Category / BU research

Three grant applications rejected this month

BU research, international, Uncategorized

The start of October has not been good for me in terms of grant applications.  On the first day of October the NIHR informed us that our application to the call for a research programme for social care was unsuccessful.  The reason given by the NIHR panel was that our proposal was not competitive enough, this was a BU-led proposal working with colleagues based in Dorset.

Four days later another application to the NIHR, this time to another different funding stream, was rejected by Global Health Research Programme Funding Committees. This second failed grant application was written by an international interdisciplinary team led by the Canterbury Christ Church University.  It was a follow-up of our successful study ‘The impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system: a longitudinal analysis’, which was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative, itself a collaboration of the MRC/FCDO/Wellcome Trust/ESRC; Grant ref. MR/T023554/1.

To rub salt in the wounds, an international funding body, a joint initiative of the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR; France), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; Germany), the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC; UK) and the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC; Canada). The secretariat emailed us a few days ago than our application was not short-listed in this very competitive call, where 90% of applications were rejected.

Some of these proposals can, and will be, revamped and resubmitted to other funding bodies.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

BU policy influence digest newsletter – 09/10/2024

BU research, Impact, parliament, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, policy

Read the latest edition of the BU policy influence digest newsletter. It is drawn from several sources including directly from UK central and devolved administrations, newsletters from Parliament Knowledge Exchange Unit, UPEN and others.

Items this week include;

  • New consultations and inquiries for policy impact – 08/10/2024
    • New opportunities to respond to consultations and inquiries from the UK and globally
  • Behind the scenes of the government’s areas for research interest
    • Who’s using the government’s new ARI database, and how are different government departments engaging with the researchers who get in touch?
  • Ten things we heard at the Labour Party Conference – HEPI
    • At the Labour Party Conference, higher education was highlighted as essential for addressing economic growth, skills development, and widening participation, with a strong focus on funding, partnerships, and embracing AI in education.
  • Research Professional – Five things we learned from the Labour conference
    • And the big question that universities are still waiting to have answered
  • How evidence-informed policymaking works in a Union of 27 states
    • This event will shed light on the work of The Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) and how the European policymaking process works.
  • A Policymaker’s Perspective: The Value of Arts and Humanities Research in the Policy Landscape
    • From UPEN – In this blog, Dr Domonique Davies, University of Reading reflects on the value of arts and humanities research on policy and shares insights from policy makers actively looking for researchers to engage with them.

If you’d like to receive future editions of this digest by email, sign up in two clicks (BU login required).

The Innovation Common Room returns to FG04 on Wednesday 9 October 1-3:30pm

BU research, Events, Impact, Knowledge Exchange, Research Training, Training

The Innovation Common Room offers researchers the opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and provide mentorship in a casual environment over coffee.

Academics are welcome to invite their Post-Graduate Students

Please contact Wendelin Morrison, BU Knowledge Exchange Manager, if you would like more information: wmorrison@bournemouth.ac.uk

Student Research Opportunity

BU research, Fusion, humanities, Impact, international, Knowledge Exchange, Research Integritiy, research methods, Research news, research opportunities, Student Engagement, student research

As the new academic year begins, so does the recruitment process for a new cohort of Missing Persons Indicator Project researchers. This year, as well as recruiting law students to the project, we are presenting this opportunity to budding researchers across the university. Notably, a new collaboration between the FMC and BUBS has emerged, enhancing the interdisciplinary approach of the project.

 

In collaboration with the International Commission on Missing Persons, students have begun the process of collating indicators to capture the way States engage with, and seek to solve, missing persons cases. These indicators range from understanding contextual factors that could have contributed to a surge of missing persons cases, such as conflict or natural disasters, to international treaty ratification, to domestic legislation.

 

In light of recent headlines concerning conflicts across the globe, students have likely been exposed to stories that highlight the pressing issues of our time, such as missing persons. This voluntary research project offers them a unique opportunity to engage with work that has real-world significance, showing how research can extend beyond the university to make a meaningful impact.

 

Our expectations:

  • Dedicate approximately 8 hours a month to the project (flexible around university commitments).
  • Attend in-person meetings, skills workshops and data collating sessions.
  • Be keen to develop research skills.
  • Work respectfully within a diverse team.

 

 

Student experience:

  • Support into real-world research with lasting impact.
  • Assist in articulating the project into written form to enhance employability.
  • Optional research skills workshops.
  • Inter-disciplinary learning.
  • Feedback opportunities.
  • A well-stocked snack cupboard.

 

If you feel this opportunity would benefit students in your faculty, discipline, or program, please email indicators@bournemouth.ac.uk to request the necessary recruitment paperwork or to arrange a drop-in talk for your students.

 

Congratulations to Dr. Karim Khaled and colleagues

BU research, international, PG research, Research communication, Research news, Uncategorized

Congratulations to Dr Karim Khaled on the recent publication of the article ‘The Association between Psychological Stress and Dietary Quality and Patterns among Women of Childbearing Age in Lebanon‘.
The paper focuses on psychological stress linked to poorer dietary quality can lead to serious diseases. The objective of this study was to examine the association between psychological stress and dietary quality/patterns among childbearing-aged women in Lebanon. Female participants (n = 249) participated in an online survey-questionnaire which included the previously adapted European Prospective into Cancer and Nutrition food frequency questionnaire and stress, depression, anxiety, physical activity, adiposity, and socio-demographic questions.
The a-priori dietary quality was assessed through the Mediterranean Diet (MD) index. The a-posteriori latent dietary-patterns (DPs) were derived through factor analysis. Regression analysis was performed to investigate the predictors of the DPs. Participants mainly had a medium MD adherence (61%). No association was found between stress and MD adherence. Factor analysis revealed four DPs: “potatoes, vegetables, legumes, soups and sauces, and non-alcoholic beverages” (DP1), “cereals, fats and oils, milk and dairy products, and sugars and snacks” (DP2), “alcoholic beverages, fish and seafood, eggs, and meats and meat products” (DP3), and “fruits and nuts and seeds” (DP4). Regression analysis indicated that DP1 was positively associated with monthly income (p = 0.02) and negatively with mother’s educational level (p = 0.03). DP2 was negatively associated with father’s employment status (p = 0.01) and marital status (p = 0.008). DP3 was negatively associated with higher father’s educational level (p = 0.018), but positively with BMI (p < 0.001). DP4 was positively linked with BMI (p = 0.01).
Further studies are needed to investigate the association between psychological stress and dietary quality/patterns among Lebanese childbearing aged women.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Reference:
  1. Khaled, K., Hundley, V., Bassil, M., Bazzi, M., Tsofliou, F. (2024) The Association between Psychological Stress and Dietary Quality and Patterns among Women of Childbearing Age in Lebanon. Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 8(9): 8-20.

 

 

New National Teaching Fellow at BU utilising Team-based Learning to improve care of patients with chronic pain

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, BU2025, Events, Impact, PG research, Postgraduate Research, Research Centres

Dr Jonny Branney, Principal Academic in Nursing & Clinical Sciences, Department of Nursing Science, was delighted to represent Bournemouth University at the UK Teaching Excellence Award Ceremony 2024 in Edinburgh 3rd October 2024, where he received a National Teaching Fellowship!

Writing on the screen says Jonny Branney, Bournemouth University. Honestly!

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) recognises, rewards and celebrates individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession. Jonny’s particular impact on education centres around his implementation of Team-based Learning (TBL) in the nursing curriculum at BU and beyond. He has supported colleagues at BU to adopt TBL including Dee Hughes who recently became a certified TBL Practitioner for his work introducing TBL to the MA Scriptwriting programme. TBL has become embedded in the nursing curriculum and been embraced by the team who deliver Applied Healthcare Sciences 2 (too many to name hear, you know who you are!), and in the paramedic science programme, led by Adam Bancroft. Jonny has also delivered workshops nationally and internationally to support other educators to adopt TBL, including in the US, Netherlands and Australia.

Jonny was proud to attend the awarded ceremony at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh, with his mum who is a retired teacher!

He is now utilising TBL not only in teaching but in his research and professional practice. He and team (Ryan Muldoon, Lecturer in Adult Nursing; Joe Barry, NHS Somerset) earlier this year received a TBLC Research Grant for ‘A qualitative usability testing study of TBL pain science classes for patients with chronic back pain.’ Patient interviews have been transcribed and we eagerly await the final results – preliminary results suggest this approach was popular with patients however, and the team hope to progress to the next stage and seek funding for a feasibility trial.

Thank you to everyone who has provided support on the journey to this award

While the National Teaching Fellowship is an individual award, this would not have been possible without significant support from many colleagues. Jonny would particularly like to thank all his nursing colleagues who have  embraced TBL (notably Monica Arias, now at Univerisidad de Nevarra, Spain, the unit lead who gave permission for him to first experiment with TBL back in 2015!), all the colleagues named above, and all other fantastic colleagues (Angela Warren from PIER, Heads of Department including Kathy Curtis, Professor Steve Ersser and Professor Sue Green) who helped make this happen. Key influences and amazing colleagues from the TBLC (to many to name all!) include Professor Simon Tweddell and Dr Gemma Quinn of the University of Bradford – both National Teaching Fellows themselves. Key mentors at BU were Professor Debbie Holley NTF and Dr Holly Henderson NTF- the application would not have been successful without their guidance, expertise and encouragement! (grateful thanks also to Professor Mel Hughes, NTF). Finally, Jonny would also like to acknowledge the unending support, love and patience from his wife, Debbie and two children. Behind every success is an element of sacrifice – patience truly is a virtue! Jonny apologies in advance if he has neglected to name anyone he should have!!

We now have five National Teaching Fellows at BU including our new Vice Chancellor and CEO, Professor Alison Honour! Who will be next colleague at BU to be rewarded for their outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession? Could it be you…?

 

 

Impact of virtual reality on the well-being and travel experiences of people affected by dementia

BU Challenges, BU research, BU2025, Fusion, Fusion themes, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, REF Subjects, Research communication, Research news, Student Engagement

I am undertaking a research placement as part of my studies on the MSc Foundations of Clinical Psychology. In my role as a research assistant, I have been working on a project that aimed to introduce the idea of travelling using Virtual Reality headsets for people with dementia and their caregivers/ family members. Virtual reality (VR) technology presents a promising means of bridging geographical divides and empowering individuals with dementia to participate in their communities in ways that were not possible prior to diagnosis. Additionally, research has demonstrated the value of virtual reality in helping people with dementia remember their past, revisit their hometown, or most treasured vacation spots. The purpose of this project is to evaluate how virtual reality can support people with dementia with travel and explore the impact on their wellbeing.

This is a collaborative pilot research study involving BU staff from the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) (Dr. Michelle Heward, Dr. Catherine Talbot, Dr. Michele Board, Dr Aisling Flynn, Lyndsey Bradley) and the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research (ICTHR) (Dr. Daisy Fan, Prof. Dimitrios Buhalis) alongside colleagues from PramaLife (Sue Warr and Jo Keats) and is funded with QR funding from the Department of Psychology. We collected data on campus, and I was able to support this and had an opportunity to engage with the participants. The participants were asked to come to 2 sessions. The first session consisted of a session in the Blended Learning Interactive Simulation Suite, also known as the BLISS room. In this room, the participants and their caregivers were given the chance to play interactive VR games of their choice on the walls or visit different parts of the UK, such as London and Oxford. The second session consisted of using the VR headsets, where the participants were able to use the headsets themselves, which allows them to virtually experience other parts of the world, by looking around and having access to a 360 view, of a location of their choosing, whether that be somewhere they had never been to or reminisce about places they have been.

Given this immense opportunity to relive and reminisce about their previous experiences around the world, and their respective homes, the reception was overall a positive one. The participants left feeling positive about having virtually visited places from their past and having engaged with places they have never been to or would like to go to in the future. They provided some useful insights and feedback to inform future research in this area. We now move towards analysing and publishing the data.

Roshin Sibu

For more information about this project please email Michelle mheward@bournemouth.ac.uk

New BU women’s health publication

BU research, Featured academics, international, open access, Postgraduate Research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Women's Academic Network, writing

Congratulations to Karim Khaled on the publication in the international journal Nutrients of his latest women’s health paper  [1].  The paper ‘A Structural Equation Modelling Approach to Examine the Mediating Effect of Stress on Diet in Culturally Diverse Women of Childbearing Age’ is co-authored with his PhD supervisors Dr. Fotini Tsofliou and Prof. Vanora Hundley.

This paper in Nutrients  is Open Access, hence available to read to anybody across the globe with internet access.

 

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

 

Reference:

  1. Khaled, K., Tsofliou, F., Hundley, V.A. A Structural Equation Modelling Approach to Examine the Mediating Effect of Stress on Diet in Culturally Diverse Women of Childbearing Age. Nutrients. 2024; 16(19):3354. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16193354

New BU Social Work publication

BU research, Featured academics, international, Uncategorized, writing

Growing international interest in approaches to social work focussing on human growth and development and including each social actor’s real freedoms to act, such as the capabilities approach, has fascinated BU Professor Emeritus, Jonathan Parker. In this new paper Parker and his German colleagues introduce a related, but internationally less well-known concept from German-language philosophy of education discourses, Bildung, arguing that Bildung represents a valuable additional framework that emphasises human growth and human flourishing.
The concept of Bildung has changed over time, with this paper charting development from its late enlightenment-period origins. Two particular variants are highlighted: the original 18th-century Bildung, which focussed on helping the individual reach a state of agency, and Mündigkeit (maturity), a late 20th-century critical theory-influenced Bildung, which focussed on the relationship between the growth of the individual and the society of which they are part. It is suggested that due to their shared tenets, both variants of Bildung can be seen a single concept, one with a strong conceptual closeness to the capabilities approach.
When applied to social work, Bildung suggests a shift away from thinking about the person in terms of utilities and outcomes, towards instead an understanding of a person’s humanness in their freedom to choose their own path and become the author of their own life. Parker and colleagues highlight four key elements of Bildung-informed social work: (1) the role of the social worker stimulating the service user’s dispositions in the context of their social environment; (2) shifting to a relationship-oriented practice, centring on direct work; (3) utilizing community settings in practice, and (4) the importance of refraining from using guidance, persuasion and coercion.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Reference:
  1. Frampton, M., Friesenhahn, G. J., & Parker, J. (2024). Bildung, capabilities, human freedom and human flourishing: impulses for social work. Journal of Comparative Social Work, 19(1), 129–156. https://doi.org/10.31265/jcsw.v19i1.727

DNS staff share their virtual reality research at AHSN Wessex

BU research, innovation, Research Centres, Research news, research staff

on behalf of Professor Debbie Holley

I am delighted to report that Dr Michele Board, Dr Heidi Singleton and I were invited to share our virtual reality research as part of the Wessex Academic Health Science Network webinar on 16.03.2023. Dr Board presented her work on ‘walk through dementia’, which brings the reality of lived experiences places the viewer in the shoes of the person with dementia. More information about this projects and the collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Society are available from the ADRC website.

Dr Singleton and I presented on our work on the mental health 360 video scenarios we created for student nurse education which have been embedded within the curriculum.

Evaluated via Focus group discussions (n=6 students) and an online survey (n=33 thus far); with 94% of nursing students reporting that the videos were extremely or very useful for their learning.  

“It flags up potential extra considerations in practice that you wouldn’t anticipate with just the theoretical teaching. You can better visualise.” (Student Nurse 31) 

“It made me feel confident in how to interact with an individual who may be having a mental health breakdown.” (Student Nurse 15) 

“It showed me that you can take time and check the correct information and repeat steps when assessing and treating a patient.” (Student Nurse 8) 

The learning resources mean that students can link theory to practice and can repeat the activity at any point during their course and from any location.

Thanks to the wider team Ursula Rolfe, John Moran, Emma Collins and our former colleague Jasmine Snowden,

 

Success in HEIF funding: VR Igloo

BU research, Research Centres, Research news

VR Igloo: Developing and evaluating a novel interactive virtual reality intervention for children with eczema

Team: Dr Heidi Singleton, Yaqing Cui, Dr Xiaosong Yang, Dr Emily Arden-Close, Professor Steven Ersser, Professor Debbie Holley, Dr Sarah Thomas, Richard Glithro, John Moran, Dr Andy Hodder and Amanda Roberts (Nottingham Support Group for Carers (NSG) of Children with Eczema).

Aim: To co-create a complex VR health intervention based on the guided imagery approach to treating eczema (Ersser et al., 2014); targeted at children (aged between 7 and 11 years of age) (complex intervention development). This intervention is not a medical device but addresses a clinical issue and can be used at hospital or in the home. Our processes and outputs will be congruent with some of the staging of complex intervention development advised by the Medical Research Council (2021).

Evidence from our small-scale PPI project (Singleton et al. 2022), points to the need for an interactive VR innovation that provides an immersive experience to distract from itchy eczema with minimal requirements for contact with the child’s face or hands. To tackle this problem, we will design and develop a prototype system of an interactive “mini-VR igloo headset”. We will work with the Department of Design and Engineering to design and develop the prototype.

In keeping with a person-based approach these ideas will be discussed with our PIER group and will form part of the developmental work with our Nottingham based charity stakeholder partner.

This Open Call HEIF funding will enable this cross faculty team to work together, with some additional paid staff, to accelerate and maximise the development of a complex intervention to enhance its potential for impact of this well-established VR Eczema project. It will also provide us with several prototypes to test at BU events.

Heidi, Steve and Debbie research as part of the Centre for Wellbeing & Long-Term Health, follow us at Twitter CWLTH_BU

Pregnancy & COVID-19 in UK: New study published

BU research, COVID-19, Featured academics, NHS, Research news, Women's Academic Network, writing

This morning the editor of the Frontiers in Psychiatry emailed us that the paper reporting the findings of the baseline data of a large-scale epidemiological study into pregnancy during COVID-19 in the UK has been published [1].  The interdisciplinary research team includes researchers from University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (Dr. Latha Vinayakarao & Prof. Minesh Khashu) and Bournemouth University (Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen). 

This longitudinal study explores how the SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19] pandemic affected the mental health of pregnant people in the UK.  In mid-to-late 2020, we recruited 3666 individuals in the UK for the EPPOCH pregnancy cohort (Maternal mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Effect of the Pandemic on Pregnancy Outcomes and Childhood Health). Participants were assessed for depression, anxiety, anger and pregnancy-related anxiety using validated scales. Additionally, physical activity, social support, individualized support and personal coping ability of the respondents were assessed as potential resilience factors.

Participants reported high levels of depression (57.05%), anxiety (58.04%) and anger (58.05%). Higher levels of social and individualized support and personal coping ability were associated with lower mental health challenges. Additionally, pregnant individuals in the UK experienced higher depression during the pandemic than that reported in Canada. Finally, qualitative analysis revealed that restrictions for partners and support persons during medical appointments as well as poor public health communication led to increased mental health adversities and hindered ability to make medical decisions.

The study highlights the increased mental health challenges among pregnant individuals in the UK during pandemic. These results highlight the need for reassessing the mental health support measures available to pregnant people in the UK, both during times of crisis and in general.

Reference:

  1. Datye, S., Smiljanic, M., Shetti, R.H., MacRae-Miller, A., van Teijlingen, E., Vinayakarao, L., Peters, E.M.J., Lebel, C.A., Tomfohr-Madsen, L., Giesbrecht, G., Khashu, M., Conrad, M.L. (2024) Prenatal maternal mental health and resilience in the United Kingdom during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: A cross-national comparison, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1411761

Second Consecutive BCS GreenIT Win

BU research, Doctoral College, Postgraduate Research

Exciting News from BCS:

I’m thrilled to share that I’ve won the BCS GreenIT 2024 Poster Competition—marking my second consecutive win!

Having recently passed my Ph.D. viva in the SciTech Computing and Informatics department at BU, this achievement is particularly meaningful. Last year, my winning poster used comics and anecdotes to highlight urban traffic congestion’s role in the energy crisis. This year, I competed as a member of the British Computer Society (BCS), and the competition’s theme, “Investing in Our Planet,” resonated with my research approach, once again leading to this incredible win.

A huge thank you to my Ph.D. supervisor, Dr. Wei Koong Chai, for his unwavering guidance and support throughout my journey. Join me in celebrating this achievement and the ongoing commitment to impactful research!

Best wishes,
Assemgul Kozhabek

#BCSGreenIT2024 #BUResearchSuccess #DoctoralCollege