BU Research Blog | Social Work and Social Policy

23 August 2017

New CMMPH publication on maternity care in Nepal

international, open access, Publishing, student research, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today the journal BMC Health Services Research accepted our scientific paper ‘The contribution of female community health volunteers (FCHVs) to maternity care in Nepal: a qualitative study’ [1]. FCHVs who form an integral part of community-based primary healthcare system of Nepal. Some 50,000 FCHVs working across the country distribute temporary contraception or refer for other methods of family planning in formal healthcare centres.

As the lowest level healthcare provider working in local communities, FCHVs deliver basic maternal healthcare services to pregnant women and mothers in rural communities. The paper concludes that no research to date has been able to demonstrate that the FCHVs roles themselves have an impact on maternal mortality or other health outcomes; quantitative studies are needed to do this.

The paper is based on Dr. Sarita Panday’s recently completed PhD at The University of Sheffield, Prof. Paul Bissell Dean of the School of Human and Health Sciences at the University of Huddersfield, Prof. Padam Simkhada, BU Visiting Faculty and Associate Dean for Global Engagement at Liverpool John Moores University and BU’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health.

Reference:

Panday, S., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2017) The contribution of female community health volunteers (FCHVs) to maternity care in Nepal: a qualitative study BMC Health Services Research (accepted August 2017).

19 August 2017

Congratulations to Dr. Keen on new Nepal publication

international, open access, PG research, Publishing, student research, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Steve Keen in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences and BU PhD graduate Dr. Pratik Adhikary on the acceptance today of their paper ‘Risky work: Accidents among Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia, Qatar and Saudi ‘ by the journal Health Prospect [1]. This is a peer-reviewed public health journal, part of Nepal Journals Online, and the journal is Open Access. Nepal Journals OnLine (NepJOL) provides access to Nepalese published research, and increase worldwide knowledge of indigenous scholarship.

The Faculty of Health & Social Sciences has a growing number of publications on health and migration research, especially on the health and well-being of migrants from Nepal [2-5].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

References:

Adhikary, P., Sheppard, Z., Keen, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Risky work: Accidents among Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia, Qatar and Saudi, Health Prospect (forthcoming)
Adhikary, P., Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen E., Raja, AE. (2008) Health & Lifestyle of Nepalese Migrants in the UK BMC International Health & Human Rights 8(6). Web address: www.biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/8/6.
van Teijlingen E, Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P. (2009) Alcohol use among the Nepalese in the UK BMJ Rapid Response: www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/339/oct20_1/b4028#223451
Adhikary P., Keen S., van Teijlingen, E. (2011) Health Issues among Nepalese migrant workers in Middle East. Health Science Journal 5: 169-175. www.hsj.gr/volume5/issue3/532.pdf
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P., Bhatta, Y.K.D., Mann, S. (2016) Injury and Mortality in Young Nepalese Migrant Workers: A Call for Public Health Action. Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health 28(8): 703-705.

8 August 2017

Denyse King’s Health Education England project ‘NoObesity’

Knowledge Transfer Edwin van Teijlingen

NoObesity

The government’s key priority of reducing childhood obesity through adult education (as announced by Jeremy Hunt in Sept 2015), prompted BU’s Denyse King to write a proposal to Health Education England. Denyse is a Midwifery Lecturer / Public Health Practitioner in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) at Bournemouth University. The proposal outlined her wish to develop a stand-alone mobile learning resource for health workers who care for families of overweight or obese children, and for families who need to identify individual needs to facilitate behavioural changes.

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor childhood obesity statistics uk, 2016

The development of this project pivoted on putting patients and the public in the centre of the process. Patients and the public were engaged through focus groups where insights were gathered to identify the challenges and issues to the problem. A series of online focus groups were undertaken with service users and professionals to understand the key challenges and issues respondents came across when trying to prevent/manage overweight and obesity. Key themes from the focus groups were:

Empowering – the solution needs to recognise the experiences people bring and therefore the tools need to be empowering in supporting families to address obesity.
Parenting tips – to address challenges with encouraging positive health behaviours with children.
Responding to barriers – from parent/carers who are being supported by health professionals.
Obesity isn’t a quick fix – recognising that sustained behaviour change takes time and support to overcoming barriers is vital.
Healthy snacks and activities – provide easy and simple ideas to support parents/carers and professionals to identify quick ways to support healthier eating and increase activity.
Portion size – understanding that portion size is important in addition to eating healthily.

Topic experts were identified and invited to join the project steering group where they provided the governance and steer of the overall development of this project whilst Denyse King wrote the content. The following Apps have been developed as a result and will be available to all as free download in IOS and Android platforms from late September 2017:

NoObesity Family Focused App – After consultation with a healthcare worker, families set health goals, identify potential barriers and strategies to overcome them, record their progress towards their goals, earning points and awards as they go. Families are encouraged to link accounts to healthcare professional accounts (see below). The tool also includes parenting tips, games and useful links.
NoObesity Professional Focused App– Healthcare professionals can see the goals, barriers, strategies, progress, points and awards of linked families, making them better able to provide tailored advice to the families, to help them achieve their goals. This is based on research findings that ‘one-size- fits-all’ health advice simply doesn’t work for most families. The tool also includes the Wessex MECC-based guidance on how to best support families, how to handle common objections, games and useful links.

Denyse would like to thank Dr. Joanne Newton project proposal support, Felicity Hargreaves and Helen Bingham for approval of the final project proposall. Thanks to all those who contributed to answering the research questions, as well as those who tested and fed back on the prototype, and also to Bournemouth University, University of Southampton, and NHS England for their support of this project.

List of the members of the steering group

Name	Job Title	Organisation	Steering Group Role
Em Rahman	Head of Public Health Workforce Development Programmes	Health Education England (Wessex)	Steering Group Chair
Alison Potter	Technology Enhanced Learning Lead (South)	Health Education England (South)	Deputy-Chair
Dr. Jenny Godson (MBE)	National Lead for Oral Health Improvement	Public Health England	Dental and dental aspects of nutrition
Prof. Edwin van Teijingen	Professor – Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health	Bournemouth University	Research supervision and education governance
Dr. Juliet McGrattan	General Practitioner	Cumbria Medical Chambers	GP role governance
Kate King-Hicks	Health and Wellbeing Programme Lead	Public Health England (South East)	Obesity governance
Tony Hewett	Intervention Manager and behaviour change specialist	Miltoncross Academy	School staff role governance
Dr. Jo Walker	Consultant Paediatrician	Portsmouth Hospitals Trust	Consultant doctors role governance
Dr. Wendy Marsh	Lead Midwife for Safeguarding	Portsmouth Hospitals Trust	Safeguarding governance
Kate Lees	Consultant in Public Health and Dietitian	Lees & Latouze	Nutrition governance
Denyse King	Lecturer in Midwifery and Public Health Practitioner	Bournemouth University	Content author and governance

29 July 2017

New research ethics paper Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

international, Publishing, Research Ethics, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Next months sees the publication of our latest article on research ethics in developing countries [1]. Our paper argues that despite a significant increase in health research activity in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) in recent years, only limited work has been done to address ethical concerns. Most ethics committees in LMICs lack the authority and/or the capacity to monitor research in the field. This is important since not all research, particularly in LMICs region, complies with ethical principles, sometimes this is inadvertently or due to a lack of awareness of their importance in assuring proper research governance. With several examples from Nepal, this paper reflects on the steps required to obtain informed consents and highlights some of the major challenges and barriers to seeking informed consent from research participants. At the end of this paper, we also offer some recommendations around how can we can promote and implement optimal informed consent taking process.

The paper is co-written by six authors, and interestingly five are graduates of the University of Aberdeen. These Aberdeen University graduates are currently affiliated with five different universities. Four of who are based in the UK at: the University of Liverpool, the University of the West of England, the University of Oxford, and in Bournemouth University’s Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) and one in the USA: Georgetown University. The sixth co-author, Nirmal Aryal, is currently a PhD student at the University of Otago in Dunedin (New Zealand). Whilst Liverpool-based researcher Dr. Pramod Regmi is heading back for Bournemouth University to become a lecturer in International Health in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences this autumn.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Regmi, P.R., Aryal, N., Kurmi, O., Pant, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Wasti, P.P. (2017) Informed consent in health research: challenges and barriers in low-and middle-income countries with specific reference to Nepal, Developing World Bioethics 17(2):84-89

21 July 2017

BU prof speaking at the University of Sheffield

international, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

BU professor Edwin van Teijlingen from the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perianal Health (CMMPH) had the honour of being invited to speak at a workshop ran yesterday by the Sheffield Institute for International Development. The workshop ‘Nepal: Reconstruction, Resilience and Development’ was organised by the University of Sheffield.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen spoke about endemic corruption in Nepal and opportunities that are offered by disasters such as earthquakes for more corruption. He pointed out that there is little research on corruption in Nepal, despite its low ranking on the international Corruption Perceptions Index. The presentation can be viewed here: Nepal earthquake corruption 2017 .

He pointed out that disasters are confusing events with often loads of money and relief aid arriving under chaotic conditions. Immediate emergency aid needs to be distributed to unknown people (‘those affected’), in difficult to access areas, under often chaotic socio-political conditions.

He also reminded the audience that corruption (and corrupt behaviour) are not limited to low-income countries. He highlighted the Ariana Grande case in Manchester (UK) where thousands falsely claimed to have been at the original attacked concert when applying for a ticket for the Manchester One Love concert.

21 July 2017

Good month for BU reproductive health publications

Centre for Excellence in Learning, international, Knowledge Transfer, PG research, Publishing, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

This month has been exceptionally good for BU publications in the field of midwifery and maternity care. Two PhD students has their articles published in international academic journals, one member of staff had a textbook chapter published, an interdisciplinary team has been accepted for publication in the British Journal of Midwifery, and a member of the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) co-authored this month’s editorial in the Journal of Asian Midwives as well as an epidemiology paper on the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) in Nepal.

The first of this success story was CMMP PhD student Preeti Mahato whose her latest paper ‘Factors related to choice of place of birth in a district in Nepal’ appeared in the Elsevier journal Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare [1]. The second PhD paper was also based on research in Nepal this time by Sheetal Sharma whose paper ‘Evaluation a Community Maternal Health Programme: Lessons Learnt’ appeared in Journal of Asian Midwives [2]. The textbook chapter was by Dr. Jenny Hall who contributed a chapter to the latest edition of Mayes Midwifery , which is the classic midwifery textbook and now in its 15th edition [3]. The interdisciplinary paper is by Angela Warren, service user and carer coordinator PIER partnership, Dr Mel Hughes, principal academic in social work, academic lead for PIER partnership, and Dr Jane Fry and Dr Luisa Cescutti-Butler who are both senior lecturers in midwifery in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) [4]. The latest issue of the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology carried a CMMPH co-authored paper on the HPV in young women in Nepal [5]. The final piece, an editorial, appeared yesterday in the latest issue of the Journal of Asian Midwives [6].

Congratulations to all authors!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Sheppard, Z., Silwal, R.C. (2017) Factors related to choice of place of birth in a district in Nepal, Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare 13 : 91-96.
Sharma, S., Simkhada, P., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E., Stephens, J., Silwal, R.C., Angell, C. (2017) Evaluation a Community Maternal Health Programme: Lessons Learnt. Journal of Asian Midwives. 4 (1): 3–20.
Hall, J. (2017) ‘Fertility and it’s control’ In: Macdonald, S. & Johnson, G. Mayes’ Midwifery, 15th Edition, London: Elsevier.
Warren, A., Hughes, M., Fry, J., Cescutti-Butler, L. (2017) ‘Involvement in midwifery education: experiences from a university service user and carer partnership’ British Journal of Midwifery (forthcoming).
Sathian, B., Babu, MGR., van Teijlingen, E.R., Banerjee, I., Subramanya, H.S., Roy, B., Subramanya, H., Rajesh, E., Devkota, S. (2017) Ethnic variation in perception of Human Papillomavirus and its Vaccination among young women in Nepal, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 7 (1): 647-658. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/17757
Jan, R., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Exciting Times in South-Asian Midwifery, Journal of Asian Midwives 4 (1):1

19 July 2017

New publication by FHSS PhD student

international, open access, PG research, Publishing, Student Engagement, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) PhD student Folashade Alloh and Dr. Pramod Regmi, newly appointed lecturer in International Health. They just published ‘Effect of economic and security challenges on the Nigerian health sector’ in the journal African Health Sciences. The paper is Open Access and can be found here!

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

14 July 2017

New publication on Community Hospitals

international, Knowledge Exchange, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

The Health Services Journal published a commentary this week on Community Hospitals [1]. This online article is written by Dr. Emma Pitchforth who is based at RAND Europe in Cambridge (& BU Visiting Faculty), Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (Faculty of Health & Social Sciences) and Dr. Ellen Nolte based at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.

The authors highlight the recently completed NIHR study on Community Hospitals [2]. The notion of a Community Hospital in the UK is evolving from the traditional model of a local hospital staffed by general practitioners and nurses and serving mainly rural populations. Along with the diversification of models, there is a renewed policy interest in community hospitals and their potential to deliver integrated care. However, there is a need to better understand the role of different models of community hospitals within the wider health economy and an opportunity to learn from experiences of other countries to inform this potential.

With ease of access and a sense of homeliness, there is potential for Community Hospitals to be better integrated into NHS in England. The authors suggest that a more strategic role for ‘traditional’ Community Hospitals might be timely within the NHS in England. They further conclude that if challenges around Community Hospitals are addressed and their within the English health system is properly defined, they could provide positive benefits to the health service. It seems that, if done correctly, Community Hospitals could be a traditional solution to help address some of the modern day challenges of the NHS.The full NIHR report is Open Access and can be found here!

Last year the research team had already published a scoping review article from the NIHR study [3].

References:

Pitchforth, E., van Teijlingen, E., Nolte, E. (2017) Community hospitals: a traditional solution to help today’s NHS? Health Services Journal (11 July) https://www.hsj.co.uk/community-services/community-hospitals-a-traditional-solution-to-help-todays-nhs/7020019.article#/scientific-summary
Pitchforth, E., Nolte, E., Corbett, J., Miani., C, Winpenny., E, van Teijlingen, E., Elmore, N,, King, S,, Ball, S,, Miler, J,, Ling, T. (2017) Community hospitals and their services in the NHS: identifying transferable learning from international developments – scoping review, systematic review, country reports and case studies Health Services & Delivery Research 5(19): 1-248.
Wimpenny, E.M., Corbett, J., Miami, C., King, S., Pitchforth, E., Ling, T., van Teijlingen, E. Nolte, E. (2016) Community hospitals in selected high income countries: a scoping review of approaches and models. International Journal of Integrated Care 16(4): 13 http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ijic.2463

8 July 2017

Tenth anniversary PLOS ONE

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

On the tenth anniversary of the international Open Access journal PLOS ONE we received an email to inform us that one of our articles was among the top ten per cent of most cited articles in this journal. The email referred to our paper ‘Factors influencing adherence to antiretroviral treatment in Nepal: A mixed-methods study’ [1]. Not bad considering that PLOS ONE has published over 4,300 articles since its inception.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

24 June 2017

“New” FHSS paper on obesity published July 2017

open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

The American Journal of Men’s Health published our latest paper on obesity prevention in men. The paper ‘Clinical Effectiveness of Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance Interventions for Men: A Systematic Review of Men-Only Randomized Controlled Trials (The ROMEO Project)’ originates from a collaboration between BU and various universities in Scotland, led by the University of Aberdeen [1].

This systematic review paper found that reducing diets produced better weight loss than physical activity alone. The most effective interventions combined reducing diets, exercise, and behaviour change techniques . Group interventions produced favourable weight loss results. The paper reports that once engaged, men remained committed to a weight loss intervention.

The paper concludes that weight loss for men is best achieved and maintained with the combination of a reducing diet, increased physical activity, and behaviour change techniques. Strategies to increase engagement of men with weight loss services to improve the reach of interventions are needed. This paper is the thirteenth paper from a large NIHR grant [2-13].

The American Journal of Men’s Health is an open access, peer-reviewed resource for cutting-edge information regarding men’s health and illness. It is, however worth noting that although our paper is formally published in July 2017 it has been online for two years! The journal’s website states clearly that the article was first published online on June 30, 2015 BUT the issue in which it appears is published is July 1, 2017!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Robertson, C., Avenell, A., Stewart, F., Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., Boyers, D. (2017) Clinical effectiveness of weight loss & weight maintenance interventions for men: a systematic review of men-only randomised controlled trials (ROMEO Project), American Journal of Men’s Health 11(4): 1096-1123. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1557988315587550
Robertson, C, Archibald, D, Avenell, A, Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen E, Boyers, D., Stewart, F, Boachie, C, Fioratou E., Wilkins, D, Street, T., Carroll, P., Fowler, C. (2014) Systematic reviews of & integrated report on quantitative, qualitative & economic evidence base for the management of obesity in men. Health Technology Assessment 18(35): 1-424. http://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/118180/FullReport-hta18350.pdf
Stewart, F., Fraser, C., Robertson, C., Avenell, A., Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., Boyers, D. (2014) Are men difficult to find? Identifying male-specific studies in MEDLINE and Embase, Systematics Reviews 3,78.
Archibald, D, Douglas, F, Hoddinott, P, van Teijlingen, E, Stewart, F., Robertson, C., Boyers, D., Avenell, A. (2015) A qualitative evidence synthesis on management of male obesity. BMJ Open 5: e008372. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008372 http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/10/e008372.full.pdf+html
Boyers, D, Stewart, F, Fraser, C, Robertson, C, Avenell, A, Archibald, D, Douglas, F, Hoddinott P, van Teijlingen E. (2015). A systematic review of the cost-effectiveness of non-surgical obesity interventions in men, Obesity Research & Clinical Practice 9(4), 310-327.
Robertson, C, Avenell, A, Boachie, C., Stewart, F., Archibald D., Hoddinott, P, Douglas, F, van Teijlingen E, Boyers D. (2016) Should weight loss and maintenance programmes be designed differently for men? Systematic review of long-term RCTs presenting data for men & women: The ROMEO Project, Obesity Research & Clinical Practice 10: 70-84.
Robertson, C., Avenell, A., Boachie, C., Stewart, F., Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., Boyers, D. (2015) Should weight loss programmes be designed differently for men and women? The ROMEO Project, Appetite 87: 374.
Robertson, C., Avenell, A., Stewart, F., Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., Boyers, D. (2015) A systematic review of long-term weight management randomized controlled trials for obese men. The ROMEO Project, Appetite 87: 374.
Robertson, C., Avenell, A., Stewart, F., Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., Boyers, D. (2015) A systematic review of weight loss interventions in the UK. The ROMEO Project, Appetite 87: 375.
Boyers, D., Avenell, A., Stewart, F., Robertson, C., Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., (2015) A systematic review of the cost-effectiveness of non-surgical obesity interventions in men, Appetite 87: 375.
Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., Boyers, D., Avenell, A., Stewart, F., Robertson, C., (2015) A qualitative evidence synthesis on the management of male obesity. The ROMEO Project, Appetite 87: 381.
Avenell, A., Robertson, C., Boachie, C., Stewart, F Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2016) Sex based subgroup differences in randomized controlled trials: empirical evidence from Cochrane meta-analyses BMJ 355:i5826 http://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i5826/rapid-responses
Avenell, A., Robertson, C., Stewart, F., Boyers, D., Douglas, F., Archibald, D., van Teijlingen, E., Hoddinott, P., Boachie, C. (2016) Sex can affect participation, engagement, and adherence in trials, BMJ 355:i6754 http://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/355/bmj.i6754.full.pdf

23 June 2017

Prof. Sara Ashencaen Crabtree – My Publishing experience…

Guidance, international, Publishing, writing sastringer

On Wednesday 28th June, the Writing Academy will be hosting a Lunchbyte session with Sara Ashencaen Crabtree. During the session Sara will talk about her personal publishing experience, her approaches to research and writing, her tips on developing a publication strategy, working with co-authors, reviewers and editors. She will talk about all types of publishing drawing on personal experience, focusing on international reach.

Aims:

Developing a Publication Strategy
Dealing with Co-Editors, Reviewers & Editors
International Reach

Click here to book on!

21 June 2017

Maternal mental health in Nepal ICM presentation

international, PG research, Public engagement, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

As promised to our audience at the 31st International Confederation of Midwifery Triennial Congress in Toronto today: the slides used on our session ‘Mental health training for community maternity workers in Nepal. The slides in PDF format can be accessed here: Nepal THET ICM 2017. Our project brought together academics, midwives, nurses, and other health workers in Nepal and the UK to help in the training of Auxiliary Nurse Midwives in Nawalparasi on key aspects of mental health and mental health promotion. The project led by Bournemouth University was funded under the Health Partnership Scheme (HPS) which is managed by a London-based organisation called THET (Tropical Health & Education Trust).

Can I also take the opportunity to list all our collaborators in Nepal and UK:

Padam Simkhada, Bhimsen Devkota, Shyam K. Maharjan, Lokendra Sherchan, Ram Chandra Silwal, Krishna Acharya, Bishnu G.C., Ram K. Maharjan, Bibha Simkhada, Jillian Ireland, Jane Stephens, Colette Fanning, Edwin van Teijlingen, Geeta Sharma, Samridhi Pradhan, Seam MacKay, Ish Fawcett, Andrea Lawrie, Dave Havelock, Liz Murphy, Rose Pringle, Sapana Bista, Chrissy Reeves & Flora Douglas.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

21 June 2017

Review published on BU co-edited academic book

international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Sometimes we use the BU Research Blog to report on our own research and publications, sometimes post blogs about the works of colleagues. Occasionally we have the pleasure to report on something written about, or in reply to, our own studies. This book review in The Practising Midwife [1] falls in the latter category as it reviews our recently published edited volume New Thinking on Improving Maternity Care: International Perspectives. This volume is edited by academic from across the varies countries [2]. The book is the result of years of comparative international research, funded by the EU (European Union) through its COST Action. The book sets out to generate the best possible evidence across a range of childbirth practices, contexts, and issues in Europe (and beyond).

The reviewer is Sophie Clare a Staff Midwife at Wexford General Hospital finds it an insightful book which is “a collection of chapters examining issues pertinent to maternity care and midwifery practice across cultures and continents.” She concludes that our book “demonstrates the value of international comparative research in learning what kind of care is best and for whom, in any given setting.”

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

References:

Clare, S. (2017) New Thinking on Improving Maternity Care: International Perspectives, Sarah Church, Lucy Firth, Marie-Claire Balaam et al (ads) 2017, Pinter and Martin Ltd, 216pp, £24.99, pbk, ISBN 978 178066 240 4 [book review], The Practising Midwife 20(6):36.
Church, C., Firth, L., Balaam, M-C., Berg, M., Smith, V., van der Walt, C., Downe, S., van Teijlingen, E. (Eds.) (2017) New Thinking on Improving Maternity Care: International Perspectives, London: Pinter & Martin

20 June 2017

BU posters at international midwifery conference

conferences, international Edwin van Teijlingen

BU academics from the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences had a strong presence at the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) in Canada this lunch time. They presented four separate academic posters today at the ICM conference in Toronto. First, Dr. Alison Taylor presented her poster ‘Mothers need to talk, midwives need to listen: Insights from breastfeeding mother’s video diaries’. Secondly, Sara Stride and Dr. Sue Way presented their poster on ‘UUPP Study: Updating the Understanding of Perineal Practice at the time of birth across the United Kingdom’.

Prof. Vanora Hundley, Dr. Ann Luce (BU Faculty of Media & Communication), Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and two students, Sofie Edlund and Sian Ridden also presented their poster on ‘Changing the narrative around birth: midwives’ views of working with the media’. And, last but not least, Prof. Vanora Hundley and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen also contributed to a poster produced by Dr. Andrew Symon and colleagues from across the UK: ‘Midwifery-led antenatal care models: Mapping a systematic review to an evidence-based quality framework to identify key components and characteristics of care’.

18 June 2017

BU contributions to international midwifery conference 2017

conferences, international, PG research, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

Today sees the start of the triennial ICM (International Confederation of Midwives) conference in Toronto. BU is well represented in Canada through academics based in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health (CMMPH) presenting posters, papers and workshops. The ICM programme can be accessed on line, click here!

Over the next few days BU staff will present on a collaboration with the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic: ‘Newborn feeding clinic service evaluation: Midwives working in partnership with chiropractors to enhance breastfeeding experiences of mothers & babies in the UK’.

Dr. Rachel Arnold presents on her PhD research at Bournemouth University under the title ‘Ensuring high-quality respectful care in a climate of fear and intimidation’. On Wednesday Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen reports on the maternal mental health training conducted in Nepal in 2016-2017 under the title ‘Mental health training for community maternity workers in Nepal’. Dr. Jenny Hall is co-organiser of a symposium Spirituality and Childbirth with Prof. Susan Crowther and Dr. Celine Lemay.

Moreover there will be many BU poster presentations this week including ones by:

Dr. Rachel Arnold and her PhD supervisors on ‘Women’s rights: the impact of management systems, managers’ practice and attitudes on midwives’;
Dr. Alison Taylor and her PhD supervisors on ‘Early breastfeeding support for first-time UK mothers: A study based on video diaries’ AND a further posters on ‘Mothers need to talk, midwives need to listen: Insights from breastfeeding mother’s video diaries’;
Sara Stride and Dr. Sue Way on ‘UUPP Study: Updating the Understanding of Perineal Practice at the time of birth across the United Kingdom’
Prof. Vanora Hundley, Dr. Ann Luce (BU Faculty of Media & Communication), Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and two students, Sofie Edlund and Sian Ridden, on ‘Changing the narrative around birth: midwives’ views of working with the media’;
Profs. Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen also contributed to a poster produced by Dr. Andrew Symon and colleagues from across the UK: ‘Midwifery-led antenatal care models: Mapping a systematic review to an evidence-based quality framework to identify key components and characteristics of care’.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Toronto, Canada

18 June 2017

New BU publication in Public Health

international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week the Oxford Encyclopaedia published our contribution on religious organisations and health promotion [1]. The paper in question ‘Faith Communities and the Potential for Health Promotion’ is co-authored by scholars based in England, Scotland and Canada. This new publication is part of a growing number of publications at Bournemouth University on the contribution of faith communities to public health.

Faith communities often have multiple resources, existing networks and an infrastructure that can be applied to health promotion programmes for their own membership or as an outreach to the wider community. Health programmes in a faith community in high-income countries may include targeted initiatives, ranging from walking groups or weight checks, health events, or health assessments, to diabetes self-management. These activities can be organised by charities and NHS organisation and held at local churches, synagogues or mosques which is referred to as faith-placed health promotion. If the health promotion is part of the ministry of the religious organisation it is referred to as faith-based health promotion.

On top of this encyclopaedia entry, the Open Access journal African Health Sciences [Impact Factor 0.66] accepted our paper in the same field a few weeks ago. This paper ‘Influence of faith-based organisations on HIV prevention strategies in Africa: a systematic review’ formed part of the first author’s M.Sc. in Public Health [2]. Our previous papers reported on a study of faith-based and faith-placed health promotion in and around Dundee [3-4].

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Prenatal Health

References

Kiger, A., Fagan, D., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Faith Communities and the Potential for Health Promotion. In: Encyclopedia of Health and Risk Message Design & Processing, Parrott, R. (ed.) New York, Oxford University Press. (http://communication.oxfordre.com/).
Ochillo, M., van Teijlingen, E., Hind, M. (2017) Influence of faith-based organisations on HIV prevention strategies in Africa: a systematic review. African Health Sciences (accepted June).
Fagan, D., Kiger, A., van Teijlingen E. (2010) A survey of faith leaders concerning health promotion and the level of healthy living activities occurring in faith communities in Scotland. Global Health Promotion 17(4): 15-23.
Fagan, D., Kiger, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2012) Faith communities and their assets for health promotion: The views from health professionals and faith leaders in Dundee, Scotland, Global Health Promotion 19(2): 27-36.

7 June 2017

We’re off to Glastonbury!!

Public engagement elanng

We are very excited about taking our financial scams research to the Glastonbury Festival, 2017. This offers an amazing opportunity to engage with a very different, and potentially huge, audience.

But this offers a challenge – we are well practiced in presenting our research at conferences, public engagement events and more formally at policy forums – but how to do it in a tent, in a field, with a moving audience, at probably the best-known music festival in the country???

The first response I get from people when I tell them about taking our scamming research to Glastonbury is: ‘are you going to scam people?’, and the answer is of course, yes (though we promise to return their personal information). Using an exercise that demonstrates how humans tend to want to please and are generally reciprocal by nature, we will demonstrate the characteristics scammers use to their advantage (Langenderfer, and Shimp, 2001).

To make our research attractive, and draw in an audience, we have turned to games which offer information in bite size chunks and reward players who use their scam ‘antennae’.

With such a diverse audience as Glastonbury we have a range of activities to appeal to children (and the sleep deprived) and older participants. So, we have designed a colourful ‘scams and ladders’ game where getting caught by scamming snakes means sliding down the board, while beating the scammers is rewarded by racing up the ladders.

Others may try a card sorting game where different scams are depicted with colourful illustrations. Players must sort into scam type and the correct sequence of events. For the detectives, we have hidden clues to be found within letters and emails (including clues only revealed with the use of a UV torch).

These will be fun activities, but our attendance at Glastonbury is also a serious research endeavour. Not only will we be collecting data about the general public’s awareness of scams, it is an opportunity for us to trial alternative ways of presenting research which break through the barriers between ‘research’ and ‘real life’. We will be evaluating our project and building on our findings to develop improved resources.

Scamming is an extremely serious issue affecting more that 3.25 million annually in the UK (Age UK, 2015), and can result in significant harm to victims’ health and well-being. This means finding diverse ways of communicating knowledge which empowers people and increases prevention through raising awareness is essential – including games.

Listen to Dr Sally Lee’s email to Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo being read on the BBC’s flagship film programme CLICK HERE. 1:55:20

References:

Age UK (2015) Only the Tip of the Iceberg: Fraud Against Older People, Age UK, London

Langenderfer, J. and Shimp, T. (2001) Consumer vulnerability to scams, swindles and fraud: A new theory of visceral influences on persuasion, Journal of Psychology and Marketing, 18:7, 763-783

24 May 2017

Press release INASP highlights BU research paper

international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

INASP, an Oxford-based organisation, aims to improve access to, and production and use of, research information and knowledge for sustainable development. Part of their approach is the Journals Online project which increases the accessibility and visibility of developing-country research. The Journals Online project includes a set of journals published Open Access in Nepal, know as NepJOL. On of the journals in the stable of NepJOl is the SAARC Journal of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases & HIV/AIDS. Journals selected for inclusion on the Journals Online project must be:

scholarly in content, and contain original research;
peer reviewed and quality controlled;
able to provide all necessary content in electronic format (tables of contents, abstracts and PDFs of full text);
published, managed and developed within their respective country.

Yesterday INASP selected a paper published late last year and co-authored by two Bournemouth University academics for a special press release. The press release can be found here! This press release highlights our recently published paper in the SAARC Journal of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases & HIV/AIDS. Our paper ‘Knowing is Not Enough: Migrant Workers’ Spouses Vulnerability to HIV’ argues that despite having generally a good knowledge and awareness of HIV and risk associated with migration and HIV; migrants’ wives could not discuss sexual health issues with their husbands, thus increasing their vulnerability to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections [1].

Dr. Pramod Regmi, Post-Doctoral Research in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences is quoted in the press release as saying: “knowledge alone would not be sufficient to fight against the spread of HIV/STI among wives of migrant workers.” This paper is an addition to a range of papers on health and well-being of Nepali migrant workers produced by BU academics [2-6].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

References:

Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Dhungel, D., Ghale, G., Bhatta, G.K. (2016) Knowing is not enough: Migrant workers’ spouses vulnerability to HIV SAARC Journal of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases & HIV/AIDS 8(1):9-15.
Adhikary, P., Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen E., Raja, AE. (2008) Health & Lifestyle of Nepalese Migrants in the UK BMC International Health & Human Rights 8(6). Web address: www.biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/8/6.
Adhikary P., Keen S., van Teijlingen E (2011) Health Issues among Nepalese migrant workers in Middle East. Health Science Journal 5: 169-175. www.hsj.gr/volume5/issue3/532.pdf
Sapkota, T., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2014) Nepalese health workers’ migration to United Kingdom: A qualitative study. Health Science Journal 8(1):57-74.
Simkhada, P.P., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Aryal, N. (2017) Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: A review of the literature, Journal of Travel Medicine 24 (4): 1-9.
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P., Bhatta, Y.K.D., Mann, S. (2016) Injury and Mortality in Young Nepalese Migrant Workers: A Call for Public Health Action. Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health 28(8): 703-705.

Category / Social Work and Social Policy

We are very excited about taking our financial scams research to the Glastonbury Festival, 2017. This offers an amazing opportunity to engage with a very different, and potentially huge, audience.

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