On 16th October, Dr Emily Arden-Close, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, presented to Santander Group about how they can help problem gamblers. This was based on research she had conducted exploring ex-problem and social gamblers’ experiences of gambling and perceptions of EROGamb, technology developed by the Responsible Online Gambling Research Team for managing responsible online gambling.
The presentation generated a lot of discussion, and is expected to lead Santander Group taking an active role in developing policy to enable early identification of problem gamblers.
Category / REF Subjects
So…on Monday I was in the Kremlin!!
but no worries I’m out and back in the UK!!

I had the privilege of being invited to represent the British Geriatric Society (BGS) Nurses and AHP Council to talk about Dementia and the nurse’s role at the Scientific and Practical Conference Long Term Care Focus on Dementia in St Petersburg last week. What struck me most as I listened to the presentation interpreted from Russian or Hebrew into English is that when it comes to talking about dementia we have more in common than divides us. Nurses, academics, physicians, psychiatrists, and nutritionists all talked about wanting to provide a person centred approach to care, seeing the person not their diagnosis and in essence wanting to offer a humanised approach to care. They discussed the importance of preparing nurses to work with older people and people with dementia and the challenges this poses for the curriculum. They emphasised the need for more research into what is ‘living well with dementia’ and how we can provide it. The presenters spoke with a passion that was inspiring.
I was able to offer the UK perspective and highlight examples from the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) at BU about our innovative approaches to education, research and practical examples of enabling people with dementia to live richer lives. My talk was being translated from English to Russian so as I started my talk I invited everyone to stand up to relieve their pressure areas (we had been sitting still for 2 hours and I am a nurse after all), I do not know what was translated but everyone did stand up, looking a bit bemused. Fortunately when I said to sit down again they all did – hand gestures helped! I felt like I was at the UN with my earpiece carefully in place, but was in awe of the eagerness to learn from others. I was the only person from the UK, but there were speakers from Norway, Israel and of course Russia all presenting. We have so much in common that I hope our conversations will continue.
I was able to stay the weekend and did a mini tour, that included the Hermitage Museum, the ballet (wow!), an overnight sleeper train to Moscow (I felt like I was in a Agatha Christi film), and of course go in to the Kremlin. It was a fascinating conference and trip.

Open Access week – To-do-Tuesday
Today we are talking about what you need to do to be compliant with Open Access requirements.
The good news is that it can simply be summarised as: submit your version of your papers to BRIAN as soon as they are accepted.

All articles and conference papers with an ISSN number, accepted for publication between 1st of April 2016 and 31st of December 2020, must be made Open Access. Outputs can be made Open Access through the Gold or the Green Open Access route.
This video explains how to deposit your outputs on BRIAN to go to BURO.
If you have any questions, please email the BRIAN (BRIAN@bournemouth.ac.uk) or the BURO (BURO@bournemouth.ac.uk) teams.
Powerless Responsibility: A feminist study exploring women’s experiences of caring for their late preterm babies
A new publication by Dr. Luisa Cescutti-Butler (FHSS) and her co-authors (Professor A Hemingway & Dr. J. Hewitt-Taylor) which explores women’s experiences of caring for a late preterm baby using feminism as a research methodology has just been published in the Australian Women and Birth Journal (October 2019). Her research found that women who become mothers’ of late preterm babies have a complex journey. It begins with separation, with babies being cared for in unfamiliar and highly technical environments where the perceived experts are healthcare professionals. Women’s needs are side-lined, and they are required to care for their babies within parameters determined by others. Institutional and professional barriers to mothering/caring are numerous. For example: some of the women who were separated from their babies immediately after birth had difficulties conceiving themselves as mothers, and others faced restrictions when trying to access their babies. Women described care that was centred on their babies. They were allowed and expected to care for their babies, but only with ‘powerless responsibility’. Many women appeared to be excluded from decisions and were not always provided with full information about their babies. The research concludes by recommending that women whose babies are born late preterm would benefit from greater consideration in relation to their needs, rather than the focus being almost exclusively on their babies.
Luisa is Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) and Lead for Examination of the Newborn in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. If you would like any further information please email Luisa on lcbutler@bournemouth.ac.uk
References:
Cescutti-Butler, L.D. Hewitt-Taylor, J. and Hemingway, A., 2019. Powerless responsibility: A feminist study of women’s experiences of caring for their late preterm babies. Women and Birth, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2019.08.006
Cescutti-Butler, L.D., Hemingway, A., and Hewitt-Taylor, J., 2018. “His tummy’s only tiny” – Scientific feeding advice versus women’s knowledge. Women’s experiences of feeding their late preterm babies. Midwifery, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2018.11.001
New Sociology and Development publication
Congratulations to Professors Sara Ashencaen Crabtree and Jonathen Parker in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences on the recent publication of their paper ‘‘Behaving like a Jakun!’ A case study of conflict, ‘othering’ and indigenous knowledge in the Orang Asli of Tasik Chini’ in the Journal of Sociology and Development [1]. This paper reports on an ethnographic study of the indigenous Jakun Orang Asli in West Malaysia.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
Reference:
- Parker, J., Ashencaen Crabtree, S., Crabtree Parker, M., Crabtree Parker, I., 2019. ‘Behaving like a Jakun!’ A case study of conflict, ‘othering’ and indigenous knowledge in the Orang Asli of Tasik Chini. Journal of Sociology & Development, 3 (1):23-32.
More pilots please!
“More pilots please!” is not a call from British Airways, Ryanair or the Royal Air Force. No, it a reminder to students to do more piloting in their postgraduate research projects. Between us we have read many (draft) theses and examined over 60 PhD theses external to Bournemouth University, and it is clear to us that many students do not do enough pre-testing or piloting of their research instruments. Perhaps they did some piloting or feasibility work for their projects but don’t write enough about it. Or they present some feasibility or piloting in their thesis but haven’t added references to methodological texts.
The term ‘pilot studies’ refers to mini versions of a full-scale study (also called ‘feasibility’ studies), as well as the specific pre-testing of a particular research instruments such as data collection tools (i.e. questionnaire or semi-structured interview schedule). Pilot studies are key to good study design [1-6]. Conducting a pilot study does not guarantee success in the main study, but it does increase the likelihood of success. Pilot studies have several of important functions in research design and can provide valuable insights to the researcher on both tools and research processes. We think it is telling that our most cited paper on Google Scholar is not one of our papers reporting research findings but a methods paper highlighting the importance of pilot studies [2].
Professors Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
References:
- van Teijlingen E, Rennie, AM., Hundley, V, Graham, W. (2001) The importance of conducting & reporting pilot studies: example of Scottish Births Survey, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34: 289-95.
- van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2001) The importance of pilot studies, Social Research Update Issue 35, (Editor N. Gilbert), Guildford: University of Surrey. Web: http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/SRU35.html
- van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V.(2002) ‘The importance of pilot studies’ Nursing Standard 16(40): 33-36. Web: www.nursing-standard.co.uk/archives/vol16-40/pdfs/vol16w40p3336.pdf
- Hundley, V., van Teijlingen E, (2002) The role of pilot studies in midwifery research RCM Midwives Journal 5(11): 372-74.
- van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2003) Pilot study, In: Lewis-Beck, M., Bryman, A. & Liao, T. (eds.) Encyclopaedia of Social Science Research Methods, Vol. 2, Orego, Sage: 823-24.
- van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2005) Pilot studies in family planning & reproductive health care, Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care 31(3): 219-21.
Congratulations to BU sociologist


The paper examines both individual (gender, ethnicity and caste) and structural (their experiences in relation to work, migration, education and lack of birth registration) vulnerabilities and their links with child trafficking as a child protection concern. The authors suggest there is a need for a more nuanced understanding of trafficking vulnerabilities as part of a continuum, rather than a distinct event, to improve outcomes for children. They use the evidence presented here to call for a holistic approach. Policies and programmes in Nepal and across the globe must be integrated within the broader concerns of child protection, thus strengthening the system from local to national level, while recognising the importance of children’s rights to participate in any decision-making.
Well done.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
Reference:
Newly accepted paper on Nepal in BMJ Open


The paper was co-authored by Sanjeev Neupane, Sujan Marahatta and Edwin van Teijlingen. Prof. Sujan Marahatta is based at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences in Nepal. Bournemouth University has a long-standing collaboration with Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences. Whilst Mr. Sanjeev Raj Neupane is based at the charity Save the Children in Kathmandu.
Reference:
- Regmi, P., Neupane, S., van Teijlingen, E., Marahatta, S. Hormone use in the male-to-female transgender population in Nepal: A qualitative study, BMJ Open (accepted).
BUCRU (Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit) – Newsletter


Please see the latest newsletter from the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU). We hope you find it interesting. This is our ‘last’ newsletter and covers content from last year, we are shortly introducing new quarterly ‘BUCRU Bulletins’ with more recent content to be disseminated digitally.
BUCRU supports researchers to improve the quality, quantity, and efficiency of research locally by supporting grant applications and providing on-going support in funded projects, as well as developing our own programme of research. 2018 was an exciting year for BUCRU including being awarded a further 5 years of funding from National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to continue our work as the RDS (Research Design Service) South West. We’ve also submitted 14 grant applications, have 23 peer-reviewed publications and over £800,000 in grant involvement.
You can find out more within the newsletter, including news from our colleagues in the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research and Education or visit: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/bucru
And don’t forget, your local branch of the NIHR RDS (Research Design Service) is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) on the 5th floor of Royal London House. Feel free to pop in and see us, call us on 61939 or send us an email.
BU Celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week
BU is celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week, for the first time, on the 19th of November with not ONE but TWO Mega Events! Supporting student experience; supporting BU commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals; and providing a platform to bring together wonderful examples of the power of enterprise in changing society.
Women in Entrepreneurship: An extraordinary panel of Women from various sectors and UK and Beyond, we have a number of Famous faces on the panel as well as women who are quietly making a huge impact on society and the economy; helping break down gender barriers to entrepreneurial activities. I am immensely proud to introduce the panel and the 3 wonderful ladies from Brazil who are also going to join us (see attached pic).The Women in Entrepreneurship Panel has been possible due to the support of funding from the Women’s Academic Network (WAN); ACORN award(Public dissemination of research); and Faculty of Management (Executive Dean Dr Lois Farquharson)
Venue- KG01 Time- 1245-1630
Also, on the 19th we are bringing SOUP to BU..what’s that you ask? BH SOUP (modelled on the Detroit SOUP movement) has been running successfully in the conurbation for the last few years and this year, to celebrate GEW and to harness the energy of the newly launched BU Social Entrepreneurs Forum, BH SOUP is coming to BU with BH SOUP Loves Social Enterprises. This event too is possible due to the Faculty of Management (Dr Lois Farquharson).
Venue- Fusion Building Ground Floor space- Time 1845-2100
Please see the eventbrite links below to register (for FREE) at the event(s)
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-entrepreneurship-tickets-74693186331
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bh-soup-loves-social-enterprises-tickets-74205618001

The Panelists!

BH SOUP Loves Social Enterprises

Ana Lucia, Brazil, Founder of Vision for Good

Clarrise Seixas, from Brazil founder of MIMOS, a social impact business

Ivi Felix, From Brazil; Founder of Mantiquira Local Market
Photo of the week ‘Safe swim: Supporting physical activity and well being for transgender young people’
Telling a story of research through photography
The ‘photo of the week’ is a weekly series featuring photographs taken by BU academics and students for our Research Photography Competition which took place earlier this year.
These provide a snapshot into some of the incredible research taking place across the BU community.
This week’s photo of the week was taken by Jayne Caudwell & Carly Stewart and is titled;
‘Safe swim: Supporting physical activity and well being for transgender young people’
This qualitative research project involves a local Bournemouth-based transgender group. It focuses on their swim-related activities to explore the benefits of water-based physical activity. Statistics demonstrate that LGBT+ have higher levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal feelings as a consequence of feeling isolated, and experiences of rejection and bullying. Transphobia and public scrutiny of transgender bodies negatively impacts the daily lives of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. There is evidence that swimming as a form of physical activity can enhance subjective well being. However, the places of sport and physical activity, specifically swimming pools are not always welcoming to transgender and gender non-conforming participants. Currently, the group privately hires a local pool and by invitation the researchers (Caudwell and Stewart) have attended on four occasions. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews have identified that group members look forward to and enjoy attending the sessions. The photograph celebrates members of the group being physically active and playful in the in-door place of a swimming pool. Aside: The group have given their consent for the photograph to be submitted to the Research Photography Competition.
(The researchers have obtained BU ethical clearance for the research project. The researchers completed the swimming pool’s required procedure to take photographs)

If you have any questions about the Photo of the Week series or the Research Photography Competition please email: research@bournemouth.ac.uk
Professor Sangeeta Khorana at the 2019 South West Economic Forum
Professor Sangeeta Khorana has been invited to speak at the 2019 South West Economic Forum. The event, scheduled for 10 October 2019 in Evershot Dorset, will focus on how local businesses are driving the local economy.
Professor Khorana will provide an update on the revised tariff schedule and state of play of current trade arrangements after Brexit to local businesses.
Other distinguished speakers include: Rebecca Stevens MBE (the first British woman to climb Mt Everest and the Seven Summits), Alistair Handyside MBE (Higher Wiscombe Eco Holidays Cottages), Nick Palmer (Managing Director and majority shareholder of EPS Services & Tooling Ltd) and Rubert Hollaway (founder of Conker’s signature Dorset Dry gin).
Colloquium is on the Way! Discussion forum with Global Connections- 11th December 2019😇 From 10:00 –12:00 at EB602
This discussion forum is a ‘spin-out’ event following the Conference ‘Deep Transformations and the Future of Organisations’ (6-7 December). It would be the very first event aiming to bridge UK-Japan researchers who are specialised in the research field of the B2B and business transformation in the globalised era.
Two presenters are invited to this colloquial from Japan, Professor Takemoto (Innovation & Management Laboratory, Fukui University) and Mr Ikematsu, (Consultant/Researcher, ex strategist for Fujitsu).
Professor Takemoto will talk about the revitalisation projects with entrepreneurial movements in Fukui area, referring to the concepts of ‘Creative destruction’ and ‘Planned Happenstance Theory’.
Mr Ikematsu will talk about his experiences from the marketing and economical points of view, presenting the ‘straggles’ to change Fujitsu from the B2B model firm to the B2C model firm. His presentation will be also a good case of innovation dilemma and network externalities.
The colloquial will be carried out via the Skype conference method. Dr Hiroko Oe will act as a facilitator for this colloquial and Dr Kaouther Kooli will perform as a supervisor for this event who liaises the outcome from the main Conference the week before.
BU ECRs and the PG students will be invited to the colloquial, too. Dr. Ediz Akcay (Lecturer in Digital Marketing) and Dr Yan Liang (Lecturer in Strategy) will be there as discussants.
This colloquial will provide unique and interesting views from the different cultural context of Japanese cases, including some key topics of the UN SDGs (e.g., Goal 9 ‘Industry, innovation and infrastructure’, Goal 11 ‘Sustainable cities and communities’, and Goal 17 ‘Partnerships for the goals’).
Media industries haemorrhage experience
Richard Wallis writes:
A new study of Media Production graduates’ long-term career trajectories exposes industry’s high levels of wastage.
Like consumable goods that come labelled with a ‘best before’ date, it seems that media careers may also come with a limited shelf-life. Research published this week suggests that media industries have a problem with long-term retention. The study is one of a series we have undertaken to investigate the career trajectories of our students. The more that we understand about their post-BU working lives, the better we can prepare them for the world of work, and the more effectively we can be the critical friend providing much-needed thought-leadership for industry.
The study took as its focus the BA Media Production (BAMP) ‘Class of ‘95’: the cohort of Media Production students who arrived at Bournemouth at the point at which the institution received its university status. These BU first-generation graduates are now in mid-career, and their working lives have spanned a period of unprecedented upheaval within the industries that they aspired to work in. The study has exposed a feature of media work that has wider implications for the way media industries operate.
We have long known that media work is not for the faint-of-heart, and that the transition from University into work can be extremely challenging. Many previous studies (including our own) have attempted to examine some of the difficulties graduates face, particularly during the early stages of their careers. In this study we set out to understand the way in which the demands of media work are experienced through the prism of age, and life stage. We were able to interview a sample of 28 of these graduates: just over one third of the ’95 cohort.
What we learned surprised us. We had thought that the major challenges of media work were those experienced in early career. What we found caused us to question this presumption. Although we confirmed much of what previous studies have highlighted about early careers, sustaining the relentless pressures of such work over the longer-term transpired to be just as significant a problem. Many of our contributors talked fondly, and sometimes passionately, about work they had found to be enormously rewarding, but this ‘labour of love’ had become increasingly difficult to sustain over time. The rate of attrition by mid-career is striking. This presents an important challenge to the media industries. Whilst they become increasingly reliant on well-educated, highly motivated neophytes who are inexpensive, willing, and able to be flexible and self-exploiting, they are heamorrhaging experience, honed skills, and organizational memory. This is a development that, ultimately, cannot be for the good of the individual worker, the media organisations in which they work, or the Creative Industries as a sector.
See: Wallis, R., van Raalte, C. and Allegrini, S. (2019) The ‘shelf-life’ of a media career: a study of the long-term career narratives of media graduates. Creative Industries Journal https://doi.org/10.1080/17510694.2019.1664099
Midwifery models in the Netherlands

This autumn the Dutch journal for midwives Tijdschrift voor Verloskundigen published a paper on the risk associated with thinking in terms of risks [1]. Dr. Marianne J Nieuwenhuijze is the lead author of this paper written in Dutch. Marianne is associated with the Research Centre Midwifery Science at the Academie Verloskunde Maastricht (the Netherlands). Her co-authors are BU Professor Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) and Dr. Helen Bryers who is Honorary Public Health Specialist (Midwife) at NHS Highland. The paper builds on earlier work around the concept of the social/medical model in pregnancy and childbirth [2-7].
References:
- Nieuwenhuijze, M., van Teijlingen, E., Mackenzie-Bryers, H. (2019) In risiko’s denken is niety zonder risiko (In Dutch: Thinking in terms of risk, it not with its risk). Tijdschrift voor Verloskundigen (in Dutch: Journal for Midwives), 43 (4): 6-9.
- Brailey, S., Luyben, A., Firth, L., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Women, midwives and a medical model of maternity care in Switzerland, Int J Childbirth 7(3): 117-125.
- van Teijlingen, E. (2017) The medical and social model of childbirth, Kontakt 19 (2): e73-e74
- MacKenzie Bryers H., van Teijlingen, E. (2010) Risk, Theory, Social & Medical Models: critical analysis of the concept of risk in maternity care, Midwifery 26(5): 488-496.
- Ireland, J., van Teijlingen, E. (2013) Normal birth: social-medical model, Practising Midwife 16 (11): 17-20.
- van Teijlingen E. (2005) A critical analysis of the medical model as used in the study of pregnancy and childbirth, Sociol Res Online, 10 (2) Web address: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/10/2/teijlingen.html
- Luce, A., Cash, M., Hundley, V., Cheyne, H., van Teijlingen, E., Angell, C. (2016) “Is it realistic?” the portrayal of pregnancy and childbirth in the media BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 16: 40 http://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-016-0827-x
WAN & Seldom Heard Voices: ‘Gender in Conflict’ conference Wed 09/10/2019
Staff, students and colleagues are warmly invited to an inspiring and engaging half-day conference on Wednesday 9 October from 1pm (BG11, Lansdowne Campus). Speakers include visiting colleagues from Kosovo and BU academic staff. The conference opens with an informal networking lunch, followed by presentations and panel discussion.
The focus of this conference is to discuss and debate whether issues of gender, violence and conflict that have heightened visibility in post-conflict environments, can be recognised similarly in the UK. By asking what we can learn from questions of gendered violence in a fragile international context and whether these can be applied to our social environments in the UK, the aims are:
To de-exoticise gendered violence in war and post-conflict contexts abroad by going beyond stereotypical assumptions and representations;
To interpret contemporary UK conceptualisations of gendered violence through an alternative lens inspired by international experience.
We are fortunate to have the opportunity of the Erasmus-funded presence of two visiting Kosovar colleagues who are presenting at this event. Dr Linda Gusia and Assoc. Prof. Nita Luci are the founders and directors of the Programme for Gender Studies and Research at University of Prishtina, Kosovo. They are highly active for women’s rights in the public sphere of in Kosovo. This poses unexpected challenges to equal rights not only arising from classic patriarchal cultural legacies but also from masculinity reiterations in the totalising field of international, post-conflict intervention.
We are also joined by two BU criminologists of the Department for Social Sciences who are working in related fields of gendered gang crimes: Jade Levell on gang crimes in the UK) and Dr Shovita Dhakal Adhikari on questions of human trafficking in Nepal. This conference arises from our own academic interests in questions of gendered hate crime in the UK (Dr Jane Healy) and on transnational and post-conflict questions of social justice (Dr Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers).
1.00: Arrivals and networking lunch
2.00: Welcome by Sara Ashencaen Crabtree, WAN, and by Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, Centre for Marginalised Voices
2.15: Jade Levell, BU: “The competing masculinities of gang-involved men who experienced domestic violence/abuse in childhood”
2.45: Nita Luci, Univ. of Prishtina: “Researching Gender in the Balkans”
2.55: Break for tea and coffee
3.15: Linda Gusia, Univ. of Prishtina: “Recognition of Sexual Violence in Kosovo after the War”
3.45: Shovita Dhakal Adhikari: “Exploring Child Vulnerabilities: pre- and post-disaster in Nepal”
4.00: Panel Discussion: “Inverting the gaze: Juxtaposing gender and conflict in transitional societies abroad and the UK”
5.00: Close
Please register at: https://genderconference.eventbrite.co.uk/
Event Date: 09/10/2019
Event Description: Women’s Academic Network & Centre for Seldom Heard Voices present: Gender in Conflict Conference
Contact Details: jhealy@bournemouth.ac.uk & sssievers@bournemouth.ac.uk
Wednesday 9 October: BG11 1-5pm: ALL WELCOME
Please register at: https://genderconference.eventbrite.co.uk/
Bournemouth University at New Scientist Live
What do dinosaurs and the fossil footprints of our ancient human ancestors have to do with catching criminals?
Researchers at Bournemouth University have travelled the world over the last few years documenting fossil footprints both of humans and extinct animals. We read the story in the traces left in the rock record, to tell the story of how different animals interacted, how they walked and behaved. We have developed freeware to help capture these traces in 3D and analyse them using some cool mathematical techniques including machine learning. Recently we have shown how our American ancestors hunted giant ground sloth, and how patterns of human locomotion have changed as our ancestors in Africa evolved. Take this know-how, the mathematical tools and computer software we have developed to translate our research into forensic practice, and you have modern tools for the police to track criminals via their footprints.
Want to find out more? Come and see us at New Scientist Live 10-13 Oct 2019 ExCeL, London. Stand 524.

Nepali migrants’ health & wellbeing: Setting research priorities
Work-related migration is a common livelihood strategy for many young people in Nepal. It is estimated that about 3.5 million Nepali work abroad, mainly in Malaysia, the Gulf countries, and India. The economic contribution of Nepali migrants to the country is highly significant as they send over US$6.1 billion in remittances which is 26 % of Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP) [1].
There is a growing global literature on migrant workers’ poor health and wellbeing and of those they leave behind. Over the past decade the media in Nepal have reported on the mortality and morbidity of Nepali migrants abroad. Every year at least one thousand dead bodies of Nepali migrants return back home via Tribhuvan International Airport (the only international airport in Nepal the country). The Government of Nepal estimated 5,982 deaths in migrant workers in the period 2008 to 2017, however there is likely to have been under-reporting [2].
Although there have been studies on Nepali migrants’ health [3-9], these are largely around (a) sexual risk-taking behaviours of Nepali migrants in India; and, (b) occupational health and injuries issues among Nepali migrants in Gulf countries. These studies are carried out with the support from development partners and/or government organisations. However, most migration health research in Nepal has been small-scale for example to collect baseline information or as part of Masters or PhD projects. Currently, there is no research priority agenda on the topic of Nepali migrants’ health and wellbeing issues.
To address this gap in the research agenda staff in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences and their collaborators organised a consultation workshop on August 2nd of this year in Kathmandu, Nepal. This workshop aimed to identify Nepali migrant workers’ health research prioritites and gaps. A total of 26 participants representing universities, ministries, non-governmental organisations working for migrants and research organisations attended the workshop.
The workshop was participatory in nature. To start with BU Professor Edwin van Teijlingen and Professor Padam Simkhada (BU Visiting Professor) shared global perspectives on migrant workers health. Whilst BU lecturer Dr Pramod Regmi highlighted key findings of BU’s migration research of Nepali migrants and their left-behinds. This contextual information helped focus the discussion on Nepali migrant health research priorities and gaps.
In order to identify the research agenda and prioritise issues and problems, participants were divided into four groups, each comprising 6-8 experts in the migration field. Groups were purposively formed to include participants from diverse backgrounds, e.g., migration related researchers, migration programme managers and policy-makers. Each member of the team was requested to identify two to five research needs around Nepali migrants’ health and share within their group for consensus. The group then prepared research priorities agreed in their team. Each team presented the research priorities to the wider group. A total of 46 research agenda items were identified which were subsequently prioritised through a voting process. Table 1 shows who participants ranked the top issues requiring further research.
Table 1 Top migration health research priorities in Nepal
- Causes of sudden cardiac deaths among Nepali migrant workers in the countries of Gulf and Malaysia
- Left-behind adolescents and social blaming/separation
- Methods/mixed/iterature searching/before and after study/case study
- Cross-border/national studies
- Research on undocumented migrants
- Culturally appropriate health care to migrants
- School education on migration
- Living condition of migrants abroad
- Pre-departure health status

The way forward
The consultation workshop was very productive in many ways. First, it identified wide ranging health research for Nepali migrants and prioritised these research issues. This information may help guide future research on migration studies. Secondly, the workshop offered a platform to build a network among researchers working for Nepali migrants.
Pramod R Regmi, Nirmal Aryal, and Edwin van Teijlingen
References:
- Ministry of Finance. (2018). Economic survey: Fiscal Year 2017/18. In. Kathmandu: Ministry of Finance: Government of Nepal.
- Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of Nepal. (2018) Labour migration for employment: a status report for Nepal: 2015/2016 – 2016/2017. In. Kathmandu, Nepal: Ministry of Labour and Employment.
- Adhikary P, van Teijlingen E., Keen S. (2019) Workplace accidents among Nepali male workers in the Middle East and Malaysia: A qualitative study, Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health 21(5): 1115–1122. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10903-018-0801-y
- Adhikary P., Keen S., van Teijlingen E. (2011) Health Issues among Nepalese migrant workers in Middle East. Health Science Journal 5: 169-75. www.hsj.gr/volume5/issue3/532.pdf
- Adhikary, P, Sheppard, Z., Keen, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Risky work: accidents among Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia, Qatar & Saudi Arabia, Health Prospect 16(2): 3-10.
- Adhikary P, Sheppard, Z., Keen S., van Teijlingen E. (2018) Health and well-being of Nepalese migrant workers abroad, International Journal of Migration, Health & Social Care 14(1): 96-105. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-12-2015-0052
- Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Mahato, P., Aryal, N., Jadhav, N., Simkhada, P., Zahiruddin, Q.S., Gaidhane, A. (2019) The Health of Nepali Migrants in India: A Qualitative Study of Lifestyles and Risks. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 (19). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16193655
- Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Faller, E.M., van Teijlingen, E., Khoon, C.C., Pereira, A., Simkhada, P. (2019) Sudden cardiac death and kidney health related problems among Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 9 (3), 788-791. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v9i3.25805
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