Category / Research themes
Nanocoatings to Bionanocomposites: Sustainable Solutions
Coating Innovation for Tough Environments
At Bournemouth University, Professor Zulfiqar Khan and his team at the NanoCorr, Energy & Modelling (NCEM) research group have long been developing innovative nanocoating technologies. These ultra-thin coatings are designed to protect materials from damage caused by high temperatures, pressure, corrosion, and wear.
Their work is especially relevant to industries like energy, transport, and manufacturing—where equipment is pushed to the limit every day. By improving the durability and energy efficiency of such systems, these coatings can reduce costs and environmental impact.
A recent publication by the team, featured on PubMed Central (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9788522/), explores how carefully designed nanocomposite coatings can provide long-term protection while remaining environmentally responsible. The research highlights the team’s expertise in tribology (the science of wear and friction), materials science, and surface engineering.
A New Frontier: Fighting Superbugs with Nanoscience
This strong foundation in coatings and materials research has supported Professor Zulfiqar Khan and his team in addressing one of the biggest global health challenges of our time: antibiotic resistance.
In a separate study published on PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34771863/), the team introduced a novel copper oxide (CuO) bionanocomposite that shows powerful antibacterial properties. What makes this research stand out is its simple, green production method—using CuO nanoparticles derived from bitter melon (Momordica charantia), combined with natural egg yolk phospholipids and glycerol.
This eco-friendly approach avoids the need for toxic chemicals or expensive metals like silver. The result is a stable, affordable, and highly effective material that can kill drug-resistant bacteria, including E. coli and S. aureus, at very low doses (minimum inhibitory concentration of just 62.5 µg/mL).
Recognised on a Global Stage
The fact that this work is published on PubMed—a leading platform hosted by the US National Library of Medicine—shows the international relevance and scientific quality of the research. Only peer-reviewed studies of high standard are included on PubMed, meaning this work by Professor Zulfiqar Khan and his team has been recognised as a significant contribution to global health.
Their findings come at a time when antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it’s one of the top 10 public health risks facing humanity.
What’s Next?
This research opens the door to real-world applications—such as antimicrobial coatings for medical devices, tools for agriculture, or water purification systems. However, further work is needed to identify some of the unknown compounds in the material and to confirm long-term safety in living systems.
From Machines to Medicine
Whether protecting a turbine from corrosion or tackling bacteria that no longer respond to antibiotics, the work of Professor Zulfiqar Khan and his team combines advanced engineering with environmental and public health awareness. Their approach shows how expertise in nanocoatings and materials science can be applied to solve very different—but equally important—global challenges.
Bournemouth University eHealth paper cited 40 times!
Yesterday, ResearchGate alerted us that the paper ‘Midwives’ views towards women using mHealth and eHealth to self-monitor their pregnancy: A systematic review of the literature’ [1] had reached 40 citations! This paper has four Bournemouth University (BU) authors and one author, Prof. Gary Smith, who was FHSS Visiting Professor at the time of publication. This literature review, published in 2020, sought midwives’ perspectives on women self-monitoring their pregnancy using eHealth and mHealth.
The paper fund that midwives generally held ambivalent views towards the use of eHealth and mHealth technologies in antenatal care. They acknowledged the potential benefits of such technologies, such as their ability to modernise antenatal care and to help women make more informed decisions about their pregnancy. However, midwives were quick to point out the risks and limitations of these, such as the accuracy of conveyed information, and negative impacts on the patient-professional relationship.
This paper will contribute to our recently awarded NIHR funding to tackle inequalities in UK maternal healthcare as part of the NIHR Challenge Call: Maternity Disparities Consortium. Profs Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen from the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health, and Prof. Huseyin Dogan and Dr. Deniz Cetinkaya from the Department of Computing and Informatics collaborate in MIHERC (Maternal & Infant Health Equity Research Centre). MIHERC is led by Prof. Hora Soltani at Sheffield Hallam University, and it is a partnership with Bournemouth University, the City of Doncaster Council and South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub as well as several charities and voluntary organisations. Prof. Dogan has recently been appointed the co-lead for the “Digital, data, monitoring, evaluation and implementation science” work stream of the NIHR Maternity Disparities consortium.

Reference:
- Vickery, M., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Smith, G. B., Way, S., Westwood, G. (2020). Midwives’ views towards women using mHealth and eHealth to self-monitor their pregnancy: A systematic review of the literature. European Journal of Midwifery, 4(Sept.), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/126625
Nepal Family Cohort Study meeting in Bournemouth


The Nepal Family Cohort Study (NeFCoS) is a multidisciplinary cohort study into the prevalence, incidence, and determinants of various diseases from childhood to adulthood in children and their parents [1]. NeFCoS has just started to collect date for the first round of follow-up.
Today’s meeting was organised by Dr. Neal and supported by BU’s QR funds.
- Kurmi, O.P., Chaudhary, N., Delanerolle, G., Bolton, C.E., Pant, P.R., Regmi, P., Gautam, S., Satia, I., Simkhada, P., Kyrou, I., Sigdel, T.K., Hundley, V., Dali, P.R., Lokke, A., Hubert Lam, K.B., Bennett, D., Custovic, A., van Teijlingen, E., Gill, P. Randeva, H., O’Byrne, P.M., and Nepal Family Cohort Collaborators Group, Nepal Family Cohort Study: A Study Protocol, BMJ Open 14:e088896. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2024-088896
Plenary talk by Dr Regmi on Hidden Health Burden of Nepalese Migrants


Dr. Regmi’s talk highlighted the health burden experienced by Nepali migrants throughout their migration journey. Labour migration from Nepal poses significant risks at all stages. Many aspiring migrants lack access to accurate information and support, while those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face high documentation costs and illegal recruitment fees, affecting their mental health and placing strain on their families. Abroad, migrants often suffer exploitation, unsafe working conditions, overcrowded and unsanitary housing, limited access to healthcare, and high medical expenses. Female migrants face additional risks such as sexual violence, unintended pregnancy, exploitation, and unemployment. Upon return, especially for those who experienced abuse or trafficking, reintegration is hindered by social stigma and a lack of support services. Nepal’s weak economy further limits their ability to utilise skills gained abroad.
This presentation was informed by a long history of BU research into the health and well-being of Nepalese migrant workers, led by Dr. Regmi, Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Dr. Orlanda Harvey, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, and current PhD students Yagya Adhikari and Anjana Regmi Paudyal in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.
A round table discussion after the session focused on four questions:
- How can we better inform migrants during the pre-migration stage?
- How can we reduce the health vulnerabilities of Nepali labour migrant workers abroad?
- What are the barriers to, and opportunities for, reintegration when migrants return?
- How can we facilitate increased research collaboration in destination countries engaging local academic institutions?
Bournemouth University also contributed to two other presentations related to a project studying the impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system. This study was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative to examine the consequences of Nepal’s transition from a centralised political system to a federal structure in 2015. These two papers were presented by BU collaborators Prof. Julie Balen (Canterbury Christ Church University) and Ms. Amshu Dhakal (Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal).
BU’s Dr. Regmi, Prof Edwin van Teijlingen and Dr Nirmal collectively have over 40 publications on Nepalese migrants’ health and well-being issues. Their recent publications on the topic include studies on modern slavery [1], kidney disease [2–4], pre-departure training of aspiring migrant workers in Nepal [5], moral panic and societal fears around migrant workers and COVID-19 [6–7], Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia [8–9], left-behind families of migrant workers [10], migrant workers and the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup [11–12], Nepalese migrants in the UK [13], as well as a comprehensive literature review [14]. They are also a founder members of Health Research Network for Migrant Workers in Asia: www.hearmigrants.org

References:
- Paudyal, A. R., Harvey, O., Teijlingen, E. van, Regmi, P. R., Sharma, C. (2024). Returning Home to Nepal after Modern Slavery: Opportunities for Health Promotion. Journal of Health Promotion, 12(1), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v12i1.72713
- Aryal, N., Sedhain, A., Regmi, P.R., KC, R. K., van Teijlingen, E. (2021). Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 12(12), 126–132. https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v12i12.39027
- Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K., Martinez Faller, E., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) Kidney health risk of migrant workers: An issue we can no longer overlook. Health Prospect 20(1):15-7
- Regmi, P., Aryal, N., Bhattarai, S., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K. and van Teijlingen, E. (2024) Exploring lifestyles, work environment and health care experience of Nepalese returnee labour migrants diagnosed with kidney-related problems, PLoS One 19(8): e0309203. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309203
- Regmi, P., Aryal, N., van Teijlingen, E., KC, R.K., Gautam, M. and Maharjan, S. (2024). A Qualitative Insight into Pre-Departure Orientation Training for Aspiring Nepalese Migrant Workers. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 9 (7).
- Aryal, N., Regmi, P., Adhikari Dhakal, S., Sharma, S. and van Teijlingen, E. (2024). Moral panic, fear, stigma, and discrimination against returnee migrants and Muslim populations in Nepal: analyses of COVID-19 media content. Journal of Media Studies, 38 (2), 71-98.
- Regmi, P., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, N., Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Fear, Stigma and Othering: The Impact of COVID-19 Rumours on Returnee Migrants and Muslim Populations of Nepal, International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 19(15), 8986; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19158986
- Chaudhary, M.N., Lim, V.C., Faller, E.M., Regmi, P., Aryal, N., Zain, S.N.M., Azman, A.S. and Sahimin, N. (2024). Assessing the basic knowledge and awareness of dengue fever prevention among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. PLoS ONE, 19 (2).
- Chaudhary, M.N., Lim, V.C., Sahimin, N., Faller, E.M., Regmi, P., Aryal, N. and Azman, A.S. (2023). Assessing the knowledge of, attitudes towards, and practices in, food safety among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 54.
- Adhikari, Y., Regmi, P., Devkota, B. and van Teijlingen, E. (2023). Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers. Journal of Health Promotion, 10, 1-4.
- Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., Aryal, N., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Excessive mortalities among migrant workers: the case of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences, 4:31-32. https://doi.org/10.46405/ejms.v4i0.455
- Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. and Regmi, P. (2022). Migrant Workers in Qatar: Not just an important topic during the FIFA World Cup 2022. Health Prospect: Journal of Public Health, 21 (3), 1-2.
- Simkhada, B., Sah, R.K., Mercel-Sanca, A., van Teijlingen, E., Bhurtyal, Y.M. and Regmi, P. (2021). Perceptions and Experiences of Health and Social Care Utilisation of the UK-Nepali Population. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 23 (2), 298-307.
- Mahato, P., Bhusal, S., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2024). Health and Wellbeing Among Nepali Migrants: A Scoping Review. Journal of Health Promotion, 12(1): 79–90. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v12i1.72699
New Midwifery Publication
Congratulations to Joanne Rack, who is currently undertaking Bournemouth University’s four-year clinical doctorate, on the publication is week in the Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice. The latest paper “Mapping the Landscape of Canadian Midwifery Research” is Open Access and freely available online. The paper reports on a nation-wide study led by an inspiring team of midwifery researchers exploring the current landscape of midwifery research in Canada—identifying both its strengths and urgent gaps. With insights from over 200 stakeholders, this research calls for enhanced funding, mentorship, and research capacity to advance midwife-led, person-centered care.
Profs. Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health
Reference:
- Rack, J., Ruby, E., Brunton, G., Al Balkhi, S., Banfield, L., Grenier, L.N., Hutton, E.K, Darling, E.K., Mattison, C., Kaufman, K., Murray-Davis, B. (2025) Mapping the Landscape of Canadian Midwifery Research Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice, 24 (1).
TikTok’s return can’t erase the cross-community alliances sparked by RedNote’s rise
Imagine abandoning one social media app only to find yourself at the center of an unexpected global movement against racism. That’s exactly what happened when American TikTok users, temporarily locked out of their favorite platform due to the U.S. ban in January this year, migrated en masse to the Chinese social media site RedNote. They called themselves “TikTok refugees”. But no one predicted what came next: this mass shift became an unlikely force for dismantling racism, particularly anti-Chinese sentiment. RedNote, instead of just being a backup app, turned into a rare space for cultural exchange, solidarity and cross-community support.
Some anti-racism strategies are universal across social media—sharing personal stories, expressing anger, frustration, or grief. One of the most powerful moments came from a video titled “我们是一家人 WE ARE THE WORLD” by Chinese user roxycat 猫姐(内敛优雅版). In the video, she breaks down in tears recalling past and present experiences of racism, pleading for “less discrimination and more understanding”. Posted on January 19, the video amassed 149K likes and 18K comments by March 18—not just from Chinese users, but from Americans and other western users who actively engaged with her message. This wasn’t just another viral video. It was a digital reckoning which forced people to acknowledge racism head-on.
On TikTok, anti-racism discussions usually follow a pattern: victims share experiences, and allies respond with support or calls to action. But RedNote—perhaps because it’s a Chinese-centric space—created a different dynamic. Instead of simply reacting, non-Chinese users became active participants in cultural exchange. They were not just acknowledging racism; they were learning, engaging and reshaping their own perceptions.
Take Chinese food, for example. Instead of the tired, racist stereotypes that have long plagued perceptions of Chinese cuisine, new non-Chinese RedNote users started cooking traditional dishes, sharing their attempts online, and celebrating them. A stark contrast to the COVID-19 era, when Chinese restaurants faced boycotts and xenophobic attacks.
Then, there was humour. If there’s one way to deflate a racist narrative, it’s to mock it. The U.S. government justified the TikTok ban over national security concerns—so what did users do? They leaned in. A viral video by user Conner Frost joked about reuniting with a “Chinese spy” on RedNote, to which Chinese users cheekily responded that they were only interested in stealing pictures of American users’ pets. This playful subversion of xenophobic narratives underscores how humour can be a tool for dismantling harmful stereotypes rather than reinforcing them.
The question now is: does this camaraderie have staying power? Two months on from the ban, will American users stick around or will they ditch RedNote now that TikTok is back in full force? Right now, engagement is holding strong. As of March 18, the hashtag #tiktokrefugee had racked up 44.8 million posts on RedNote, with many users openly stating they have no plans to leave. Even users from countries with no TikTok bans, like the UK and Italy, are jumping on board. But at the same time, RedNote’s ‘For You’ page is shifting back to its usual content rather than being dominated by posts from the new users, suggesting the novelty might be wearing off. Will this be a lasting migration or just a temporary detour?
One thing is certain: the walls between Chinese social media and the rest of the world have cracked open. And that matters. Social media is often blamed for fueling division, but RedNote has proven it can also be a bridge. The challenge now is to take this beyond the screen—to turn fleeting digital moments into long-term change.
The migration to RedNote started as a reaction to political and economic chaos, but it became something far more powerful. It showed what happens when communities connect—not because an algorithm tells them to, but because of genuine curiosity and shared human experience. If we’re smart, we won’t let that go to waste.
Dr. Xin Zhao, Principal Academic in Media and Communication at Bournemouth University
Photo exhibition happening now at Talbot Campus – Ageing in a digital world
The photo exhibtion currently running in the Atrium Gallery space at Talbot Campus showcases the benefits and hurdles of ageing in a digital world from the stories of older adults.
This research project uses a method called Photovoice to capture images and stories on this topic
www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/projects/perceptions-ageing-digital-world Photo exhibition – Ageing in a digital world
The project is co-created by academic researchers and local older adults, who are co-researchers and members of the ADRC Research Participation Group, after discussing the challenges they face with the digitalisation of society www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/centres-institutes/ageing-dementia-research-centre/adrc-research-participation-group
The exhibition is on until 8th May.

The Future of Surface Protection: Nanocomposite Coatings Explained
Imagine you are trying to protect a ship’s engine from rust, a jet turbine from extreme heat, or a wind turbine from relentless sea spray. All of these challenges have one thing in common: harsh environments that wear down materials over time. That is where nanocomposite coatings come in, doing a big job to make our technology last longer, run smoother, and stay safer.
They are protective layers made from materials that include nanoparticles. Super tiny particles that can enhance strength, reduce wear, and resist corrosion better than traditional coatings. These coatings are applied to surfaces that need to survive tough conditions, such as extreme temperatures, high pressure, salty water, and friction.
Professor Zulfiqar Khan, who leads the NanoCorr, Energy & Modelling (NCEM) Research Group at Bournemouth University focuses on finding smart, sustainable ways to protect machines and components, especially those in energy, aerospace, and marine sectors.

Machines that break down due to corrosion or wear are not only expensive to fix they also waste energy and resources. If we can improve how surfaces handle friction and corrosion, we can: (1) Extend the life of machines and vehicles, (2) Increase energy efficiency, (3) Reduce maintenance costs and (4) Improve safety and reliability.
Nanocomposite coatings are a new frontier in this mission. Researchers like Khan and his collaborators are developing new models to help understand how these coatings behave and fail. This is important because knowing when and how a coating will degrade allows engineers to improve the formula before something goes wrong in the real world.
Two of the most important tools developed by the team are:
Khan-Nazir Model I: Cathodic Blistering
Imagine a protective layer (the coating) on a surface starting to bubble or blister when exposed to water or salt. This model helps predict how that bubbling happens due to pressure under the surface. It looks at things like the coating’s thickness and elasticity to determine when it might fail.
Khan-Nazir Model II: Wear-Corrosion Interaction
This model deals with the damage caused when friction and corrosion happen at the same time as when gears grind under contaminated lubricant or oil mixed with seawater. It calculates how quickly the material will wear down, helping engineers design better coatings to resist it.
The coatings are put through their paces in labs using machines that mimic real-world conditions: (1) Rubbing surfaces together to measure friction, (2) Exposing them to seawater to simulate marine environments, and (3) Combining heat, pressure, and corrosion to see how they react over time.
The results are then plugged into these models to see how accurate the predictions are. This is called experimental validation, and it is how science moves from theory to real-world application.
Work Featured on NIH Gov Website
NCEM work is not limited to mechanical and interacting systems. They have been studying other significant applications in terms of drug delivery systems, “CuO Bionanocomposite with Enhanced Stability and Antibacterial Activity against Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Strains”. Bacterial resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics is a growing global health concern. As an alternative, scientists have explored metal-based nanoparticles, but their instability has limited their use. In this study, Professor Khan and his team have developed a simple and eco-friendly method to create stable nanocomposites without using harmful chemicals. They combined naturally sourced copper oxide with glycerol and phospholipids from egg yolk in the right proportions.
Tests showed that the new particles were stable, averaging about 59 nanometres in size. The presence of phospholipids helped improve their stability. The antibacterial ability of the nanocomposites was tested against drug-resistant bacteria, and they proved to be effective, even at low concentrations (62.5 µg/mL).
These results suggest that the new nanocomposite could be a promising tool for fighting resistant bacteria and could be useful for delivering antibiotics more effectively in the future. Therefore, due to significant potential in biotechnology applications, Khan and team editorial, “Development of Nanocomposite Coatings”, has been featured on NIH Gov website.
Innovations, Applications, and What’s Next
The research does not stop with just applying a basic coating. Scientists are now:
- Embedding graphene and zirconia nanoparticles for extra durability.
- Using chitosan (a material from shrimp shells!) for antimicrobial properties and
- Applying coatings using plasma oxidation, a high-energy technique that makes coatings super strong and uniform.
Another exciting development is the use of tiny sensors built into coatings. These can monitor damage or degradation in real-time, allowing for predictive maintenance before things go wrong.
Nanocomposite coatings are being used or tested in Oil rigs and marine vessels, Wind turbines and solar panels, Jet engines and spacecraft, Biomedical devices like implants and Industrial pipelines and automotive parts.
Professor Khan’s team continues to explore how to make these coatings smarter, more sustainable, and more adaptable. Their models are being refined to handle even more complex environments, and their lab techniques are helping industries reduce waste, cut costs, and stay competitive in a world where materials need to do more with less.
Nanocomposite coatings might sound technical, but their impact is simple, they protect the things we rely on every day. These advanced nanocoatings are helping industries become more efficient, eco-friendly, and durable, one nano-layer at a time.
Capturing the Power of Heat: NCEM’s Breakthrough in Clean Energy Storage Gains Global Recognition
The NanoCorr, Energy & Modelling (NCEM) Research Group, led by Professor Zulfiqar Khan at Bournemouth University, has made pioneering developments in the field of thermal energy storage, an area critical to the future of renewable energy. Their groundbreaking work in enhancing the performance of latent heat storage systems using phase change materials (PCMs) has been featured on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) website—marking a prestigious global endorsement of their innovations in clean energy technologies.

A Leap Toward Sustainable Energy
As the world shifts from fossil fuels to renewable sources, the ability to capture and store energy efficiently is a central challenge. PCMs—materials that absorb and release heat during phase transitions (like melting and solidifying)—offer an ingenious solution. NCEM’s research focuses on improving these materials’ thermal conductivity, stability, and compatibility with various containers, making energy storage more efficient, stable, and commercially viable.
Their study reviews and categorises organic paraffins and inorganic salt hydrates, the most promising groups of PCMs, highlighting enhancements like encapsulation, multi-PCM integration, and advanced container geometries. These techniques significantly boost energy capture rates and storage capacity, making clean energy more practical for widespread use.
Real-World Impact and Innovation
Backed by five industry-funded and match-funded projects, NCEM’s efforts have not only led to commercial patents in the UK and USA, but have also influenced engineering solutions for solar heating, industrial heat recovery, and smart building technologies. These contributions align strongly with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs):
Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Global Recognition: Why the IAEA Feature Matters
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an influential global body under the United Nations, works to promote the peaceful use of nuclear and clean energy technologies. Being featured on their platform is a significant milestone—it underscores the global relevance, technical merit, and strategic value of Professor Khan’s research. It also places Bournemouth University and NCEM at the heart of international discussions on sustainable energy systems.
This acknowledgment by the IAEA is a testament to the NCEM team’s commitment to tackling real-world problems with innovative science. It further demonstrates the potential of UK-led clean energy solutions to contribute to a low-carbon, energy-secure future for all.
A Bright Future for Clean Energy
The research led by Professor Zulfiqar Khan exemplifies how innovative materials science and engineering can drive change on a global scale. With continued support and collaboration between academia and industry, NCEM is set to play a pivotal role in accelerating the transition to clean, resilient energy systems worldwide.
Acknowledgements: Dr Zakir Khan (NCEM ex PGR/ Post Doc) and Professor A Ghafoor.
BU collaborates with University of Exeter on modelling innovation adoption
Bournemouth University (BU) has collaborated with the University of Exeter on modelling innovation adoption diffusion. The work, led by Dr. Wei Koong Chai in BU, draw on the epidemic theory and model the diffusion dynamics considering (1) the role of network structures in dictating the spread of adoption and (2) how individual’s characteristic/capability influences the path of diffusion (e.g. an individual may have different attitude or ability towards adopting a new innovation). A positive adoption decision is related to the number of neighbors adopting the innovation. The neighbors decisions are, in turn, dependent on their own neighbors and so, it forms a complex cascading inter-dependent relationship between the different individuals in the network. As such, each node in the network is unique and its relevant adoption rate must be considered separately conditioned with the activities occurring in the network over time.
The model offers insights into how the network spectrum affects the innovation exposure rate and spreading of innovation individually and across communities with different adoption behaviours. It also illustrates the effects of the embedded social structure and the characteristics of individuals in the network on the path of innovation diffusion via two use cases: (i) innovation adoption of EU countries in a Single Market Programme and (ii) innovation adoption of specific class of technology (specifically financial technologies (FinTech)).
Reference:
Duanmu, JL., Chai, W.K. Modelling innovation adoption spreading in complex networks. Appl Netw Sci 10, 10 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41109-025-00698-8
CMWH academics promoting women’s health in Dorset


Prof. Vanora Hundley and Carol Clark from the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health and colleagues from the Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health have been central to the development of the website. There is an opportunity to hear about how we have been involved on Thursday 24th April 2025, where Bournemouth University’s academics Linda Agyemang and Sarah Hillier will present.
If your are interested, you can registered to attend the event here.
United Players Football (more than just football!) to present at Community Voices Webinar Wednesday April 9th 12-1pm
Community voices is a collaboration between BU PIER partnership and Centre for Seldom Heard Voices to provide a platform and a voice to local community activists.
Please do join us for this webinar….
Bournemouth University’s contributions to BNAC
This year’s annual conference of BNAC (Britain-Nepal Academic Council) will be held on April 24-25 at Liverpool John Moores University. Dr. Pramod Regmi, Principal Academic in International Health in the Department of Nursing Sciences, will be a panellist on a Round Table discussion on the topic of ‘The Hidden Burden of Migration: Struggles of Nepalese Labour Migrants from Departure to Return’.
This contribution is inspired by history of BU research into the health and well-being of migrant workers from Nepal by Dr.Regmi, Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Dr. Orlanda Harvey, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen as well as Bournemouth University PhD students Yagya Adhikari and Anjana Regmi Paudyal. Dr. Regmi’s more recent publications on the topic include papers on: modern slavery [1], kidney disease [2-4], pre-departure training of aspiring migrant workers in Nepal [5], moral panics and societal fear around migrant workers and COVID-19 [6-7], Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia [8-9], left-behind families of migrant workers [10], migrant workers and the 2022 FIFA male football world cup [11-12], Nepalese migrants in the UK [13] as well as literature review [14].

Bournemouth University is further involved in two presentation originating from the project studying the impact of the introduction of federalisation in Nepal on its health system. Details about our project are on the website Nepal Federal Health System Project. This study was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative [Grant ref. MR/T023554/1] to study the consequences for the health system of Nepal’s move from a centralised political system to a more federal government structure in 2015.
Our interdisciplinary joint project was led by the University of Sheffield in collaboration with Bournemouth University, the University of Huddersfield, Canterbury Christ Church University and two institutions in Nepal, namely Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (in Nepal) and PHASE Nepal. In late 2022 further funding was awarded by the Medical Research Foundation to Prof. Julie Balen, from Canterbury Christ Church University, to disseminate the findings of our UK Health Systems Research Initiative-funded research in Nepal. These two papers will be presented by our collaborators, namely Prof. Julie Balen of Canterbury Christ Church University and Ms. Amshu Dhakal from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences in Kathmandu, Nepal.
References:
- Paudyal, A. R., Harvey, O., Teijlingen, E. van, Regmi, P. R., Sharma, C. (2024). Returning Home to Nepal after Modern Slavery: Opportunities for Health Promotion. Journal of Health Promotion, 12(1), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v12i1.72713
- Aryal, N., Sedhain, A., Regmi, P.R., KC, R. K., van Teijlingen, E. (2021). Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 12(12), 126–132. https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v12i12.39027
- Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K., Martinez Faller, E., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) Kidney health risk of migrant workers: An issue we can no longer overlook. Health Prospect 20(1):15-7
- Regmi, P., Aryal, N., Bhattarai, S., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K. and van Teijlingen, E. (2024) Exploring lifestyles, work environment and health care experience of Nepalese returnee labour migrants diagnosed with kidney-related problems, PLoS One 19(8): e0309203. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309203
- Regmi, P., Aryal, N., van Teijlingen, E., KC, R.K., Gautam, M. and Maharjan, S. (2024). A Qualitative Insight into Pre-Departure Orientation Training for Aspiring Nepalese Migrant Workers. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 9 (7).
- Aryal, N., Regmi, P., Adhikari Dhakal, S., Sharma, S. and van Teijlingen, E. (2024). Moral panic, fear, stigma, and discrimination against returnee migrants and Muslim populations in Nepal: analyses of COVID-19 media content. Journal of Media Studies, 38 (2), 71-98.
- Regmi, P., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, N., Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Fear, Stigma and Othering: The Impact of COVID-19 Rumours on Returnee Migrants and Muslim Populations of Nepal, International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 19(15), 8986; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19158986
- Chaudhary, M.N., Lim, V.C., Faller, E.M., Regmi, P., Aryal, N., Zain, S.N.M., Azman, A.S. and Sahimin, N. (2024). Assessing the basic knowledge and awareness of dengue fever prevention among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. PLoS ONE, 19 (2).
- Chaudhary, M.N., Lim, V.C., Sahimin, N., Faller, E.M., Regmi, P., Aryal, N. and Azman, A.S. (2023). Assessing the knowledge of, attitudes towards, and practices in, food safety among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 54.
- Adhikari, Y., Regmi, P., Devkota, B. and van Teijlingen, E. (2023). Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers. Journal of Health Promotion, 10, 1-4.
- Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., Aryal, N., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Excessive mortalities among migrant workers: the case of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences, 4:31-32. https://doi.org/10.46405/ejms.v4i0.455
- Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. and Regmi, P. (2022). Migrant Workers in Qatar: Not just an important topic during the FIFA World Cup 2022. Health Prospect: Journal of Public Health, 21 (3), 1-2.
- Simkhada, B., Sah, R.K., Mercel-Sanca, A., van Teijlingen, E., Bhurtyal, Y.M. and Regmi, P. (2021). Perceptions and Experiences of Health and Social Care Utilisation of the UK-Nepali Population. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 23 (2), 298-307.
- Mahato, P., Bhusal, S., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2024). Health and Wellbeing Among Nepali Migrants: A Scoping Review. Journal of Health Promotion, 12(1): 79–90. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v12i1.72699
Paper on Nepal reaching 5,000 readers


We found that women’s autonomy in decision making is positively associated with their age, employment and number of living children. Women from rural area and Terai region (the southern part of Nepal bordering India) have less autonomy in decision making in all four types of outcome measure. There is a mixed variation in women’s autonomy in the development region across all outcome measures. Western women are more likely to make decision in own health care (1.2-1.6), while they are less likely to purchase daily household needs (0.6-0.9). Women’s increased education is positively associated with autonomy in own health care decision making (p < 0.01), however their more schooling (school-leaving certificate and above) shows non-significance with other outcome measures. Interestingly, rich women are less likely to have autonomy to make decision in own healthcare.

Reference:
- Acharya, D.R., Bell, J.S., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P. (2010) Women’s autonomy in household decision-making: a demographic study in Nepal. Reproductive Health 7, 15 https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-4755-7-15
Promoting Human-Centred Design in Drowning Prevention
The Department of Design and Engineering at Bournemouth University has a reputation for its Human-Centred Design (HCD) work. In our interdisciplinary Sonamoni project we have HCD at its centre. The Sonamoni project is coordinated by Bournemouth University in collaboration with the University of the West of England (Bristol), the University of Southampton, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Design Without Border (DWB) in Uganda and Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB). The interdisciplinary team at Bournemouth University covers three faculties and six academics: Dr. Mavis Bengtsson, Dr. Kyungjoo Cha, Dr. Mehdi Chowdhury, Dr. Yong Hun Lim, Mr. John Powell, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.
Last month two staff from CIPRB, Notan Chandra Dutta and Mirza Shibat Rowshan visited DBW in Uganda, as part of so-called South-South learning. Their objective was to share (1) knowledge and experience of using HCD techniques and (2) best practices of drowning prevention in both countries. Utilizing HCD techniques, Sonamoni is working to identify and prioritize potential solutions, develop prototypes, and assess the acceptability of the interventions to reduce drowning deaths among old children under two in Bangladesh.
During the visit, Notan and Shibat participated a four-day ideation workshop with the fisher community near Lake Victoria, organized by DWB. In the workshop, different HCD tools were used along with other group activities to generate and refine ideas for the solutions. The generated ideas were recorded by visualization tools. Notan and Shibat also attended a session on the principles of creative facilitation of HCD, including the need to understand the problem, role of the facilitator and other stakeholders. Various visualization tools were discussed, e.g. ‘journey maps’, ‘stakeholder map’, ‘context map’ and different types of sketches. Notan shared CIPRB’s experiences of managing the best drowning prevention practices and its challenges from Bangladesh context.
This international project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through their Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme, also includes a BU-based PhD student, Mr. Md. Shafkat Hossein. Last week Shafkat presented our Sonamoni project in lecture to BU Engineering students at Talbot campus.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
First paper by PhD student



- Kattach, L., Singleton, H., Ersser, S., Holley, D., Pearson, I. & Shadeed, A. (2025), Nurse-Led Models of Service Delivery for Skin Cancer Detection: A Systematic Review. Journal of Advanced Nursing.[online first] https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.16854
Prof. Jonathan Parker on social welfare
Congratulations to Bournemouth University Professor Emeritus Jonathan Parker who published a TransformingSociety blog yesterday (31 March 2025). His blog ‘Sacrificing the poor for the rich: ‘Piacular’ austerity and the need for welfare reform‘ was partly a promotion for his new book Analysing the History of British Social Welfare, which was published by Policy Press in 2024.

Prof. Parker has also been invited to speak at the Bournemouth William Temple Association at their meeting at the Marsham Court Hotel on Monday 7th April. His speech, titled “Sacrificing the Poor on Behalf of the Rich? An Examination of the Rites of Social Welfare,” will explore the relationship between the “haves” and the “have-nots” and it was advertised in the Bournemouth Echo recently.
Well done!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Faculty of Health & Social Sciences