Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
Places are going fast for our conference next month. See full programme here. If you would like to secure a place please register here.
See you there.
The Ball Assisted Latent Labour (BALL) trial has just recruited their 200th participant. The pragmatic randomised controlled trial is the highest recruiting trial in the Wessex Clinical Research Network for reproductive health. Clinical Doctorate midwife Dominique Mylod is researching whether using a birth ball at home in latent labour reduces pain perception. Dominique recently welcomed BU final year student midwife Alice Lovell to the island for a week’s research elective. The photo shows them sampling island life!
Congratulations to both on achieving such fantastic recruitment!
Are you currently undertaking research within the NHS and your Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is due to expire? Or has it expired recently?
GCP certification lasts for two years, so if your training is due to expire, has expired, or you want to validate your learning, then take advantage of the upcoming refresher half day session, taking place at Royal Bournemouth Hospital on Tuesday 2nd October, 1pm – 4:30pm.
Spaces are still remaining, so if you’d like to enrol, get in touch as soon as possible with Research Ethics or the Wessex Clinical Research Network.
There are currently two calls available under the Policy Research Programme offered by the NIHR.
Call 1 : Infectious Disease Dynamic Modelling in Health Protection Call
The National Institute for Health Research Policy Research Programme (NIHR PRP) invites applications for the call: Infectious Disease Dynamic Modelling in Health Protection to address two key areas:
This programme will provide a responsive dynamic resource to augment the analytical support currently provided within the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and PHE, which contributes towards the development of infectious disease and immunisation.
Submission Deadline : 2 October 2018 (Stage 1); 22 January 2019 (Stage 2)
Submission outcome : December 2018 (Stage 1); May 2019 (Stage 2)
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Policy Research Programme (PRP) invites applications to undertake health inequalities research for the call: Health Inequalities Research Initiative to support policy makers in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in the following areas:
Submission Deadline : 2 October 2018 (Stage 1); 22 January 2019 (Stage 2)
Submission outcome : December 2018 (Stage 1); May 2019 (Stage 2)
Please see this link for more information about this call.
Are you currently undertaking research within the NHS and your Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is due to expire? Or has it expired recently?
GCP certification lasts for two years, so if your training is due to expire, has expired, or you want to validate your learning, then take advantage of the upcoming refresher half day session, taking place at Royal Bournemouth Hospital on Tuesday 2nd October, 1pm – 4:30pm.
Spaces are still remaining, so if you’d like to enrol, get in touch with Research Ethics or the Wessex Clinical Research Network.
Are you interested in running your own research project within the NHS? Good Clinical Practice, or ‘GCP’, is a requirement for those wishing to work on clinical research projects in a healthcare setting.
GCP is the international ethical, scientific and practical standard to which all clinical research is conducted. By undertaking GCP, you’re able to demonstrate the rights, safety and well-being of your research participants are protected, and that the data collected are reliable.
The next GCP full day session is scheduled for Wednesday 10th October, at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester – 8:45am – 4:30pm.
The day will comprise of the following sessions:
If you’re interested in booking a place, please contact Research Ethics.
Remember that support is on offer at BU if you are thinking of introducing your research ideas into the NHS – email the Research Ethics mailbox, and take a look at the Clinical Governance blog.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) have a call out currently for peer reviewers to assess research into reducing health inequalities for rural populations.
You can find out how to become a reviewer here along with how becoming an NIHR peer reviewer can benefit you, and what is involved.
There is an increasing emphasis on the need for researchers and sponsors to publish, and disseminate, the results of the clinical studies that they conduct. Timely disclosure of results is important ethically, morally, in the interests of research integrity and from a waste reduction perspective.
Dissemination of results, whether favourable or not, also achieves transparency – increasingly important from the perspective of the recent introduction of the GDPR.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) have signed-up to the WHO’s joint statement on public disclosure of results from clinical trials. The policy sets out the expectations and support on offer in order for research communities to comply. The draft policy is available to read, with a quick survey open until 21st September, for you to have your say.
BU has access to the ClinicalTrials.gov system – get in touch for access and for the opportunity to register your study and results in the public domain.
Are you interested in running your own research project within the NHS? Good Clinical Practice, or ‘GCP’, is a requirement for those wishing to work on clinical research projects in a healthcare setting.
GCP is the international ethical, scientific and practical standard to which all clinical research is conducted. By undertaking GCP, you’re able to demonstrate the rights, safety and wellbeing of your research participants are protected, and that the data collected are reliable.
The next GCP full day session is scheduled for Wednesday 10th October, at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester – 8:45am – 4:30pm.
The day will comprise of the following sessions:
If you’re interested in booking a place, please contact Research Ethics.
Remember that support is on offer at BU if you are thinking of introducing your research ideas into the NHS – email the Research Ethics mailbox, and take a look at the Clinical Governance blog.
Are you currently undertaking research within the NHS and your Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is due to expire? Or has it expired recently?
GCP certification lasts for two years, so if your training is due to expire, has expired, or you want to validate your learning, then take advantage of the upcoming refresher half day session, taking place at Royal Bournemouth Hospital on Tuesday 2nd October, 1pm – 4:30pm.
Spaces are still remaining and the closing date for bookings is the end of Monday 24th September. If you’d like to enrol, get in touch with Research Ethics or the Wessex Clinical Research Network.
What is the significance of the Statement of Activities and Schedule of Events?
When the Health Research Authority (HRA) approval process was introduced in March 2016, the Statement of Activities (SoA) and Schedule of Events (SoE) documents were made mandatory for non-commercial studies – those initiated and managed by non-commercial organisations such as Universities, NHS Trusts, charities etc.
The two documents must be submitted alongside your study documents when seeking NHS Research Ethics Committee approval, and the approval of the HRA, as the ‘umbrella organisation’.
With the introduction of the new General Data Protection Regulations, the HRA and HCRW have amended the two documents. They may be found here.
Who is ‘HCRW’?
HCRW stands for Health and Care Research Wales, and they have recently aligned its processes and paperwork with the HRA’s, so as to streamline and make consistent the research application process within England and Wales. Until recently the HRA was the umbrella organisation in England only, and a separate process was required if you wished to include research sites in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland*.
*If you wish to include sites from Scotland and Ireland, then the ‘old process’ is still to be followed. Contact Research Ethics for guidance.
What do I need to do?
If you are currently awaiting your approvals from the REC and HRA/HCRW, you do not need to do anything unless otherwise instructed by the HRA/HCRW. If you are concerned please get in touch with your HRA assessor, or their queries line.
If you are simply thinking of introducing your research into the NHS, are at your beginning stages, or you are currently compiling your study documents, then please remember to use the new versions of the SoA and SoE.
Please get in touch with Research Ethics for guidance on any aspects of clinical research, guidance, and if not already obtained, to request sponsorship of your study. Guidance and useful documents may also be found on the Clinical Governance blog.
The National Institute for Health Research are in urgent need of psychiatrists and psychologists to peer review funding applications.
See the original tweet here advertising this opportunity, and how to apply here*.
*The link takes you to how to apply as a professional peer reviewer, from any clinical speciality. You can review for the NIHR for professional development (amongst other initiatives), and they need a wide range of expertise:
What is the significance of the Statement of Activities and Schedule of Events?
When the Health Research Authority (HRA) approval process was introduced in March 2016, the Statement of Activities (SoA) and Schedule of Events (SoE) documents were made mandatory for non-commercial studies – those initiated and managed by non-commercial organisations such as Universities, NHS Trusts, charities etc.
The two documents must be submitted alongside your study documents when seeking NHS Research Ethics Committee approval, and the approval of the HRA, as the ‘umbrella organisation’.
With the introduction of the new General Data Protection Regulations, the HRA and HCRW have amended the two documents. They may be found here.
Who is ‘HCRW’?
HCRW stands for Health and Care Research Wales, and they have recently aligned its processes and paperwork with the HRA’s, so as to streamline and make consistent the research application process within England and Wales. Until recently the HRA was the umbrella organisation in England only, and a separate process was required if you wished to include research sites in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland*.
*If you wish to include sites from Scotland and Ireland, then the ‘old process’ is still to be followed. Contact Research Ethics for guidance.
What do I need to do?
If you are currently awaiting your approvals from the REC and HRA/HCRW, you do not need to do anything unless otherwise instructed by the HRA/HCRW. If you are concerned please get in touch with your HRA assessor, or their queries line.
If you are simply thinking of introducing your research into the NHS, are at your beginning stages, or you are currently compiling your study documents, then please remember to use the new versions of the SoA and SoE.
Please get in touch with Research Ethics for guidance on any aspects of clinical research, guidance, and if not already obtained, to request sponsorship of your study. Guidance and useful documents may also be found on the Clinical Governance blog.
Click links for programme and registration form, spaces limited!
Programme for SIXTH Annual Wessex CRN and Regional BGS 18 Sept 2018 with sponsors v3
REGISTRATION FORM for 6th annual Wessex CRN Research BGS MEET
The National Institute for Health Research have gathered some inspiring stories from people across England, whose lives have been transformed by clinical research. The stories cover a wide range of health conditions.
You can read them here.
Remember that support is on offer at BU if you are thinking of introducing your research ideas into the NHS – email Research Ethics and take a look at the Clinical Governance blog.
Congratulations to two members of Bournemouth University’s Visiting Faculty Minesh Khashu and Jillian Ireland on the publication of their paper ‘Fathers in neonatal units: Improving infant health by supporting the baby-father bond and mother-father co-parenting ‘ which has been accepted this week by the Journal of Neonatal Nursing. [1] Prof. Minesh Khashu is the lead Consultant Neonatologist and Jillian Ireland is Professional Midwifery Advocate and both are based at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
This position paper has been co-authored by a wide-range of international experts from The Family Initiative (based in London), Edith Cowan University in Australia, McGill University in Canada, Northwestern University in the United States of America, the University of Toulouse in France, Luleå University of Technology in Sweden, Lillebaelt Hospital in Denmark, the Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea in Italy, the University of Melbourne in Australia and Bournemouth University.
This is second paper in this field by these BU Visiting Faculty members after the 2016 publication of a literature review. [2]
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health
References:
Are you currently in the process of designing, setting up or planning your research study, and would like to extend your project into the NHS?
Yes? Then you may want to take advantage of this training opportunity.
Oliver Hopper (Research & Development Coordinator, Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital) and Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor, R&KEO) will be running a training session on how to use, and complete your own application within the IRAS system.
IRAS (Integrated Research Application System) is the system used to gain approvals from the NHS Research Ethics Committee and Health Research Authority, before rolling out your study to NHS Trusts. To support this, the session will include the background to research ethics and the approvals required for NHS research.
The session will also be interactive, and so as participants, you will have the opportunity to go through the form itself and complete the sections, with guidance on what the reviewers are expecting to see in your answers, and tips on how to best use the system.
The training will take place in Studland House, room 103 on Thursday 23rd August, at 13:00pm – 16:00pm.
Get in touch with researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk if you would like to register your interest and book a place.
Two days ago the Open Access journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth published an important article on women with disabilities and their experiences with the maternity services when pregnant [1]. The new paper ‘Dignity and respect during pregnancy and childbirth: a survey of the experience of disabled women’ has been co-authored by BU’s Dr. Jenny Hall (Centre for Excellence in Learning/CEL) and Prof. Vanora Hundley (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health/CMMPH) in collaboration with Dr. Bethan Collins (formerly of BU and now based at the University of Liverpool) and BU Visiting Faculty Jillian Ireland (Poole NHS Foundation Trust). The project was partially funded by the charity Birthrights and Bournemouth University.
Women’s experiences of dignity and respect in childbirth revealed that a significant proportion of women felt their rights were poorly respected and that they were treated less favourably because of their disability. The authors argue that this suggests that there is a need to look more closely at individualised care. It was also evident that more consideration is required to improve attitudes of maternity care providers to disability and services need to adapt to provide reasonable adjustments to accommodate disability, including improving continuity of carer.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health
Reference:
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REF mock exercise 2026 – nominate your research outputs on BRIAN
ESRC Festival of Social Science 2026: Application Deadline Extended to Thursday 25 June 2026
First publication for two CMWH PhD students Opportunities to support our REF preparations
SPROUT Returns: Designing Sustainability in Research Practice – Wednesday 20 May 12-2pm ESRC Festival of Social Science 2026: Application Deadline Extended to Thursday 25 June 2026 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 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025
Update on UKRO services
European research project exploring use of ‘virtual twins’ to better manage metabolic associated fatty liver disease
Research Information Network