city centre , Leipzig is a top university which started in 1409”, said Prof Watson. “There is great potential to further develop our relationship with it and its very welcoming staff.”

Thomaskirche, Leipzig, where J.S. Bach composed most of his music

 

BU student Jib Acharya presents poster in Ethiopia

HSC Ph.D. student Mr. Jib Acharya presented a poster in Ethiopia on his thesis research.  His poster accepted by the scientific committee of the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference in Addis Adeba, the capital of Ethiopia.

 

Jib Acharya reported on his Ph.D. research which involves a mixed-methods study of to assess knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about nutritious food amongst rural and urban mothers in one district of Nepal.  The poster highlighted that both knowledge of and attitudes towards nutritious food of rural and urban mothers are still poor in both rural and urban populations.

Jib’s supervisors in the School of Health & Social Care are: Dr. Jane Murphy, Dr. Martin Hind and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

 

Reference:

Acharya, J., van Teijlingen E., Murphy, J., Hind, M. (2014) A Comparative Study on Nutritional Problems in Preschool Aged Children of Nepal, poster presented at the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference in Addis Adeba, Ethiopia, June 2014.

 

 

Well done!

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, CMMPH

Strong CMMPH presence at ICM conference in Prague!

Dr. Carol Wilkins

In the first week of June members of the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health presented BU’s midwifery research and education at the 30th ICM (International Confederation of Midwives) Congress in Prague (Czech Republic).

There were four oral presentations in total, one workshop and three poster presentations.  The oral presentations comprised:

  1. Dr. Carol Wilkins (see picture) presented from her Ph.D. work ‘Emotional processing in childbirth study: exploration of the relationship between maternal emotions in pregnancy and risk of postnatal depression’.
  2. HSC Professor Vanora Hundley presented her international work on clean birth kits.
  3. Senior Lecturer in Midwifery Alison Taylor gave a paper under the titleLetting off steam! Video diaries to share breastfeeding experiences Her Ph.D. thesis research uses a novel approach of giving hand-held cameras to make home video diaries about their ‘realities’ of breastfeeding.
  4. HSC student Sheetal Sharma presented her Ph.D. research ‘Getting women to care: mixed–methods evaluation of maternity care intervention in rural Nepal’.

Dr Susan Way led a workshop on escalating concerns in relation to poor clinical practice and disrespectful care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, three HSC posters were displayed as part of a special session on Midwifery in South Asia, all three related to different CMMPH maternity care studies conducted in Nepal.

  1. Sharma, S.  Sicuri, E., Belizan, JM., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Stephens J.,  Hundley, V., Angell, C.,  Getting women to care in Nepal: A Difference in Difference analysis of a health promotion intervention
  2. Milne, L, Hundley, V, van Teijlingen, E, Ireland, J, Simkhada, P, Staff perspectives of barriers to women accessing birthing services in Nepal: A qualitative study,
  3. Sharma, S., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. Simkhada, P., Angell, C. Pregnant & Dirty?

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

What happens next: can the future of tech-enabled crime ever be predicted?

Dr Christopher Richardson from the BUCSU delivered a thought provoking presentation at the CIFAS Fraud Conference, which was held at Dexter House London on the 3 June 2014. It was attended by the UK’s financial and insurance communities.

The conference was alerted to the fact that UK fraud is currently running at 25 incidents per hour; with an annual cost estimated above £52 billion.

Dr Richardson’s oversight expanded that through the continuance of pervasive technologies; increased crime wave and progressive skills shortage within the security industry, has all resulted in a perfect storm.

In forecasting the cyber threat landscape Dr Richardson projected the increase of insider threat, malicious software and human error, which if not corrected will bring the cost of fraud above £100 billion. The real question is, at what point will society, enterprise and individuals demand government action, and in particular a more determined approach to the investigation and prosecution of fraudulent activities? A characteristic of cybercrime is that it’s global, whereas policing is local.  In order to rescue our beleaguered and often under skilled law enforcement agencies, we need to tackle the issues from an international perspective, with global partnerships engaging business communities and overcoming their reluctance to breach reporting.

This conference follows on from the BUCSU’s strategic cyber policing conference in February, where cyber enabled and cyber dependent crimes were discussed. Please visit previous blog post for further info on the South West Police Cybercrime Conference.

   

 

Delivering healthcare in prisons

Last week Jane Senior from University of Manchester and Research Project Manager of the Offender Health Research Network (OHRN) visited Bournemouth University. She came to BU to share her recent research findings with students, staff and professionals working with prisoners and ex-offenders.

Jane is a clinician-researcher who is a qualified mental health nurse with over 20 years post qualification experience of working in prisons and secure mental health settings. During the session Jane presented findings from three recent research projects:

  • Liaison and diversion services in England
  • Mental health in-reach service
  • Critical Time Intervention

These large-scale studies have been undertaken in collaboration with a number of UK Universities and also Columbia University, New York.

Those who attended particularly enjoyed having the opportunity to discuss with Jane the implications for her findings for professional practice now and in the future. One attendee said the session ‘was excellent – very interesting and engaging’ and another ‘ I really enjoyed the format of the session – so informative’. The critical Time Intervention is on-going research project and several of the professionals attending  the session felt was a great opportunity to learn more about this new pilot initiative.  The session was made possible through funding from the Society and Social Welfare Community.

BU Nepal health research at international midwifery conference

Yesterday HSC Ph.D. student Sheetal Sharma presented her key research findings under the title ‘Getting women to care: mixed–methods evaluation of maternity care intervention in rural Nepal’ at the 30th congress of the ICM (International Confederation of Midwives) in Prague.   Sheetal’s Ph.D. evaluates the effectiveness of a health promotion intervention aiming antenatal care attendance in rural Nepal.  Her evaluation suggests that practice should be socio-culturally appropriate and inclusive not only of women but also their families.

This afternoon three HSC posters were displayed as part of a special session on Midwifery in South Asia.  All three posters featured aspects of maternity care research conducted in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health in Nepal.

Poster 1:        Staff perspectives of barriers to women accessing birthing services in Nepal: A qualitative study

Milne, L, Hundley, V, van Teijlingen, E, Ireland, J, Simkhada, P,

Poster 2:        Pregnant & Dirty?

Sharma, S., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. Simkhada, P., Angell, C.

Poster 3:        Getting women to care in Nepal: A Difference in Difference analysis of a health promotion intervention

Sharma, S.  Sicuri, E., Belizan, JM., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Stephens J., Hundley, V., Angell, C.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

New tourism texts by Professor Stephen Page

Fourth editions have been published of two popular textbooks by Professor Stephen Page from BU’s School of Tourism.

Tourism: A Modern Synthesis

 

This is a leading international full colour publication used as an introductory course text with a significant web learning resource supporting student learning.  It is co-written with Dr Joanne Connell from Exeter Business School. The new edition provides many new perspectives on the fast changing nature of global tourism.

 

 

The Geography of Tourism and Recreation: Environment, Place and Space

This written with Professor Michael Hall at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand and published by Routledge.  First published in 1999, this soon became established as the leading text used by Geographers (and many non-Geographers) as a scholarly introduction to the nature of tourism and recreation as a spatial phenomenon including its impacts in different environments.  A key feature of the book is its almost encyclopaedic coverage of the literature, acting both as a reference source and roadmap to the way geography has embraced the study of tourism, leisure and recreation over the last 100 years.

 

This new edition has been very well received and positively reviewed:

“They just keep getting better and better. This new edition of The Geography of Tourism and Recreation is an outstanding example of contemporary and cutting-edge thinking in the dynamic subfield of tourism geographies. It exemplifies a heterogeneous approach to understanding the spatial implications of tourism, the industry and its functions in diverse settings and ecosystems, and its impacts on human and natural environments. For an innovative examination of current trends in tourism, this book is essential reading for anyone who studies, teaches, or practices the business, art and science of tourism.”

Professor Timothy J Dallen, School of Community Resources and Development, Arizona State University, USA.

“In the often nebulous and many-sided world of tourism geographies, where space and place are simultaneously attraction and constraint, product and site, destination and experience, there are no more knowledgeable, versatile or sure footed guides than C.Michael Hall and Stephen Page. They have led a generation of students and researchers and in this fourth edition they continue the intellectual journey into the emerging social, economic and political realities of the 21st century.”

Professor G.J.Ashworth, Department of Planning, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, Netherlands.

3rd edition of ‘Evaluating Public Relations’ published

The third edition of the enduring public relations text, Evaluating Public Relations, has been published by Kogan Page. Much revised by authors Professor Tom Watson (Media School) and former lecturer Paul Noble, the book has greater emphasis on the measurement of social media and concepts of value created by that communication.

“When the first edition of Evaluating Public Relations came out in 2005, it mostly dealt with the measurement of media relations activity”, Professor Watson said. “In it, we included a chapter on how to measure PR-influenced coverage on a no- or low-cost basis. An updated version is included in the latest edition.

“But the world of PR practice has moved on and so the book includes the measurement and evaluation of social media, more focus on outcomes rather than outputs, and advice to meet increasing demands that PR/communication delivers value to the organisation.”

Professor Watson said that the new edition calls for PR/communication practitioners to take “a big step forward in the planning and strategy-setting processes.”

“Not only should communication objectives align with organisational objectives, but practitioners must ensure that communication is part of the organisation or client’s own objectives.”

The third edition includes new and revised chapters based on Professor Watson’s research into the history of PR measurement and his work, with Professor Ansgar Zerfass of Leipzig University, on methods of performance management in PR/communications.

HSC postgraduate student speaks at Canadian Conference

 

Pratik Adhikary spoke about his Ph.D. research at the American Canadian Conference for Academic Disciplines (Toronto: 19-22 May 2014).  Pratik presented the key findings from his thesis under the title ‘Health status and health risks to Nepalese migrant workers in the Middle East and Malaysia’.

Pratik is originally from Nepal and he conducted his research with male migrant workers who were returning to Nepal for definite or for a holiday/break.  He is supervised by Dr. Steve Keen and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen both in HSC.

 

Pratik’s study has been supported by Bournemouth University, the PGR Development Fund and the Open Society Foundations.

 

Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Übersetzen: Translation of the MGI in German

 

The Mother-Generated Index (MGI) is a validated tool to assess postnatal quality of life.  It was originally designed and tested by Dr. Andrew Symon (http://nursingmidwifery.dundee.ac.uk/staff-member/dr-andrew-symon) at the University of Dundee.    This instrument is usually administered several weeks or months after birth and correlates with indices of postpartum mood states and physical complaints. The instrument had not been translated into German before or validated for use among German-speaking women, nor have the results of the tool been assessed specifically for the administration directly after birth.  Our recent paper (Susanne Grylka-Baeschlin, Edwin van Teijlingen, Kathrin Stoll and Mechthild Gross) in Midwifery describes the systematic translation process of the MGI into German and to assess the convergent validity of the German version of the instrument directly after birth and seven weeks postpartum

Susanne Grylka-Baeschlin, as part of a European COST Action, has spent time at Bournemouth University’s Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health.  Susanne Grylka-Bäschlin is a Swiss midwife based at the Hannover Medical School, Germany, who studies cultural differences in postnatal quality of life among German-speaking women in Switzerland and Germany.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

CMMPH