Category / Publishing

BU students’ publishing success

BRIAN, NHS, PG research, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

This week the international Open Access journal PLOS One published a paper co-written by BU staff and students.  The paper is called ‘Antenatal education for labour and postpartum pain: A scoping review of content, delivery approaches, evidence gaps, and lived experiences‘ [1].  This scoping review involves two M.Res students and one Ph.D. student and two of these students were originally BU undergraduate students.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Reference:
  1. Sloyan E, Leddy E, Clark C, Dufour S, Harper R, Dunford A, Elam, Öl. (2026) Antenatal education for labour and postpartum pain: A scoping review of content, delivery approaches, evidence gaps, and lived experiences. PLoS One 21(6): e0330399. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0330399

Official book launch at Bournemouth University

international, Publishing, writing

Last night Bournemouth University hosted the official launch at of the book Early Labour and Maternity Care: Research for Practice published by Routledge.  This edited collection was led by Prof. Vanora Hundley in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) and University of Stirling Prof. Helen Cheyne.  Several BU staff as well as a current and a former BU student student have contributed to various chapters.  CMWH academics include in this edited volume are: Prof. Carol Clark and Dr. Dominique Mylod, our current BU M.Res. student Maryam Malekian and the former BU Ph.D. student and former staff member who contributed a chapter is Dr. Preeti Mahato (currently based at Royal Holloway, University of London).

The book launch was opened by Prof. Rick Stafford as Associate Dean – Research, Innovation & Enterprise in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences.  This was followed by  short presentations from various contributors to the book.   Prof. Hundley highlighted about the book: “The early phase of labour is an area of tension for women, midwives and other healthcare professionals. Current services often fail women, putting the onus on them to decide when to come into hospital and then sending them home ‘not in labour’, creating a revolving door that can lead to anxiety, stress, fear and negative communication between women and midwives. This book explores why this happens and the challenges that it places on women and the midwives that care for them. It works to define what “early labour” is and teases out some of the issues that definitions of the early phase of labour raise for both woman-centred care and the management of services. Presenting innovative approaches to practice in this contested area, this book includes vignettes from women exploring their experiences of the early phase of labour in different models of care. Key point summaries and boxed recommendations for practice help readers transfer their learning to practice.”

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Journal Peer Review in Crisis

Publishing, writing

Regardless of academic discipline, peer review remains the cornerstone in ensuring that papers published in journals are of the highest quality. Experts in the field are asked to comment on whether the reported research has been conducted rigorously, whether it is ethical and whether its findings have meaningful implications for practice or research in the discipline. Journal editors have depended on some form of peer review since journals began publishing research and historically peer review has been effective. Unfortunately, the peer review process is now in crisis.

It was a privilege to work with editorial colleagues from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, USA, Poland and Manchester (!) on this editorial reflecting on some of the key challenges facing peer review for journals and to explore some of the possible solutions. The following link will take you directly to the editorial.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jocn.70374

If you are interested in becoming a peer reviewer for the Journal of Clinical Nursing please contact me at lgelling@bournemouth.ac.uk.

First publication for two CMWH PhD students

NHS, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

Congratulations to CMWH doctoral student Jennah Evans who has published the first paper from her PhD in the Journal of Human Lactation. The scoping review protocol outlines a transparent and reproducible method for investigating the relationship between stress and the human milk ejection reflex, addressing a significant knowledge gap in the literature.  Jennah and her supervisors (including CMWH member Dr Dominique Mylod) are also aiming to improve understanding of D-MER, a challenging condition associated with intense negative emotions during breastfeeding.

Congratulations are also due a second  CMWH doctoral student Louise Barton, whose paper ‘Southampton’s approach to smoking cessation has been accepted by MIDIRS Midwifery Digest and the paper will be pubished its June issue.  Smoking during pregnancy is the leading yet preventable causes a whole range of illnesses.  Louise’s PhD is an assessment of Southampton’s Midwifery-led Integrated Antenatal Care Pathway.  Her PhD is supervised by CMWH academics Dr. Daisy Wiggins and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.
References:
Evans, J.M., Paul, R., Wezyk, A.B., Mylod, D. (2026) Exploring the Association Between Stress and the Experience of the Milk Ejection Reflex: A Scoping Review Protocol. Journal of Human Lactation Online First https://doi.org/10.1177/08903344261433846

Barton, L., van Teijlingen, E., Wiggins, D., Loader, R.-A., White, A. (2026) Southampton’s approach to smoking cessation, MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, 36(2): 145–151.

New chapters published in maternity book on risk

international, PG research, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

A few days ago Palgrave Macmillen published Risk and Uncertainty in Maternity Care: Putting Risk in Its Place.  This edited book examines the way risk is defined and employed in maternity care across the world.  The 25 chapters reflect in different ways on how the management of risk shapes the organization and experience of maternity services. Drawing from investigations of the way risk operates in contemporary society, the authors challenge taken-for-granted understandings of risk in maternity care and early parenting, showing how risk is not simply a value-free assessment of potential harms but is, in fact, a complex social and political way of seeing, knowing about, and performing pregnancy and birth.

This edited volume contains two chapters which have co-authors associated with BU.  Chapter 15 ‘Communicating Maternity Risks Using Social Media in England and Australia‘ is written by Sheena Byrom, Mandie Scamell, Hannah Dahlen, Joanne Rack.  This chapter addresses childbirth in the digital age. Over the last two decades, social media—a group of internet-based applications that facilitate the development and sharing of information—revolutionised the way we connect and communicate. These new media are now an ever-present part of our daily lives. The authors explore how social media shapes the way risk is understood by all of those involved in pregnancy, labour, and birth.Sheena Byrom holds an honourary doctorate from Bournemouth University, and Joanne Rack is doing her for-year Clinical Doctorate in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) specialising in personalised care for women of advanced maternal age. This PhD study is matched-funded by University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) NHS Foundation Trust and Bournemouth University.

Whilst chapter 16 From Uncertainty to Risk: How Mass Media in the UK and the US Generate Fear of Childbirth is co-authored by professors Hundley and van Teijlingen who are co-leads of the CMWH.  This chapter addresses the growing intolerance for the uncertainties associated with childbirth. While research has yet to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between media representations of pregnancy and birth and societal views of the childbirth experience, analysis of mass media accounts of childbirth can help explain why those involved in childbirth—maternity service users and providers alike—increasingly define birth as a site of risk. Existing studies of the representation of birth in mass media allow us to examine how the complex interaction between media, culture, and birth amplifies perceptions of risk. The authors illustrate the ways mass media influence, not just attitudes towards birth, but the way birth is managed.

 

References:

  1. Byrom, S., Scamell, M., Dahlen, H., Rack, J. (2026)  Communicating Maternity Risks Using Social Media in England and Australia [Chapter 15], In: Scamell, M., De Vries, R, Coxon, K. (eds) Critical Studies of Risk and Uncertainty in Maternity Care : Perspectives from Australia, Europe, and the United States, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 309-326.
  2. van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., De Vries R. (2026) From uncertainty to risk: how mass media in the UK and the US generate fear of childbirth [Chapter 16], In: Scamell, M., De Vries, R, Coxon, K. (eds) Critical Studies of Risk and Uncertainty in Maternity Care : Perspectives from Australia, Europe, and the United States, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 327-346.

Gender and street names

Delicious links, international, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

Last week I was contacted by a Dutch journalist, Els Knaapen, about the live and work of Francijntje de Kadt.  The latter was the first chair of the Dutch Midwifery Association and I had come across her 30 years ago as part of my own PhD research.  Els was interested in the contribution Francijntje had made in the town of Enkhuizen after her retirement as a midwife.  As part of a radio programma called ‘Meer Vrouw op Straat’, refering to the fact that too few women have been given streetnames to honour their contributions to society.  Els was calling for the Enkhuizen town council to name a straat after Francijntje, just like the town of Vlaardingen had done a decade ago.
Some 15 years ago I proposed to the city of Vlaardingen argueing that Francijntje de Kadt deserved a street name, as highlighted in an earlier BU Research Blog. With my recommendation I sent the ‘Street Name Committee’ in Vlaardingen my Dutch-language publications on the work of Francijntje de Kadt [1-3]. A few months later the secretary to the Street Name Committee wrote to say that my proposal had been accepted and that her name would be given to a street in a new development of the former local hospital grounds.
Yesterday the radio programme, which is part of a progressive station BNNVARA, was aired in which Els Knaapen justified why Enkhuizen needs to honour its former citizen.  In Enkhuizen Francijntje was active in maternity care education and she was a member of the Assocation for Women’s Votes.  All this after she retited from being the town’s midwife of Vlaardingen.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
References:
  1. van Teijlingen, E. (2002) Ondergang eerste pensioenfonds voor vroedvrouwen (in Dutch: Decline of the first pension fund for midwives), Tijdschrift voor Verloskundigen (in Dutch: Journal for Midwives), 27(12): 684.
  2. van Teijlingen, E.R. (2003a) Berichten – Francijntje de Kadt (1858-1929), Tijdschrift voor Verloskundigen (in Dutch: Journal for Midwives), 28(12): 630-633.
  3. van Teijlingen, E.R. (2003b) Francijntje de Kadt (1858-1929). Vroedvrouw te Vlaardingen en eerste voorzitter van de Nederlandsche vroedvrouwenvereeniging, Tijd-schrift (in Dutch: Time-Magazine) 88: 14-23.

New academic paper on Nepal

international, open access, Publishing, writing

Yesterday the international journal Health Policy & Planning published our latest article with the title ‘Understanding the formulation of non-communicable disease policies in Nepal: A qualitative study‘ [1].  The paper is part of the PhD work (at the University of Hudderfield) by the first author, Dr. Anju Vaidya, who is originally from Nepal. Anju’s thesis was supervised by Prof. Padam Simkhada (University of Chester), Prof. Andre Lee (The University of Sheffield) and by Bournemouth University’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

 

The paper recognises that there is limited evidence about the process through which health policies were formulated in Nepal. This study used Kingdon’s multiple streams framework to explore how NCDs (non-communicable diseases) were recognised and prioritised, how policy alternatives were decided, how policy windows were opened, and which contextual factors influenced the policy formulation process.  Anju’s PhD included a qualitative study to gain a comprehensive understanding of the formulation of major NCD-related policies in Nepal. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 key stakeholders, and policy documents were analysed using framework analysis.

The NCDs were gradually prioritised through the convergence of global and local evidence, sustained advocacy, and international commitments. Policymakers encountered several challenges, such as competing health priorities, the chronic nature of NCDs, donor preferences for communicable diseases, financial constraints, and multisectoral complexities of NCDs. The Package of Essential Non-communicable diseases (PEN) interventions were adopted as a policy alternative, informed by global evidence, World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, and lessons from other countries.  While coordinated efforts by stakeholders brought the problem, policy and politics streams together, the role of policy entrepreneurs was found to be less relevant in Nepal’s context.

Health Policy & Planning is an Open Access journal, hence the paper is available worldwide to anybody with internet access.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

References:

  1. Vaidya, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Lee, A.C.K. (2026) Understanding the formulation of non-communicable disease policies in Nepal: A qualitative study, Health Policy and Planning, [online first] czag048, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czag048

New HIV paper by BU PhD student

international, PG research, Publishing, student research, writing

The editor of HIV Research & Clinical Practice informed us that the paper ‘Stigma in UK health care: A key barrier to reaching zero HIV transmission by 2030’ has been accepted for publication [1].   This paper is based on the PhD research currently conducted by Mr. Tom Weeks in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences (HEMS).  Tom’s thesis focuses on the perceptions of stigmatisation of People Living with HIV in care settings in the UK and the kind of education health care staff (clinical and non-clinical) receive in relation to HIV.  His long-term aim in the PhD is to help improve education to reduce such stigma.  Tom is being supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. 

Both supervisors have a long experience in studying social and health promotion aspects of HIV and AIDS.  Thirty years ago Prof. van Teijlingen worked in the NHS as a researcher in the Centre for HIV/AIDS and Drugs Studies based in Edinburgh.  Whilst Dr. Regmi conducted his PhD research on sexual health and health promotion in young people in Nepal.  Both supervisors themselves have published widely on the topic of HIV and AIDS [2-23].  The first of these many publication was a letter on community care for people living with HIV in the community which was published in the Lancet in 1993 [2]. 

 

 

References

  1. Weeks, T., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2026) Stigma in UK health care: A key barrier to reaching zero HIV transmission by 2030, HIV Research & Clinical Practice (accepted).
  2. Huby, G, van Teijlingen E, Porter M., Bury, J (1993) Care for HIV in community (letter) Lancet 342: 1297-1298.
  3. Huby, G, van Teijlingen, E, Robertson J, Porter, AM (1993) Community care & support for women, In: Johnson F & Johnstone M. (Eds.) HIV Infection in Women, Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 123-32.
  4. Bury, J.K., Ross, A., van Teijlingen, E., Porter, AMD, Bath, G. (1996) Lothian GPs, HIV infection & Drug Misuse: Epidemiology, Experience & Confidence 1988-93 Health Bulletin, 54: 258-269.
  5. Huby, GO, van Teijlingen E, Porter, AMD, Bury, J. (1997) Co-ordination of care on discharge from hospital into the community for patients with HIV/AIDS in Lothian, Health Bulletin, 55:338-50.
  6. van Teijlingen, E, Huby, G. (1998) Evaluation within a policy-making and contracting culture: reflections of practice, In: Barbour R.S., Huby G. (Eds.), Meddling with mythology: AIDS & the social construction of knowledge, London: Routledge, 218-33.
  7. Lowis, G, van Teijlingen, E, Sheremata, W. (2000) AIDS in developing countries: A comparative epidemiological analysis, In: Rose, J. (Ed.), Population Problems, Reading: Gordon & Breach Science Publishers: 133-61
  8. Scotland, G., van Teijlingen E., van der Pol, M, Smith, WCS. (2003) A review of studies assessing costs & consequences of interventions to reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa, Aids, 17: 1045-52.
  9. Nicholson, D., van Teijlingen E. (2006) Comparing level of expenditure on HIV health promotion & incidence of HIV in Greater Glasgow & Lothian Health Boards (1988-98), Salusvita, 25(1): 13-22 usc.br/Edusc/colecoes/revistas/salusvita_pdf/salusvita_v25_n.1_2006.pdf
  10. Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E. (2008) Sexual & reproductive health status among young people in Nepal: opportunities & barriers for sexual health education & service utilisation, Kathmandu University Medical Journal 6(2): 248-256.
  11. Wasti, S.P., Simkhada, P.P, Randall, J., van Teijlingen E. (2009) Issues & Challenges of HIV/AIDS Prevention & Treatment Programme in Nepal, Global Journal of Health Science 1(2): 62-72. http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/gjhs/article/viewFile/2460/3474
  12. Regmi P, Simkhada PP, van Teijlingen E (2010) “Boys Remain Prestigious, Girls become Prostitutes”: Socio-Cultural Context of Relationships & Sex among Young People in Nepal, Global Journal of Health Science 2(1): 60-72.
  13. Regmi P., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E. (2010) “There are too many naked pictures found in papers and on the net”: Factors encouraging pre-marital sex among young people of Nepal. Health Science Journal 4(3): 162-174. hsj.gr/volume4/issue3/437.pdf
  14. Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E. (2010) Dating and Sex among Emerging Adults in Nepal. Journal of Adolescence Research 26 (6): 675-700.
  15. Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E, Simkhada, P., Acharya, D. (2010) Barriers to sexual health services for young people in Nepal. Journal of Health Population & Nutrition 28: 619-27.
  16. Wasti, SP, Simkhada, PP, van Teijlingen E (Eds.) (2015) Socio-Cultural Aspects of HIV/ AIDS. The Dynamics of Health in Nepal, Kathmandu: Soc Sci Baha/Himal Books: 47-62.
  17. Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Dhungel, D., Ghale, G., Bhatta, G.K. (2016) Knowing is not enough: Migrant workers’ spouses vulnerability to HIV, SAARC Journal of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases & HIV/AIDS 8(1):9-15.
  18. Ochillo, M., van Teijlingen, E., Hind, M. (2017) Influence of faith-based organisations on HIV prevention strategies in Africa: systematic review. African Health Sciences 17(3): 753-61.
  19. Sathian, B., Sreedharan, J., Asim, M., Menezes, R.G., van Teijlingen, E., Unnikrishnan, B. (2018) Estimation of burden of people living with HIV/AIDS in Kerala state, India. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 8(3): 738-44.
  20. Hamidi, A., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) HIV epidemic in Libya: Identifying gaps, Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, 20 :1-5 https://doi.org/10.1177/23259582211053964 .
  21. Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E.R., Silwal, R.C., Dhital, R. (2022) Role of social media for sexual communication and sexual behaviors: A focus group study among young people in Nepal. Journal of Health Promotion, 10(1):153–166. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v10i1.50995
  22. Hamidi, A., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) Facilitators and barriers to condom use in Middle East and North Africa: a systematic review, Journal of Public Health, 32: 1651-81 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-023-01923-3
  23. Hamidi, A., Regmi, P, van Teijlingen, E. (2024) Islamic perspectives on HIV: a scoping review, Discover Social Science & Health 4:6 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s44155-024-00063-7.pdf

Prof Marahatta promoting BU-Nepal collaboration

international, Publishing, writing

On Monday 9th March Prof. Sujan Marahatta visited Bournmouth University (BU) to speak about ‘Strengthening BU-Nepal collaboration AND Nepal’s experience of competency-based health professional education’.  Prof. Marahatta is the Director of the Medical Education Commission in Nepal overseeing the education of health professionals in 15 areas including Medicine, Physiotherapy, Nursing and Midwifery. He spoke about long partnership between Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) and BU.  This partnership is formalised in a Memoradum of Agreement (MoA) and over the years it has included joint research projects, staff-student exchanges (funded by ERASMUS+ and Turing scheme) and offering guest lectures at each others institutions.

One of the jointly conducted studies which Prof. Marahatta highlighted was the work on CPD (Continuous Professional Development) in nursing and midwifery in Nepal.  Research on CPD started a decade ago and culminated in several papers [1-4]. The research was combined with sustained advocacy and stakeholder engagement, and resulted in the Nepal Nursing Council (NNC) formally introduced mandatory CPD as a requirement for nursing and midwifery re-registration earlier this year (15 January 2026).  The National Guideline on Continuing Nursing and Midwifery Education (CNME) CPD for Nurses and Midwives refer to our work conducted by academics based at Bournemouth University.  This is the foundation for one of BU’s REF Impact Case Studies for 2029.

Amongst other studies, Prof. Marahatta also highlighted a recent publication which was  jointly authored between BU’s professors Clark and Hundley and himself on pain catastrophising in nulliparous women in Nepal, the importance for childbirth [5].  Prof. Marahatta’s  visit was held in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences (HEMS) in the Bournemouth Gateway Building.

References:

  1. Simkhada B, Mackay S, Khatri R, Sharma CK., Pokhrel T, Marahatta SB., Angell C, van Teijlingen E, Simkhada P. (2016) Continual Professional Development (CPD): Improving Health Prospect15 (3):1-3.
  2. Khatri, RJ, van Teijlingen, E, Marahatta, SB, Simkhada, P, Mackay, S and Simkhada, B. Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities for Continuing Professional Development for Nurses: A Qualitative Study with Senior Nurse Leaders in Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences. 2021 7(1):15-29. 
  3. Simkhada B, van Teijlingen E, Pandey A, Sharma CK, Simkhada P, Singh DR (2023) Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Continuing Professional Development among Nepalese Nurses: A Focus Group Study Nursing Open.10(5).
  4. Simkhada B, van Teijlingen E, Sharma C, Pandey A, Simkhada P. (2023) Nepal needs Continuing Professional Development for Re-registration in Nursing and Midwifery Journal of Nepal Health Research Council, 21(60):541-42.
  5. Clark CJ, Marahatta SB, Hundley VA. (2024) The prevalence of pain catastrophising in nulliparous women in Nepal; the importance for childbirth. PLoS ONE 19(8): e0308129. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0308129.

Interdisciplinary research: Not straightforward?

Fusion themes, international, Publishing, REF Subjects, writing

Worldwide there is a growing interest in interdisciplinary research, especially to help deal with large questions in life, the so-called wicked problems.  These wicked problems (or questions) include climate disasters and global warming, globalisation, the drop in biodiversity, inequalities and international conflicts.  Interdisciplinary research increasingly popular and widely promoted by grant-giving bodies, the UK REF (Research Excellence Framework), research councils and universities, to name but a few stakeholders.

However, it is often ignored, that interdisciplinary research presents significant challenges for discipline-specific experts.  Doing interdisciplinary research requires specialised skills, team-player personality traits, and the ability to transcend one’s own academic boundaries.  We have highlighted in the past that common barriers include managing conflicting research philosophies, navigating, and overcoming, methodological, and communication differences [1].  Those who have been involved in interdisciplinary research will agree that is not an easy option for the individual discipline expert. It requires individual skills, ability to see beyond one’s discipline and perhaps personality characteristics such as a great team player. Interdisciplinary research may involve a mixed-methods approach underpinned by conflicting, and according to some incommensurable, research philosophies.

It is also the case that some disciplines are perhaps more familiar with interdisciplinary working, disciplines such as Public Health [2] are traditionally less theory focused and more solution driven.  But even in Public Health as a broad-ranging discipline covering sub-disciplines such as epidemiology, health education, law, management, health psychology, medical statistics, sociology of health & illness and a wide-range of research methods, conducting interdisciplinary research is not necessarily easy [3].

 

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen & Dr. Pramod Regmi both are in the School of Health & Care, and Dr. Shanti Farrington, who is based in the School of Psychology.

 

References:

  1. Shanker S, Wasti SP, Ireland J, Regmi PR, Simkhada PP, van Teijlingen E. (2021) The Interdisciplinary Research Team not the Interdisciplinarist. Europasian Journal of Medical Science. 3(2):111-5.
  2. Wasti, S. P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2020) Public Health is truly interdisciplinary. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 6(1):21-22.
  3. van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Adhikary, P., Aryal, N., Simkhada, P. (2019). Interdisciplinary Research in Public Health: Not quite straightforward. Health Prospect, 18(1), 4-7. https://doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v18i1.19337

BU academics in the news in Nepal

international, PG research, Publishing, writing

Yesterday (5th March) Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen published a topical piece in an online newspaper in Nepal called ‘NepaliLink.  This newspaper article coincided with the national elections taking place in the country.  This is the first general election since Gen Z protests overturned the Government of Nepal in the autumn of 2025.  Migrant labour is key to Nepal’s economy as no country in the world relies so much on workers going abroad to work and sending money home.  The latter is called remittance and the total amount sent home comprises more than a quarter of the national income.

Dr. Regmi and Prof. van Teijlingen have conducted a great number of studies on the health and well-being of migrant workers from Nepal. This includes a paper ‘A comparison of chronic kidney risk among returnee Nepalese migrant workers in the countries of Gulf and Malaysia and non-migrants in Nepal: a population-based cross-sectional study’ whixh was recently accepted for publication in BMC Nephrology. With a grant from the COLT Foundation, our BU team led the first large-scale population-based interdisciplinary study examining kidney health among Nepalese migrants. Conducted in mid-2023 in one of Nepal’s highest out-migration districts, the forthcoming study compared risks between migrants and non-migrants from the same community [1].  Our study identified significantly higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity among male migrant workers compared to non-migrants. Interestingly, smoking and alcohol consumption were more common among non-migrant men. However, one in seven male migrants reported consuming potentially hazardous counterfeit or home-brewed alcohol while abroad. The findings suggest that both adverse working environments and lifestyle factors may contribute to increased heart disease among migrant workers.

Both Dr. Regmi and Prof. van Teijlingen are based in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences (HEMS) and in the last five years alone they have published over twenty publications about the health and well-being of migrant workers [2-21].

 

References

  1. Aryal, N., Regmi, P., Sedhain, A., Bhattarai, S., KC, R.K., Mishra, S.K., Caplin, B., Perce, N., van Teijlingen E. (2026) A comparison of chronic kidney risk among returnee Nepalese migrant workers in the countries of Gulf and Malaysia and non-migrants in Nepal: a population-based cross-sectional study, BMC Nephrology 1186/s12882-026-04872-7 (forthcoming)
  3. Paudyal, P., Wasti, S.P., Neupane, P., Sapkota, J.L., Watts, C., Kulasabanathan, K., Silwal, R., Memon, A., Shukla, P, Pathak, R.S., Michelson, D., Beery, C., Moult, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Cassell, J. 10, (2025) Coproducing a culturally sensitive storytelling video intervention to improve psychosocial well-being: a multimethods participatory study with Nepalese migrant workers, BMJ Open 15:e086280.
  4. Regmi, P., Aryal, N., Bhattarai, S., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K., 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.
  5. 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
  6. 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).
  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.
  8. Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen, E., Gurung, M., Bhujel, S., Wasti, S.P. (2024) Workplace harassment faced by female Nepalese migrants working aboard, Global Health Journal 8(3): 128-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glohj.2024.08.001
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. Khanal, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Sharma, M., Acharya, J., Sharma, C., Kharel, S., Gaulee, U., Bhattarai, K., Pasa, R.B., Bohora, P. (2024) Risk Perception and Protective Health Measure Regarding COVID-19 among Nepali Labour Migrants’ Returnee from India. KMC Journal, 6(1): 313–330
  12. 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).
  13. 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.
  14. Gyawali, K., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E.R., Manandhar, S., Silwal, R.C. (2023). Sexual Harassment Among Nepali Non-Migrating Female Partners of International Labor Migrant Men. Journal of Health Promotion, 11(1): 22–31
  15. 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.
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. 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.
  19. 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
  20. 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
  21. 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.

New CMWH paper on maternity care

NHS, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

The editor of Frontiers in Public Health have accepted our latest article from the EPPOCH study.  This latest paper ‘Prenatal substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: Associations with depression, anxiety, and pandemic stressors‘ focuses on the use of substances in pregnancy in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic [1].  Our previous EPPOCH paper, in line with several other population-based studies, highlighted that COVID-19 was associated with high levels of depression and anxiety during pregnancy in the UK [2].

This new publication reports on a cross-sectional analysis of baseline EPPOCH data (n = 3292; June – Nov. 2020). Participants reported alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and illicit drug use before and after recognition of pregnancy, alongside validated measures of depression, anxiety, pregnancy-related anxiety, and pandemic stressors. Linear regression models examined associations between mental health, COVID-19 stressors, and substance use after pregnancy recognition. A qualitative thematic analysis of 380 open-ended responses explored perceptions of substance use post-pregnancy recognition. Results: Alcohol was the most commonly used substance before pregnancy. Following pregnancy recognition, tobacco (8.75%) and alcohol (8.60%) were the most frequently reported substances, followed by cannabis (1.49%) and illicit drugs (0.12%). Tobacco use after pregnancy recognition was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms and pandemic stressors, including perceived personal health threat and not receiving necessary care. Prenatal co-use of substances was associated with higher depressive symptoms and pandemic-related financial difficulties. Qualitative themes included continued substance use until pregnancy detection, vaping as a perceived safer-use strategy, and midwifery advice influencing prenatal substance use decisions.

In this large UK pregnancy cohort recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic, substance use following pregnancy recognition – particularly tobacco – was linked to depression and pandemic-related stressors. These findings highlight the importance of equipping midwives and other healthcare professionals with clear, evidence-based guidance on prenatal substance use, particularly during global health crises.

This interdisciplinary project is led by Dr. Melanie Conrad in Germany.  The lead author for the paper is Ph.D. candidate Swarali Datye, whilst three members of the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH): Dr. Latha Vinayakarao and Prof. Minesh Khashu both working in University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (UHD) and both Visiting Faculty at BU and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen are team members and co-authors on this paper.

 

References:

  1. Datye, S., Peters, E.M.J., Windhorst, A.C., van Teijlingen, E., MacRae-Miller, A., Vinayakarao, L., Khashu, M., Fahlbusch, F.B., Conrad, M.L. (2026) Prenatal substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: Associations with depression, anxiety, and pandemic stressors Frontiers in Public Health. (forthcoming)
  2. 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

Evidence Synthesis Centre open at Kathmandu University

Awarded & submitted bids, international, Knowledge Exchange, Publishing, Training, writing

Last week we opened the Evidence Synthesis Centre in the School of Medical Sciences at Kathmandu University in Nepal.  The centre is part of a wider initiative is funded by The British Academy and supported in the field by Green Tara Nepal. Earlier parts of this initiative included online workshop on systematic reviewing and evidence synthesis as well as face-to-face training in Nepal late last year.  The project involved Bournemouth University’s Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen both in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences. 

This capacity-building project is led by Prof. Padam Simkhada from the University of Huddersfield and takes place at Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences (KUSMS). This new Fellowship scheme is an international collaboration led by the University of Huddersfield in the UK, in close collaboration with Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences (in Nepal), the Nepal Health Research Council, and several UK universities: Bournemouth University, the University of Sheffield, Canterbury Christ Church University, Keele University and the University of Chester. The Evidence Synthesis Centre and The British Academy grant grew out of an editorial written four years ago and published in the Journal of the Nepal Health Research Council [1]. The wider British Academy funded project on strengthening evidence  synthesis for health policy-making in Nepal has been described in two recent publications [2-3].

 

 

References:

  1. Simkhada, P., Dhimal, M., van Teijlingen, E., Gyanwali, P. (2022) Nepal Urgently Needs a National Evidence Synthesis Centre,  Journal of Nepal Health Research Council, 20 (3): i-ii.
  2. Simkhada, P., Vaidya, A., Regmi, P. P., Paudyal, P., van Teijlingen, E., Dhimal, M., Kiorala, B., Shrestha, A., Simkhada, B. (2025). Strengthening Evidence Synthesis for Health Policymaking in Nepal: A New Fellowship Initiative. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 15(2), 1379–1380. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v15i2.88516
  1. Vaidya, A., Simkhada, P., Silwal, R. C., Paudyal, P., Dhimal, M., Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen, E. (2025). Progress of the Unique Fellowship in Health Research Evidence Synthesis in Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 15(4), 1397–1398. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v15i4.88535

New Social Work text with BU editors

Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

Congratulations to Jonathan Parker, Ivan Gray, Andrew Morris and Sally Lee, the editors of the fourth edition of Newly-Qualified Social Workers: A Practice Guide to the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment [1].  This new edition has eleven chapters.  Apart from the various chapters produced or co-produced by the editors, this 2026 text also include a chapter by two further Bournemouth University academics, including Dr. Richard Williams and Dr. Louise Oliver.  The latter contributed ‘Chapter 7: Research and NQSW: Developing yourself as a research minded and critically reflective practitioner’.

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences

 

Reference:

  1. Parker, J., Gray, I., Morris, A. and Lee, S. (eds.), Newly-Qualified Social Workers: A Practice Guide to the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (4th edn.), London: Learning Matters, SAGE, 2026.

High five! New FishE papers support the evidence base for conserving threatened species and habitats

Publishing

Providing the evidence base to support conservation actions that protect species and habitats in aquatic ecosystems is a key task in the Fish Ecology and Conservation Research Cluster (FishE). This week, five articles published or accepted for publication will contribute strongly to this evidence base, with the work co-created with a number of funders and collaborating organisations.

Sotiris Meletiou’s PhD is on the conservation biology and management of the critically endangered European eel in Cyprus – which is at the eastern edge of their range and far away from their spawning grounds in the Sargasso Sea (Atlantic Ocean). Until now, an eel management plan was not required for Cyprus as any eels present were not believed to metamorphose into adult silver eels and not emigrate back to their spawning grounds. Sotiris’ new paper in the Journal of Fish Biology demonstrates that silver eels are indeed present in Cyprus and do attempt to emigrate to sea, and so should drive the formation of a management plan that should result in greater eel protection and conservation in the eastern Mediterranean.

Simone Cittadino’s research is assessing how freshwater fish respond to saline incursion events from the sea into lowland rivers. these events driven by high spring tides, exacerbated by climate change driven rising sea levels and weather events. His new paper in Hydrobiologia assesses the general movements of a key fish species in the Norfolk Broads, the common bream, highlighting the importance of high habitat connectivity for their movements across this large protected wetland. This work will provide a strong basis for the rest of his PhD research.

Phillip Haubrock, a Marie Curie Incoming postdoctoral Fellow, identified how conservation efforts across the world have been affected by research that is limited by political borders and the restricted availability of data. He and his co-authors argue in Conservation Biology that supra-national and better open-data governance should be capable of overcoming this and lead to better conservation outcomes.

Two articles just accepted for publication this week also contribute strongly to the conservation evidence base. Jonas Palder’s first publication from his PhD was accepted in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, which assessed the increased mortality risk for threatened European shads caused by human constructed barriers within rivers. Robert Britton worked with Gabby Valle, one of our School’s 2024/25 MSc Biodiversity Conservation students, to get her research project data published, which was assessing the risk of a biological invasion in Britain by the globally invasive and ecologically damaging common carp. Their manuscript has also just been accepted for publication in the Journal of Fish Biology.

Congratulations to all involved!

No access to BRIAN 5-6th February

BRIAN, Publishing

A planned upgrade to the Bournemouth Research Information And Networking (BRIAN) system will take place this week on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 February, during which it will be unavailable.

Please plan your BRIAN usage accordingly to take this period into account.

BRIAN is expected to be fully accessible again by Monday 9 February 2026. While the system’s functionality will remain unchanged following the upgrade, users will notice an updated layout and appearance, including a new sidebar navigation.

For any BRIAN-related queries, please contact BRIAN@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Nursing Research REF Impact in Nepal

international, Publishing, REF 2029 impact case studies, writing

The Nepal Nursing Council has made Continuing Professional Development (CPD) compulsory for all nurses and midwives wanting to re-enrol from tomorrow. Starting on 15th January 2025 all nurses and midwives who want to re-register will have to show evidence of having conducted recent training to maintain and enhance their knowledge, skills, and professional competence.  According to the new provision, licences will not be renewed unless applicants have completed a minimum of 60 hours of training within the preceding six years.  This change in regulation is largely driven by research driven by two UK universities, and BU is one of them.

As early as 2016 the research team called for a move to a system of post-registration with compulsory further learning and regular updating of skills, adding that “the introduction of CPD will be beneficial to all nurses in Nepal” [1].  The key argument was that If Nepal does not establish CPD requirements, only some staff will engage with training activities, it will be ad hoc driven by personal interests rather than service needs.  An even greater concern was that staff will seek only the free training made available by either the government and/or INGOs (International Non-Governmental Organisations) rather than CPD most relevant to their current practices.

To generate the evidence that CPD is vital in Nepal, the team led by Dr. Bibha Simkhada conducted interviews with nurse leader in the country to understand perspectives on existing on-the-job training and Continuous Professional Development more generally [2].  Bibha, currently Reader in Nursing at the University of Huddersfield, worked at Bournemouth University for several years during this research.  Next, the researchers conducted focus group discussions with other relevant stakeholders [3].  These research findings were disseminated to stakeholders in Kathmandu, including the NNC (Nepal Nursing Council), MIDSON (Midwifery Society of Nepal), NAN (Nursing Association of Nepal), and the Ministry of Health & Population as well as to a wider audience through a call under the heading ‘Nepal needs Continuing Professional Development for Re-registration in Nursing and Midwifery’ [4].

These papers all argue that promoting CPD benefits the quality of health care.  Indirectly, it builds confidence in the general population as it is guarantee to the individual patient in Nepal that the nurses and midwives, who are treating them, have up-to-date skills and knowledge. In addition, it strengthens the NNC as it supports to professionalise nursing and midwifery in Nepal and bring the standard of nursing and midwifery practices to a higher and internationally comparable level.

The research work at BU was supported by small amounts of QR funding through BU Centre for Excellence in Learning (CEL) in 2016, the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health in 2018 and the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences in 2019.  This shows that well-designed research conducted by researchers who have insight into the political landscape of health services in Nepal can have a great impact with minimal resources.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (BU REF lead UoA3)

&

Dr. Vikram Mohan (UoA3 REF Impact Champion)

 

 

References

  1. Simkhada, B, Mackay, S, Khatri, R., Sharma, C.K., Pokhrel, T, Marahatta, S, Angell, C, van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P (2016) Continual Professional Development (CPD): Improving Quality of Nursing Care in Nepal Health Prospect 15 (3):1-3. 
  2. Khatri R, van Teijlingen E, Marahatta SB, Simkhada P, Mackay S, Simkhada B (2021) Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities for Continuing Professional Development for Nurses: A Qualitative Study with Senior Nurse Leaders in Nepal Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences. 7(1), 15-29.
  3. Simkhada B, van Teijlingen E, Pandey A, Sharma CK, Simkhada P, Singh DR (2023) Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Continuing Professional Development among Nepalese Nurses: A Focus Group Study Nursing Open.10(5).
  4. Simkhada B, van Teijlingen E, Sharma C, Pandey A, Simkhada P. (2023) Nepal needs Continuing Professional Development for Re-registration in Nursing and Midwifery Journal of Nepal Health Research Council, 21(60):541-42.