Today, Tuesday 15th March 2016, is World Social Work Day. Whilst the growth in ‘world this’ or ‘world that’ day may cause some to groan and turn off, there is tremendous importance in World Social Work Day because of it focus on social justice, wellbeing and positive change for individuals, families, communities and states.
This year’s theme for World Social Work Day is Human Worth and Dignity, something important to all our hearts, and central to contemporary concerns as the Syrian crisis continues and, unfortunately, exemplifies the state of much of the world. As a precursor to celebrating the day, the Department of Social Science and Social Work has been fortunate to host two important international speakers. On March 3rd, our visiting fellow and co-author with Prof Jonathan Parker, Prof Dr Maria Luisa Gomez Jimenez from the University of Malaga introduced aspects of the housing crisis in Spain, outlining some of the ways in this problem might be addressed. Yesterday, Dr Bala Raju Nikku, founding director of the Nepal School of Social Work (NSSW) and visiting senior lecturer at the Universiti Sains Malaysia, where he worked alongside Prof Sara Ashencaen Crabtree and Prof Jonathan Parker, took time off from his COFUND fellowship at the University of Durham to speak about disaster social work. He used the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal as his focus. The NSSW and Dr Bala were active in providing social work support after the earthquakes and responding rapidly so that students could engage in the work and learn through service delivery, whilst being able to understand and theorise at the same time.
Human worth and dignity are central concepts which are often trivialised or ignored in contemporary society. If we are to engender social trust, positive relationships and a co-produced future not based on profit alone but on reciprocity, compassion and sustainability we must engage with these concepts. This year’s World Social Work Day helps us do so.
Jonathan Parker & Sara Ashencaen Crabtree




Doing a PhD may appeal to midwives and other NHS health professionals, but it often involves having to make difficult choices. Undertaking a part-time PhD means studying on top of a busy clinical position, but starting full-time study involves stepping away from practice, which may lead to a loss of clinical skills and confidence. The Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) at Bournemouth University has come up with a novel solution making it easier for midwives to undertake a doctorate while still maintaining their clinical skills. This approach is highlighted in the latest publication by Dr. Susan Way and colleagues, describing a process where CMMPH collaborate with NHS partners to apply for a match-funded PhD. [1] The first partnership was with Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (PHT), with later partners expanded to cover the Isle of Wight and Southampton. Currently there are negotiations with Dorset Country Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Non NHS organisations have also showed an interest with the Anglo European Chiropractic College (AECC) our likely next collaborator.
This first week of March has been a good week for FHSS publications. On March 1st CMMPH Prof. Vanora Hundley published her collaborative paper ‘Do Cochrane summaries help student midwives understand the findings of Cochrane systematic reviews: the BRIEF randomised trial’.[1] With colleagues based across the UK and Ireland she surveyed over 800 midwifery students at nine universities. This results of the study can be found in the journal
The second FHSS publication is a chapter in a Kindle book on the Importance of public health in low- and middle- income countries, written by Dr. Puspa Raj Pant,CMMPH’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, and BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada.[2] Padam Simkhada is Professor of International Public Health and Associate Dean (Global Engagement) for the Faculty of Education, Health and Community at Liverpool John Moores University. The chapter is part of the Kindle book with the long title: Public Health for the Curious: Why Study Public Health? (A Decision-Making Guide to College Major, Research & Scholarships, and Career Success for the College Students and Their Parents) edited by Richard Lee Skolnik from Yale University, USA.

ons and research agendas in post-earthquake Nepal’ [1] which has been accepted by South East Asia Journal of Public Health will be freely available in April this year, talks in detail around impact of the Nepal’s earthquake on population health and health system infrastructure. This is a collaborative work among researchers of universities in the UK, Nepal and New Zealand. FHSS’s Dr Pramod Regmi (lead author) along with BU Professor Edwin van Teijlingen, BU visiting Professor Padam Simkhada (Liverpool John Moores University, UK), Nirmal Aryal (University of Otago, New Zealand), Dr Puspa Raj Pant (University of the West of England, UK) and Professor Bhimsen Devekota (Tribhuvan University, Nepal) have contributed to this paper.













Opportunities to support our REF preparations
SPROUT Returns: Designing Sustainability in Research Practice – Wednesday 20 May 12-2pm
Innovative Approaches to Doctoral Supervision: Selected Case Studies
3C Event: Research Culture, Community & Canapés-Tuesday 19 May 1-2pm
New chapters published in maternity book on risk
The British Academy European Research Council Grant Support Sessions
Apply now to take part in the 2026 ESRC Festival of Social Science
Reminder: Register for the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2026 Information Session
ECR Funding Open Call: Research Culture & Community Grant – Apply now
ECR Funding Open Call: Research Culture & Community Grant – Application Deadline Friday 12 December
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 Call
ERC Advanced Grant 2025 Webinar
Update on UKRO services
European research project exploring use of ‘virtual twins’ to better manage metabolic associated fatty liver disease