BU Research Blog

27 June 2017

Multiple Sclerosis Research in Bournemouth – Dr Simon B N Thompson

BRIAN, BU Challenges, conferences, Fusion, Grants Academy, innovation, international, Public engagement, Research assessment, Research Integritiy, Research themes, staff profile pages Simon Thompson

MS is a chronic debilitating and progressive condition that affects the fatty tissue sheath surrounding nerves. Incomplete innervation due to loss of the myelin sheath is largely responsible for uncoordinated movements. Brain temperature fluctuations are also often seen in people with MS together with fatigue when carrying out mentally or physically demanding tasks. These are commonly associated with excessive yawning yet the cause of fatigue in MS is not well understood.

A recently completed study asked participants to produce saliva into a small tube so that their cortisol levels could be analysed. They were also asked to look at presentations that provoked a yawning response. Results revealed that all of the participants had elevated cortisol levels after yawning and that there was a marked difference in cortisol levels between the healthy participants and those with MS.

Yawning: Pynq Thompson aged 28 days

Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis (Ref.1) proposes threshold levels of cortisol trigger the yawn response which lowers brain temperature. Correlation between brain temperature and cortisol is to be further examined together with comparison between UK and Norwegian participants with MS since the incidence of MS is greater in Scandinavian countries (and Canada and Scotland) possibly due to vitamin D and K reduction with reduced sunlight.

Previous studies have examined electromyograph (EMG) activity during yawning and manipulation of conditions to provoke yawning (Refs. 2,3). Brain regions and cortisol activity has been identified in MS in an international study (Ref. 4); and a new understanding proposed of communication between the motor cortex and brain-stem (Ref.5).

Yawning EMG “envelope” of activity

We have recently completed a trial in Bournemouth that recruited over 80 healthy participants and over 30 people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

A funding bid is being prepared to examine the feasibility of producing the early detection of MS and cortisol-insufficiency syndromes using observed yawning frequency and cortisol levels.

Simon B N Thompson is Associate Professor, Bournemouth University; Visiting Professor, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, France. Member of International Scientific Council for Research into Multiple Sclerosis following presentation to French Ambassador, His Excellency Bernard Emié, French Embassy.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all volunteers; Alister Coleman and Nicola Williams for assisting in data collection and analysis; Rod Slip, Group Co-ordinator and Kay Bundy, Fundraising Co-ordinator of the MS Society Osborne Centre for providing free facilities.

Note

The author would welcome interest in collaborating in writing bids for funding international work.

References

1. Thompson, S.B.N., 2011. Born to yawn? Cortisol linked to yawning: a new hypothesis. Medical Hypotheses, 77, 861-862.
2. Thompson, S.B.N., & Bishop, P., 2012. Born to yawn? Understanding yawning as a warning of the rise in cortisol levels: randomized trial. Interactive Journal of Medical Research, 1(2), e4, 1-9, doi: 10.2196/ijmr.2241.
3. Thompson, S.B.N., Frankham, C., & Bishop, P., 2014. The art of capturing a yawn using the science of nerve impulses and cortisol levels in a randomized controlled trial. Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis as a potential predictor of neurological impairment. International Journal of Arts & Sciences, 7(3), 529-543.
4. Thompson, S. B. N., Daly, S., Le Blanche, A., Adibi, M., Belkhiria, C., Driss, T., de Marco, G., 2016. fMRI randomized study of mental and motor task performance and cortisol levels to potentiate cortisol as a new diagnostic biomarker. Journal of Neurology & Neuroscience, 7(2); 92: 1-8.
5. Thompson, S.B.N., 2017. Hypothesis to explain yawning, cortisol rise, brain cooling and motor cortex involvement of involuntary arm movement in neurologically impaired patients. Journal of Neurology & Neuroscience, 8(1); 167: 1-5.

27 June 2017

BU research recognised by The Renal Association Investigator Award at UK Kidney Week 2017

student research phartley

BU research, (led by me, Dr Paul Hartley), was recognised at UK Kidney Week in Liverpool last week. We were invited to speak about our fruit fly model of human renal disease, work that has been variously supported by grants from the British Heart Foundation and Kidney Research UK. The conference was an excellent opportunity to showcase the model and highlight our current collaborations with consultant-scientists based at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital as well as a number of different groups at the University of Bristol, the University of Osnabruck in Germany, Harvard Children’s Hospital and the University of Edinburgh. The research work is based in Dorset House labs and is supported by a wide network of talented people within BU as well as our undergrad and post-grad students.

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

Week 1 – Laurie Emerson working with ADRC as a Student Research Assistant

mboard

Having just completed my Undergraduate degree in Psychology, I have embarked on a summer Research Assistant position working with the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) here at Bournemouth University. I will be working closely with an expert team within the research centre – Dr. Michele Board, Dr. Jane Murphy, Dr. Michelle Heward, and Ashley Spriggs, who have all dedicated their careers to this particular field.

Our current project focusses on ‘Dementia Education Through Simulation’ (DEALTS), a dementia care training program for healthcare professionals, which has previously been delivered in a ‘train the trainer’ format to healthcare trusts. The current program, DEALTS 2, aims to build upon the previous DEALTS, and provide an up to date evidence-based framework. This updated program signifies the importance of empathy and humanised care when training, which aligns closely with Tier 2 .The current training program utilises simulations including videos, case-studies, and role-play to help increase relatability to the patient.

My role within this project is to support the team within the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences on an evaluation of DEALTS 2. Initially I am expected to analyse the feedback questionnaires taken from the DEALTS 2 sessions. Other responsibilities include helping Dr. Michelle Heward deliver a presentation at the BU Humanising Caring, Health and Wellbeing Conference, 29^th – 30^th June. You can register for a place at https://humanisation.eventbrite.co.uk

I will also be conducting a literature review, and help out at one of the DEALTS 2 training sessions. This will enable the foundations for the team to eventually create an up to date evaluative research paper on DEALTS 2.

So far, I am excited by the responsibilities given and organised work structure. Not to mention feeling incredibly welcomed by the team, which has lead me feeling immersed in this project. After having previous experience with research assistant roles, this project has so far exceeded my expectations in terms of my roles and responsibilities. I feel excited enthusiastic for the scope of opportunities this project could bring.

I intend to report my experience at the end of my work placement, and hopefully will finish with some significant data to report, and greater insight into DEALTS 2. I look forward to what the next four weeks may bring!

Laurie Emerson

22 June 2017

New BU publication: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research &Education

Knowledge Exchange, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Sam Rowlands, Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, who published an interesting Commentary in the BJOG together with Prof. Roger Ingham from the University of Southampton. Their paper ‘Long-acting reversible contraception: conflicting perspectives of advocates and potential users’ argues that a patient-centred approach to contraceptive care is fundamental to women’s autonomy. The authors remind the readers that it needs to be appreciated that unintended pregnancy is most likely to be reduced by fulfilling the unmet need for contraception and encouraging those not using any form of contraception, or condoms only, to use a method of their choice accompanied by adequate instruction (where necessary) in correct usage.

21 June 2017

Retreating from coastal areas is not what comes to mind in the hottest week since 1976…

international, Public engagement lesteves

…unless you are Allan Young, who currently is at Bournemouth, after six weeks of travelling across the USA (Hawaii, California, North Carolina and Florida) and Barbados, as part of his Churchill Fellowship on coastal management.

Allan is an urban planner, from Sydney (Australia), currently in the role of Planning Service Leader at EMM Consulting after a long spell as senior manager (Coastal and Natural Resources Policy) for the New South Wales government. The focus of his fellowship research is to identify ways in which implementation of retreat from coastal areas at high risk of erosion or flooding can be more successful. Allan explains that “There is an understandable preference for [coastal] protection in most cases due to the significant behavioural, political and systemic biases at play. Yet we also recognise that, for economic or geo-technical reasons, protection cannot occur everywhere.” He points out that while there are many alternatives (‘products’) on offer for coastal protection, a wide range of retreat options could potentially be effective risk management options, but have not yet been tested – he is trying to understand the reasons.

Allan has learned about my work on managed realignment and coastal management and decided to include BU as one of his destinations to find out more about the approach the UK is taking on coastal retreat. Managed realignment usually involves breaching of embankments or seawalls to create multiple benefits, usually more sustainable flood risk management and creation of intertidal habitats to compensate for habitat loss. I compiled a database of about 145 of such projects in Europe, nearly 60 are in the UK. On 20th June, Allan, Marin Cvitanovic and I visited Medmerry managed realignment site in West Sussex, the largest open coast project in the UK.

The land was purchased by the Environment Agency and is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. On site, we were greeted by Tim Callaway (RSPB Area Manager) and Stephen Webster (RSPB Site Manager) and Adam Hammerton (Flood and Coastal Risk Management Officer at the Environment Agency). They showed us a 3D printing of the site before and after the breaching and passed on great insights about how the project evolved, stakeholders engagement, changes in perception of local people and the management of the site. Besides the guided field visit, I was also able to collect samples for a pilot study I’m undertaking with colleagues from the Department of Life & Environmental Sciences.

Allan is writing blogs about his visits in LinkedIn – later this week he will post one about his visit to the UK/BU. In the meantime, you can read what he learned in Barbados or the other places.

Interested in finding out more about the Churchill Travel Fellowship? The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust funds UK citizens to investigate inspiring practice in other countries, and return with innovative ideas for the benefit of people across the UK. Deadline for applications this year: 5pm on 19th September 2017.

21 June 2017

The International Early Labour Research Group

Vanora Hundley

Researchers from across the globe met in Canada prior to the International Confederation of Midwives’ 31^st Triennial Congress to discuss their work on early labour.

r-l: Dr. Susan Way, UK; Prof. Vanora Hundley, UK; Dr. Mechthild Gross, Germany; Dr. Ellen Tilden, USA; Dr. Jessica Pehlke-Milde, Switzerland; Prof. Helen Spiby, UK; Prof Patricia Janssen, Canada

Other members (not present): Prof. Helen Cheyne, Dr. Mary-Ann Davey, Marie Nott, Viola Nyman

The International Early Labour Research Group has been meeting regularly since 2008 and produced a number of collaborative papers. Most recently a systematic review of labour definitions. This meeting was a chance to catch up on ongoing work, introduce new members and plan a future follow up survey on the latent phase of labour.

The Triennial Congress attracts midwives from all over the world. In 2017 there are over 4000 midwives, policy makers, donors, civil society and government representatives from 116 midwifery associations and representing 102 countries.

Dr Susan Way and Professor Vanora Hundley

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’.

20 June 2017

Poster presentation Dr Alison Taylor at ICM conference

conferences Edwin van Teijlingen

Dr. Alison Taylor of the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) presented her poster today on breastfeeding on the first day of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) conference. Alison’s poster ‘Early breastfeeding support for first-time UK mothers: A study based on video diaries’ was well received in Toronto (Canada).

The ICMLive produces webcasts of some of the major conference. This week you can watch events live here.

Professors Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

19 June 2017

BU Senior Academic in Events Management Presents at Sussex Impact Day

nferdinand

Images from the Capturing Event Impacts presented by Dr Nicole Ferdinand at the Sussex Impact Day

Dr Nicole Ferdinand, Senior Academic Events Management, was one of the presenters at the Sussex Impact Day, at University of Sussex, Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Falmer, Brighton, June 13th 2017. Her presentation on Capturing Event Impacts by Developing an Event Profile was one of three sessions which were dedicated to Understanding Event Impacts. It was praised for providing useful “practical information” to University of Sussex Academics, who were increasingly “using events to accelerate the impacts of their research” by Megan McMichael, ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) Project Manager at Sussex University. Key insights from her presentation included: the need to have a dedicated budget to capture impact; the increasing importance of capturing social media impacts and incorporating automation or e-evaluation tools to make event impact capture easier.

Images from the Plenary Session at the Sussex Impact Day

The University of Sussex Impact team also invited Dr Ferdinand to join other sessions at the Impact Day, including the plenary session featuring external organisations who have first hand experience of working with academics. The speakers were Mr Antonio Capillo, Senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager at The Fairtrade Foundation, Ms Tao-Tao Chang, Research Grants manager at The Victoria and Albert Museum, Dr Penny Hawkins, Head of Research Animals Department at the RSPCA and Dr Malcolm Skingle, Academic Liaison Director at GSK.

For more on the Sussex Impact Day have a look at a summary of the day’s events and Dr Ferdinand’s session on Capturing Event Impacts on Storify.

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.

14 June 2017

Santander funded Trip to Shanghai: Students Perceived Leisure Constraints

Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Post-award moregan

Thanks to the Fusion Investment Fund (Santander), I was able to visit Shanghai China during April 2017, to explore the research topic:

What demotivates Chinese Students attending Universities Abroad: The role of perceived leisure constraints?

I visited both Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Donghua University to understand the importance, if any, of leisure to Chinese students, and any impact on perceived attractiveness of the United Kingdom as an overseas destination for further study. As the UK and its universities consider the factors to market the UK as an international student destination, this visit found there is a need to create some programs to assess, observe and serve better the leisure needs of the current and potential Chinese student market. From being more proactive about helping Chinese students engage in on-off campus leisure and community life to providing staff instruction on how to correctly pronounce Chinese names, the leisure needs of current and future current Chinese students may need to be assessed to help newly arrived students in the process of adjusting and familiarizing to new leisure patterns.

My first visit was to a public research university in Shanghai, China. Established in 1951, Donghua University is a member of China’s Project 211 group of national key universities, with a heavy focus on high level technological and scientific research. I gave a guest lecture on how the UK leisure sector sees Chinese consumers, and how the events industry is seeking to facilitate as well as communicate to them. The lecture also looked at leisure trends taking place in China. I discussed with students how specific constraints at home and in specific countries abroad might prevent them seeking further study both in China and abroad

Picture: Much thanks to Dr. Chun-zhang Liu for the welcome.

Pictures: Guest Lecture

I also visited Shanghai Jiao Tong University to talk to students, about their perceptions of constraints to leisure in the UK vis-a visa other important markets such as the USA and Australia. Jiao Tong University is a public research university in Shanghai, China. Established in 1896. As the UK Government seeks to increase the number of international students, many Chinese students worry about moving to the UK for higher education and noted challenges such as psycho-social stress, including the possibility of social isolation. The students also noted other barriers, such as the accessibility of ethnic foods in the UK, joining clubs/societies, and possible changes in their leisure patterns.

Qian_Xuesen_Library,_Shanghai_Jiao_Tong_University_04

Picture: Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Based on connections made to staff at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Donghua University, quantitative data will be collected from 200 sampled students to explore leisure activity preferences and the perceptions of constraints to leisure if considering studying abroad. The results will also help policy makers and administrators understand the importance of understanding perceived life constraints when students consider the study abroad experience.

I wish to thank Santander for the mobility grant to visit Shanghai, and engage in a research project.

Michael O’ Regan, PhD

Faculty of Management

twitter.com/michealoregan

12 June 2017

BU awarded research grant to improve nurse retention

Post-award hjones

Researchers from Bournemouth University’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences have received a grant of £140,000 from the Burdett Trust for Nursing. The researchers will be working to study and improve registered nurse retention in collaboration with our practice partners at Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch NHS Foundation Trust (RBCH).

This exciting project launches on 1^st June 2017 and will run for two years. Led by Dr Janet Scammell, working alongside Professor Stephen Tee and Dr Sharon Docherty, RBCH staff and service users is an exciting, collaborative, nurse-led project that will test an innovative evidence-based model for improving nurse retention known as TRACS (Transition, Resilience, Authentic leadership, Commitment, Support).

Retention of nurses within the UK is a grave issue with approximately 10% of the nursing workforce in England seriously considering leaving the profession. This has significant implications on the care provided to patients within the NHS.

Working with a large NHS Trust, a ‘bottom-up’ co-created retention strategy and tool-kit, based on principles underpinning TRACS will be developed and implemented in one high-risk Directorate. A robust evaluation will run alongside. The project will develop and refine an adaptable and evidence-based retention model, acting as an exemplar that will be transferable to any healthcare setting where nurses are employed.

Dr Scammell said “We’re excited to be working on this project and collaborating with local partners to improve retention within the healthcare workforce.”

A project website will be developed in the near future to host information as well as useful resources

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

7 June 2017

New publication by former MSc Public Health student

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

Today the African Health Sciences informed us that the paper we submitted last year based on Marilyn Ochillo’s excellent MSc dissertation has been accepted for publication. [1] The paper “Influence of faith-based organisations on HIV prevention strategies in Africa: a systematic review” will appear online soon. Marilyn’s MSc work was supervised by Dr. Martin Hind and Professor Edwin van Teijlingen.

African Health Sciences is an open access, free online, internationally refereed journal publishing original articles on research, clinical practice, public health, policy, planning, implementation and evaluation, in the health and related sciences relevant to Africa and the tropics.

Reference:

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 2017).

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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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