Category / BU research

MaGPIE Publishes Collaborative Paper in the IRRC

The MaGPIE (Mass Grave Protection, Investigation and Engagement) team, run out of the Humanities and Law department, have recently had their first collaborative paper published in the International Review of the Red Cross.

 

The paper entitled ‘Mass grave mapping and the protection of the dead gives’ insight into the current research being undertaken within the project, including the ongoing mapping of mass graves globally. It also asks, to what extent mapping can be considered a preventative process.

 

To read the full paper follow the link in the image below:

 

 

Conversation article: Five ways to keep teenagers safe by the water

Dr Jill Nash writes for The Conversation about the need to educate young people about the risks of drowning, and shares her advice for helping to keep them safe…

Five ways to keep teenagers safe by the water

frederikloewer/Shutterstock

Jill Nash, Bournemouth University

As temperatures soar around the UK and Ireland due to climate change, warnings about the dangers of drowning are being issued and one Labour MP is calling for water safety lessons to be made compulsory in schools.

Teaching children to swim is essential, but it’s not enough to save them from drowning. Water safety is about judgement, impulse control, peer influence and understanding your limits. Peer pressure, social situations and a false sense of confidence can all put young people in danger.

My research highlights how we’re not talking enough to young people, especially teenage boys, about the emotional and cognitive risks of making decisions around water. The National Water Safety Forum reports that young males aged between 10-19 are one of the highest groups at risk from drowning, as they assert their independence and test personal boundaries.

Drowning happens quickly, often without adults watching, when kids are hanging out by rivers and lakes, tombstoning off bridges, or misjudging their abilities when trying to impress friends.


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Leading water safety organisations like the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and HM Coastguard run education campaigns about the dangers of the ocean. The Canal & River Trust, the UK’s largest canal charity, recently developed a school education pack for teenagers highlighting water safety.

Parents can also shape how teens interact with water. In Nottingham, the charity called Open Water Education Network was founded in memory of Owen Jenkins, a 12-year-old boy who drowned while trying to save two girls in difficulty. As well as teaching young people about the dangers of open water and the importance of self rescue, this charity empowers parents to talk to teens even if they seem to ignore parental advice.

Talking to teenagers about safety isn’t easy. Here’s how to do it in a way that’s honest, effective and grounded in care.

1. Talk just before they go

Rules work best when they’re short, consistent and repeated. Before a trip to the beach or river, take five minutes to remind your teen of your family’s water safety rules. Repetition builds habits. Remind them not to swim after dark or alone and explain what to do if someone’s in trouble (call for help, don’t jump in).

2. Share real-life stories

Stories help bring home the reality of water risk, especially for teens who can feel invincible in an all-male group without any supervision. While on a lads holiday on the Northumberland coast, 16-year-old called Evan saved himself from drowning in a rip tide by laying on his back to stay afloat. Eventually, a surfer managed to paddle out and reach him, and an rescue lifeboat also came to the scene. Evan recovered after treatment in hospital for hypothermia.

Teenager Evan explains how he escaped drowning in a rip tide.

Another heartbreaking story of Liam Hall, a teenager who drowned while out in a dinghy with friends in Sunderland, demonstrates how quickly things can escalate in the sea.

Not all stories end in tragedy. A group of teenagers from East Sussex made the life-saving decision to stay out of the water, using a life ring to help two swimmers in trouble, proving that staying on shore can save lives.

group of five young people sat by river, all looking at phones
Some teens might not want to listen to advice about water safety.
oneinchpunch/Shutterstock

3. Discuss group dynamics

Female teens can play a powerful role in promoting water safety, especially in mixed-gender peer groups where social dynamics can significantly influence behaviour. Research shows that all-boy groups are more likely to engage in risk-taking activities. When girls are present, especially those who feel confident speaking up, risky behaviour often decreases.

Parents can empower girls to speak up if someone suggests swimming in dangerous conditions or places and promote safety strategies like the RNLI’s “call, tell and throw” approach. By reinforcing these behaviours, teen girls can become leaders in lifesaving culture, not only keeping themselves safe but influencing their peers to make smarter choices too.

4. Deflate false sense of confidence

Stick to the facts and be honest about the dangers. Drowning can happen within seconds, even when someone is a strong swimmer. Most drownings occur in open water, not swimming pools. Teenagers need to understand how the effects of cold water shock, fast currents and submerged objects can quickly turn a fun day into a fatal one.

5. Make brave choices

Teens don’t drown because they’re bad swimmers. They drown because they made a poor decision in a high-risk moment. Teaching safety early (before they start taking unsupervised risks) helps shape smarter thinking later.

Parents can model care, calmness and emotional awareness. Show them that bravery isn’t about bravado. It’s about looking out for your mates and making good choices. Fathers can play a powerful role in framing what strength looks like. Research shows that fathers who show empathy and emotional intelligence teach children how to be resilient during high-pressure moments. Emphasise that calm decision-making when in danger or choosing not to jump into the water under peer pressure doesn’t make a boy weak. It makes him wise. Talk to your sons about how real masculinity means thinking clearly, not reacting emotionally.

Teenagers can feel invincible. Be honest. Tell them you love them and that you trust them to make good decisions. Talking about safety is one of the most powerful things a family can do. Water safety begins at home with all of us.


Swimming, sailing, even just building a sandcastle – the ocean benefits our physical and mental wellbeing. Curious about how a strong coastal connection helps drive marine conservation, scientists are diving in to investigate the power of blue health.

This article is part of a series, Vitamin Sea, exploring how the ocean can be enhanced by our interaction with it.The Conversation


Jill Nash, Senior Lecturer in Advertising and Marketing Communications, Bournemouth University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Dr. Catalin Brylla Leads Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives for the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image

Dr. Catalin Brylla, Principal Lecturer in Film and TV has chaired the DEI Committee for the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image since 2022, launching several initiatives.  At this year’s conference at the University of Alberta in Canada he organised three related events:

DEI Roundtable and Workshop: Intersectionality, Bias and Positionality

This roundtable featured international scholars, including Charles Kebaya (Machakos University, Kenya), to explore how intersectionality, bias, and positionality shape our work in film and media research. The session was followed by two facilitated workshop groups: one focusing on teaching (including decolonising curricula and participatory learning methods), the other on research (including de-centralising publishing, engaging with Global South scholarship, and community-led research methods).

The workshops offered a space for critical reflection and practical strategies for fostering equity and inclusion in teaching and research, addressing the following questions.

  • How do we approach research and teaching when we acknowledge the researcher’s and teacher’s partial perspective shaped by their intersected social identities?
  • When the positionality of the researcher differs from that of the research participant, research collaborator, screen character or film viewer, how does this frame our analytic lens and the choice of research methods?
  • What happens when we study marginalised groups without their collaborative participation? Do we risk replicating epistemic hierarchies or social practices that have contributed to this marginalisation? (relates to slogan “Nothing about us, without us.” – disability rights movement)
  • In cross-cultural and cross-ability research and teaching, how do we account for not only difference, but for blind spots in acknowledging and respecting different positionalities?
  • How can we design curricula that properly balance between dominant and underrepresented academic and non-academic knowledge structures?

Mentorship Lunch: Learning from Academic Trial and Errors

This event provided an informal and supportive space where senior scholars shared candid reflections on the mistakes, challenges, and lessons that have shaped their academic journeys. We rarely speak openly about trial-and-error experiences in teaching, research, or media practice. Even more rarely do we celebrate these moments or fully recognise the valuable contributions they make to eventual positive outcomes. As a result, when we engage with the work of other scholars—whether through conversation, presentations, or publications—their research is often presented as a neatly packaged narrative of clear and successful results, with little acknowledgement of the mistakes, missteps, and failures that inevitably occurred along the way.

The session covered topics from research and publishing to teaching, grant-writing, and career development, this session invites open discussion with early career researchers about navigating the ups and downs of academic life.

Paper Presentation on Social Cognition, Bias and Audience Perception of Films

Together with Dr. Tico Romao (University of Alberta), Brylla proposed a framework for audience segmentation that focuses on the mapping of intersecting social identities across viewers and screen characters. This type of spectator segmentation offers a more granular alternative to explain divergent viewer responses and biases. This can reveal the often-overlooked gap between authorial intent and spectatorial reception. This framework is especially useful in comparing responses to structured and formalist narratives, as well as more open or ambiguous narrative forms.

Paper accepted on women and disability in Nepal

The academic editor of PLOS ONE informed us yesterday that our latest paper ‘Life-time experience of violence among women and girls living with disability in Nepal: A cross-sectional study’ [1] has been accepted for publication.  The paper is based on research conducted as part of the Inclusive Partnership Against Violence (INPAV) project in Nepal.  Working with our long-term research paper Green Tara Nepal (GTN) and funded by The United Nations Trust Fund (UNTF) through Nepal Disabled Women Association (NDWA), we have been involved in InPAV. This project included a situation analysis of the existing government setup One-stop Crisis Management Center (OCMC) to understand the inclusiveness of the OCMC services for girls and women with disabilities.  The paper just accepted was part of this research.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

 

  1. Simkhada, P., Basnet, S., Sharma, S., van Teijlingen, E., Wasti, S.P., Dahal, T., Okyere, J., Silwal, R.C., Pyakurel, M. (2025) Life-time experience of violence among women and girls living with disability in Nepal: A cross-sectional study . PLoS ONE (accepted).

Celebrating 25 years of Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Adult Neuropsychology Services in Dorset:

The Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Adult Neuropsychology Services in Dorset are having their 25 years anniversary which they are celebrating with this conference held in Bournemouth University.

We would like to invite you to this conference on 10th July 2025 which brings together professionals, researchers, and students who work with people with acquired brain injuries such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, tumour, or brain infections to discuss holistic and effective rehabilitation approaches in practice and applied research.

The Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Adult Neuropsychology Services in Dorset have always supported multidisciplinary collaborations across the field of rehabilitation and recovery. They have continued to have strong collaborations with Bournemouth University. Members have supported teaching and work placements at the MSc level for over a decade and collaborated with BU researchers from the INRC to bring together practice and research. This conference celebrates and showcases the services and these collaborations in this conference by bringing together professionals, clinical practice, and applied research.

The conference will include presentations about the ABRIS’s holistic rehabilitation philosophy, discussions about effective brain injury rehabilitation programmes, case stories and displays about bespoke person-centred rehabilitation activities.

This conference will be of interests to occupational therapists, speech therapists, clinical and neuropsychologists, doctors and rehabilitation physicians, physiotherapists, rehabilitation assistants, nurses, and case managers.

The conference is organised in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Research Centre at Bournemouth (Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Research Centre | Bournemouth University) (Leads: Drs Ellen Seiss & Emili Balaguer-Ballester) and co-sponsored by Trauma Informed Practice Services (CIC www.thetipsuk.org).

For more details of the topic, and tickets (limited availability) please see the link on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/brain-injury-rehabilitation-a-holistic-approach-that-works-tickets-1112548555679?aff=oddtdtcreator.

 

Book now – The supporting eating and drinking well with dementia at home event

Thursday 24 July 2025

10:30 AM – 3:30 PM

The Eating and Drinking Well with Dementia at Home Guide is a new resource to support people living with dementia at home, specifically designed for family carers, friends, and home care workers.

We are honoured to welcome our keynote speaker, Dr Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive, Homecare Association, who brings extensive expertise spanning social care, health, housing, and the technology sector. We will also be joined by people with lived experience, researchers, and representatives from key stakeholder organisations.

Everyone interested in nutrition, dementia, and home care is welcome, whether you’re looking to learn more, support a family member, or are a care provider in the social care or healthcare sector!

• Keynote address

• Networking over lunch

• About TOMATO project and research findings that informed the development of the resources

• Panel and audience discussions

• Official launch of the resource (print copy available on the day).

For further information on this event, please contact HSSRKEAdministrator@bournemouth.ac.uk

Book your place now at www.bournemouth.ac.uk/dementia-at-home Please let us know of any specific dietary requirements.

New paper published on Immersive metaverse technologies for education and training in tourism and hospitality

Aldawsari, R.Buhalis, D. and Roushan, G. (2025), “Immersive metaverse technologies for education and training in tourism and hospitality”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Managementhttps://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-01-2025-0126

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential for tourism and hospitality education and training through immersive metaverse learning. This study examines familiarity levels, perceived benefits and challenges and proposes a framework for metaverse adoption in education and training.

Design/methodology/approach

Grounded in Diffusion of Innovation Theory, this qualitative study analyses 45 in-depth interviews with students and academics in Saudi Arabia. The thematic analysis identifies adoption stages and factors influencing metaverse readiness in tourism education.

Findings

While metaverse can enhance engagement in skill development, it may also include barriers such as accessibility, data privacy and technical readiness. Adoption varies by generation and digital proficiency. Younger students and early-career academics embrace its experiential benefits, while senior academics cite cost, infrastructure and complexity concerns. This study develops a DOI-based framework to evaluate metaverse adoption in tourism education.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study are context-specific and qualitative. Future research should validate the proposed model across different educational and cultural contexts using longitudinal and mixed-method approaches.

Practical implications

The metaverse Integration Framework provides actionable guidance for educators, policymakers and institutional leaders. This study supports phased integration, risk mitigation and alignment with governance structures, while addressing issues such as digital equity, funding and compliance.

Social implications

Metaverse technologies offer opportunities to democratise access to high-quality, immersive education, particularly in under-resourced or remote regions, thereby enhancing employability and workforce resilience.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the literature on metaverse adoption in tourism and hospitality training and education by introducing a DOI theory-informed framework. The findings of this study offer theoretical insights that bridge technology adoption models with educational practice, providing a foundation for future digital education and training research.

BU ECRN seed fund success for Dr Sarah Hambidge

Supporting ECRs to Publish Through a Writing Workshop on Exploitation and Violence

BU ECRN Seed Funding was awarded to Dr Sarah Hambidge, supported by Kari Davies, to organise and host an Exploitation and Violence Writing Workshop. The event brought together 22 participants, including 18 early career researchers (ECRs) from six different higher education institutions, all of whom are engaged in research topics related to exploitation and violence.

The workshop featured a series of structured sessions aimed at helping ECRs set and review their writing goals. A key highlight of the day was the Mastering the Publication Process and Writing Strategies session, delivered by the senior editor of the Psychology, Crime & Law journal, who shared invaluable insights into the publication process and offered practical writing guidance.

In addition to structured learning, the event included dedicated writing time and opportunities for attendees to network and discuss future collaborations, strengthening the sense of community among researchers in this field. The workshop supported ECRs to progress towards publishing their research by providing them with the skills and confidence to navigate the publication process and share their findings effectively.

Post-event feedback was extremely positive, with all attendees expressing strong interest in future in-person and online writing retreats, as well as other research related events facilitated by Bournemouth University. The success of this workshop has created ongoing support and development opportunities for ECRs working on exploitation and violence research.

RSA event: Thurs 19th June – speakers confirmed – book now!

Join the BU Research Staff Association (RSA) for an exciting event on Thursday 19th June, Talbot Campus 10:00 – 14:30.  This in-person lunchtime event is designed to provide support, inspiration, and foster meaningful connections among research staff across all faculties.

We are delighted to welcome Professor Edwin van Teijlingen (FHSS), who brings extensive expertise in Public Health, Health Promotion, and the Organisation of Maternity Care. He will share insights on developing a research career both within and beyond academia.

Dr Michelle Heward (FST) will present a case study based on her experience with funding applications, sharing practical lessons learned and highlighting how to build on small pots of funding. The Research Development and Support Team (RDS) will lead a hands-on workshop on Getting Started with Grant Applications, offering tools and guidance to help researchers take the next steps in their research journey.

What to Expect

  • Expert advice on research career development and opportunities
  • Practical guidance on how to get started with grant applications
  • Insights from a case study, including practical tips
  • Panel and audience discussions

Open to all BU ‘research only’ staff, no matter where you are in your research journey.

For further information on this event please contact Pooja Shah shahp@bournemouth.ac.uk or Gladys Yinusa, yinusagg@bournemouth.ac.uk

BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE

BRIAN drop-in surgery – Lansdowne

Do you have a question about BRIAN? Need help populating your staff profile page? Then come along to the next BRIAN drop-in surgery!

  • Date: Tuesday 17th June
  • Time: 13:00-15:00
  • Location: BG-315, Lansdowne Campus

Come along to this informal 2-hour drop-in surgery with questions or issues relating to BRIAN, or if you need a refresher on how to update your profile.

No booking is required, just bring your laptop and questions!

Postgraduate Research Summer Social – 1 week to go!


1 week to go till the Postgraduate Research Summer Social. We’re so excited to welcome you to the Branksome Dene Room for an afternoon of patio games, delicious food and sunshine by the beach! 


We’ve booked this stunning location for the exclusive use of PGRs and Supervisors for the afternoon to unwind and reconnect up with your fellow researchers and academics.

The Doctoral College PGR events at Branksome Dene Room are always a hit so we hope you can join us!

We are pleased to offer a Greek style lunch menu including a pita with your choice of filling (chicken souvlaki, vegetarian or vegan) served with chips, a salad bar, teas, coffees and soft drinks! You are also welcome to bring your own refreshments to enjoy.

Register here

Ticket: £5

Please note there are limited spaces available, so please book as soon as possible if you would like to attend. 

If you have any questions, please do get in touch: pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk

LinkedIn: Doctoral College – Bournemouth University

X: @BUDocCollege | #BUDoctoralCollege

NEW DATE – Free Research Event – Wednesday 2nd July – A Celebration of ‘Novel Food’ Related Research

BU Research Centre CSSRC is celebrating its interdisciplinary and intersectoral research around ‘Novel Foods’ on Wednesday 2nd July June 2025, 3.15-5.00pm in DG234.

The Centre for Sustainable & Socially Responsible Consumption (CSSRC) invites you to attend its research event on Wednesday 2nd July 2025 to celebrate its interdisciplinary and intersectoral research around ‘novel foods’. After a welcome refreshment this interesting, interactive and informative event will comprise of two topical presentation sessions, each led by a member of CSSRC, as outlined below. Opportunity for discussions and networking over drinks and nibbles after the talks will round off the event.

Session 1: Timing, Fatigue, and the Message: Advertising Strategies for Insect-Based Foods

Dr Guljira Manimont will present this session, introducing her research on advertising and consumer perceptions of insect-based foods. These foods are often described as the future of sustainable eating. They are packed with nutrients, environmentally friendly, and a strong alternative to traditional protein. But despite these benefits, most consumers in Western markets still say… no thanks! From an advertising perspective, this presents both a valuable opportunity and a significant challenge: how can we communicate their benefits in ways that effectively encourage consumer engagement? Her recent work investigates not only the content of advertising messages—such as health, social, or environmental benefits—but also the importance of message timing and cognitive depletion on consumer receptiveness on messages. Dr Manimont will share findings from two experimental studies in Australia and the USA, showing how message framing interacts with mental state and timing to influence responses to edible insects.

Session 2: Farm Under Water

Dr Anastasia Vayona will present this session and introduce her work around seaweed as a food. This talk will discuss her recent outreach collaboration with Avonwood Primary School during the ESRC Festival of Social Science, aimed at raising awareness of edible seaweed as a nutritious and sustainable food source. She engaged pupils in understanding its ecological importance through interactive activities, including the concept of underwater farming—integrating seaweed, fish, and shellfish to promote environmental health and food security. Pupils also had the chance to taste seaweed-based treats, creating a tangible link between marine science and everyday life. She will discuss the educational, environmental, and gastronomic dimensions of this initiative.

Provisional Timetable:

3.15-3.30pm – Welcome refreshments

3.30-4.30pm – Presentation sessions

4.30-5.00pm – Discussion, networking and refreshments

This is a free event, but you must register to attend via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-celebration-of-novel-food-related-research-tickets-1372631601069?aff=oddtdtcreator

About CSSRC

The Centre for Sustainable & Socially Responsible Consumption (CSSRC) aims to promote and advance the understanding of sustainable consumption and socially responsible consumption through developing and delivering internationally renowned research. It provides a hub to explore and address topics that are currently globally relevant, through utilising a strong interdisciplinary focus. Webpage: https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/centres-institutes/centre-sustainable-socially-responsible-consumption

Reflecting on Alzheimer’s Awareness Week: A Day of Learning, Connection and Innovation

On Monday 20th May, we were proud to host a packed day of events at Bournemouth University in support of Alzheimer’s Awareness Week — bringing together housing professionals, students, researchers, and community partners to raise awareness and share ideas around dementia-friendly practices.

Our day began with an insightful Dementia Friends session, led by the Alzheimer’s Society. Attendees learned more about what it’s like to live with dementia and how small, everyday actions can make a big difference. At the end of the session, everyone also received their Dementia Friends badge, joining a growing network of people committed to creating a more dementia-friendly society.
After lunch, we explored the Time for Dementia programme — an inspiring initiative connecting healthcare students with people living with dementia and their carers to foster deeper empathy and understanding.
The afternoon saw us dive into some thought-provoking research and innovation. Dr Aisling Flynn shared her work on how virtual reality technology can help combat social isolation for people living with dementia, while Dr Michele Board presented the SERVED project, examining the unique needs of military veterans affected by dementia.
After a short break, we rounded off the day with the exciting launch of ‘Insight Dementia: Going into Hospital’ — a brand-new resource for hospital staff, featuring immersive VR demonstrations and printed copies of the resource given to attendees and practice partners.
It was a true pleasure to welcome a mix of staff, students, practice partners attend these sessions and raise awareness for dementia. Thank you to everyone who joined us for an inspiring, informative day!

Paper on sustainable conferencing

Traditional conferences tend to have a high carbon footprint. In October 2023, the Multimodal Immersive NEuro-sensing (MINE) Research Cluster and Bournemouth EEG Lab hosted Bournemouth Garden of CuttingGardens2023 conference, a globally distributed and hybrid conference on cutting-edge EEG/MEG methods with 800+ attendees. After the huge success of the event, the global team evaluated the experience and wrote an article “Doing conferences different: a decentralised multi-hub approach for ecological and social sustainability”. This article has been accepted for publication on PLoS Sustainability and Transformation. Two BU staff, Xun He (Head of MINE Cluster and EEG Lab) and Ruijie Wang, co-authored this publication. We hope our work can reshape the international conferencing scenes.

Here is the link to the paper: Doing conferences differently: A decentralised multi-hub approach for ecological and social sustainability (PLOS Sustainability and Transformation).

Successful academic writing, publishing and collaboration workshop at BU

Last week’s workshop on ‘Academic Writing, Publishing & Collaborating’ held at Talbot Campus organised by Mrs. Anjana Paudyal, Ph.D. student in FHSS (Faculty of Health & Social Sciences) was very engaging and very well attended.  This event was part of the Doctoral College’s Research Culture and Community workshop series.  The workshop was opened by Anjana, who spoke about publishing her first PhD paper in the first half year of her part-time PhD journey.

Key sessions in this interactive workshop included presentations from Ms. Jillian Ireland based at UHD (University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust) and academics based at BU.  Jillian spoke about her experience of publishing in practice journals as well as publishing papers about practice in academic journals.

Whilst Dr. Pramod Regmi, Principal Academic in International Health in FHSS stressed the importance of paying attention to publishing metrics and identifiers, including h-factors, impact factors, and social media use in academic publishing.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Research Culture Champion in FHSS outlined ideas for turning PhD chapters in papers and he also highlighted BU’s unique option of doing a so-called ‘Integrated thesis‘.  The integrated thesis format allows students to incorporate papers into their thesis.  These can be published papers, papers accepted for publication, papers submitted, prepared but not submitted papers and other unpublished papers or reports.

Dr. Orlanda Harvey is a senior lecturer in Social Work at BU, specialising in Developing Professional Relationships and Leadership, she presented replying to reviewers.   The Question & Answer session was lively and engaging.

Last, but not least, Anjana Paudyal, the organiser, and presenters would like to thank the Doctoral College for supporting this important event!

Leadership in disaster nursing

On Wednesday (04/06) the Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health (CWLTH) and the Department of Nursing Science welcomed Kelsie Fletcher back to Bournemouth University to talk about her doctoral research – ‘Becoming leaders of change: adaptive moral navigation and the challenges of international disaster nursing‘. Kelsie, currently a Lecturer in Nursing at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, is supervised by Professor Steve Ersser and Dr Linda Agyemang.

Kelsie presented some of her initial findings from her qualitative research in which she has interviewed nurses currently involved in teams engaged in disaster management around the world. In the coming week, Kelsie will be presenting her research again, this time to a much larger audience at the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress in Helsinki. If you would like to know more about Kelsie’s research, please email fletcherk@bournemouth.ac.uk.

We all wish Kelsie well as she moves towards submission of her thesis for examination later this year.

The CWLTH’s next and final research seminar for this academic year will be on Tuesday 17/06 when Jess Correia will be speaking about her research on ‘Understanding the decision-making process for women with common mental disorders around prescribed psychiatric medication use during pregnancy‘. All are welcome to attend and for more information please contact CWLTH@Bournemouth.ac.uk.

Presenting SERVED at the KCL Veterans’ Mental Health Conference

SERVED – Supporting Evidence-based Research for Veterans Experiencing Dementia

We are pleased to share that Dr Michele Board recently had the wonderful opportunity to present at the Veterans’ Mental Health Conference at King’s College London on 19th May, an event dedicated to sharing research, lived experiences, and innovations aimed at improving mental health outcomes for our veteran community.
Why dementia matters in the veteran community
Dementia is a growing public health concern, and its impact within the veteran population deserves special attention. Military service can expose individuals to unique risk factors — such as traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and heightened stress exposure — which research suggests may influence cognitive health later in life. Despite this, dementia in veterans is still a relatively under-researched and under-acknowledged issue.
Key points from the conference
We were delighted to present some of the work we have been doing with veterans as part of the SERVED project and showcase excerpts of our documentary film, highlighting the need for increased focus on tailored, veteran-specific approaches to dementia care and support.
In the session, Michele shared findings from our research, including the relevance of dementia awareness, as well as findings from the workshops we ran with veterans living with dementia and their carers. One of the striking points Michele raised is that much of the existing research in this field has been predominantly US-based. In fact, a recent literature review found no published studies on UK veterans’ experiences of dementia at the time of searching.
Stigma around dementia remains a challenge within the general public, and it may be even more pronounced in military culture. Combined with increased exposure to risk factors within the military for developing dementia, this makes awareness-raising within veteran communities especially important. Encouraging open conversations about memory concerns and dementia could make a real difference in helping veterans seek support earlier, improving outcomes and quality of life.
What’s next?
Presenting at this conference wasn’t just about sharing our research — it was about starting conversations and building connections. Conversations about how we ensure no veteran feels isolated or overlooked as they age, and how we integrate dementia support into the wider framework of support for veterans. The discussions sparked at the conference led to new interest and increased awareness within the veteran community, highlighting the need to keep pushing this important agenda forward.
Presenting at this conference wasn’t just about sharing our research — it was about starting conversations and building connections. Conversations about how we ensure no veteran feels isolated or overlooked as they age, and how we integrate dementia support into the wider framework of support for veterans. The discussions sparked at the conference led to new interest and increased awareness within the veteran community, highlighting the need to keep pushing this important agenda forward.
Final thoughts
We’re very grateful to King’s College London and the Forces in Mind Trust for providing a platform to shine a light on this important issue, and we look forward to seeing how this conversation continues to grow.