Tagged / BU research

Happy New Year from your new Research Facilitator for FHSS & FST

img_4095I have recently joined the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office (RKEO) as the Research Facilitator for the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHSS) and the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), covering Jenny Roddis’ maternity leave.

As Research Facilitator I provide support to researchers from the outset to develop their ideas, including horizon scanning and identifying potential funding opportunities, building research teams and advising on bid content and structure.

Before joining RKEO I was Clinical Research Co-ordinator in the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit, which entailed working closely with researchers in local NHS Trusts to facilitate collaborations with academics across BU. I have a BSc in Psychology from Cardiff University, and a background in mental health research having previously worked as a Research Assistant in Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust. Whilst there, I co-ordinated NHS grant applications, designed, costed and delivered research projects including the recruitment and assessment for a large MRC funded trial.

I look forward to meeting those I don’t yet know in the near future, but please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or queries. You can contact me by email at lgaleandrews@bournemouth.ac.uk or by phone on 01202 968258.

Interreg Visit BU

interreg

On Tuesday the 21st February 2017 Interreg will be visiting BU 10.30-16.00 at the EBC.

Interreg is an economic development programme that funds innovation, low carbon, climate change and resource efficiency projects which take place across EU countries and regions. These projects aim to find common solutions to common problems which exist in multiple countries. BU has been awarded and is involved in projects from the Channel, 2 Seas and Atlantic schemes.

This event is aimed at people in the Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Isle of Wight areas and nearby cities that are new to the Interreg programme, who are confused about which programme is which, or who are just beginning to develop a project idea.

For people who are drafting an application, or who want feedback on an application they have submitted, the programmes offer other workshops. For example the 2Seas cross border programme will run a Step 1 applicants’ workshop on 27th January 2017 in Bristol, and a step 2 applicants’ workshop on 13th February, also in Bristol. These are open to all applicants in the eligible area. See www.interreg2seas.eu for further information.

Our event will be split into two parts.

The first part will include;

  • An introduction to Interreg: The Interreg programmes, how they are different from each other and from other EU funds. This will also cover the types of project that are funded.
  • Tips on how to develop a good Interreg project: Lessons from the selection process by Sallyann Stephen from The Department for Communities and Local Government, based on her experience on the Interreg project selection panel.
  • How to apply: the two stage process going through the selection criteria and the key documents involved.

The second part will have a more informal set up with interactive exercises to get you thinking, collaborating and developing project ideas.

Throughout the afternoon there will also be one to one appointments on specific project ideas with one of the Interreg facilitators. This is an excellent opportunity to develop a project and get feedback from the experts. If you would like to book a one to one session you will need to email Dianne Goodman at dgoodman@bournemouth.ac.uk. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis, if you have specific preferences on the time we recommend you contact Dianne as soon as possible so your request can be accommodated.

Please note that to attend the one to one session you are required to send a 1 page project summary to Paula MacLachlan, 2 Seas Territorial Facilitator p.maclachlan@interreg2seas.eu no later than 14th February. Apologies, without this ahead of time they will be unable to prepare adequately for your personal one to one session.

The presentation is open also to the regional university network, known as the M3 group, which includes: AUB, Bournemouth, Brighton, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, Southampton Solent, Surrey, Sussex and Winchester. All academics and research offices are welcome to attend. BU will host a networking lunch for all attendees. This is a great opportunity to learn about Interreg and how you can strengthen your applications for funding. If you would like to attend, then please book through Eventbrite.

For further information on this event please contact: RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk

*Please note as Interreg programmes operate in set geographical areas you must check the programme websites to ensure eligibility.

New blog on Open Access publishing

authoraid-2016Some months ago Andy Nobes asked my colleague Prof. Padam Simkhada and I if we could write a blog about why we had so many papers in freely available online journals in Nepal.  Andy is the Programme Officer, Research Development & Support at INASP, which is an international development charity based in Oxford working with a global network of partners in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

We had a whole range of immediate answers to Andy’s question, including ones like: we both love Nepal; we are on the editorial board of a few journals that are part of the NepJOL group; and editors invite us to submit articles and/or editorials. Moreover, we feel reasons for Open Access publishing are very similar to our key reasons for working in a low-income country like Nepal. These principles are (a) conducting applied academic research in low-income countries for the greater good; (b) helping to build research-capacity; and (c) telling the world about our research through quality academic publications.  This week saw the publication of our blog ‘Publishing in journals of the NepJOL family’ on the AuthorAid website, click here to read the post.

Edwin van Teijlingen, Professor of Reproductive Health Research at Bournemouth University and Padam Simkhada, Professor of International Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University and BU Visiting Faculty.

Top three most accessed 2016 paper BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth

bmc-media-luce-et-alIt is always nice to receive some good news just before Christmas.  The journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth informed us that our paper ‘“Is it realistic?” the portrayal of pregnancy and childbirth in the media’ was in the top three most popular papers [1]This interdisciplinary paper crosses the boundaries between the study of maternity care & midwifery, sociology of health & illness, and that of the media.  With BU’s Dr. Ann Luce as first author, it is one of the top three accessed articles of nearly 400 articles published in 2016 (as of Dec 16th).     

 

Reference:

  1. Luce, A., Cash, M., Hundley, V., Cheyne, H., van Teijlingen, E., Angell, C., (2016) “Is it realistic?” the portrayal of pregnancy and childbirth in the media BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 16: 40 http://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-016-0827-x

Four new FHSS publications

bond-ahmed-2016

Congratulations to Dr. Carol Bond and Dr. Osman Ahmed in FHSS on the publication of their latest academic paper ‘Can I help you? Information sharing in online discussion forums by people living with a long-term condition’ [1].    Further congratulations are due to Osman who recently had three other papers accepted for publication [2-4].

 

Prof Edwin van Teijlingen

 

References:

  1.  Bond, C., Ahmed, O., 2016. Can I help you? Information sharing in online discussion forums by people living with a long-term condition. Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics, 23 (3).
  2. West L.R., Griffin , S., Weiler, R., Ahmed,O. 2016 Management of concussion in disability sport: a different ball game? British Journal of Sports Medicine doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096767
  3. “Educating the masses: Suggestions for improving online concussion information via the mainstream media” in Concussion (not available online yet)
  4. “Do Neurocognitive SCAT3 Baseline Test Scores Differ Between Footballers (Soccer) Living With and Without Disability? A Cross-Sectional Study” in Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine (not yet available online)

 

 

HSS staff achieve eHealth publication

Dr Carol Bond (Principal Academic Digital Health) and Dr Osman Ahmed (Lecturer in Physiotherapy) have recently had their work on online health information sharing published in the Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics.

Building upon their prior work on online communities, this study took a qualitative approach to explore the information shared by online discussion boards and how users shared this information. The study used diabetes forums as an exam, with key findings showing that much of the information sharing came from experience (including sharing their experiences from interactions with healthcare professionals). Drs Bond and Ahmed are now developing this work further by exploring similar patterns using other social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc).

This paper is available online at:

https://hijournal.bcs.org/index.php/jhi/article/view/853

Bond, CS; Ahmed, OH. Can I help you? Information sharing in online discussion forums by people living with a long-term condition. Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics, 2016;23(3):620-626.

 

 

New edition qualitative research book

hollowaygalvin-2017Congratulations to BU Professor Emerita Immy Holloway and FHSS (Faculty of Health & Social Sciences) Visiting Faculty Professor Kathleen Galvin on the publication of the latest edition of Qualitative Research in Nursing and Healthcare [1].  This new edition offers insights into both the abstract ideas in qualitative research and its practical procedures. Structured into four sections, the new edition looks at the initial stages, methods of data collection, qualitative approaches and analysis of collected data.  Professor Galvin is Professor of Nursing Practice in the College of Life, Health & Physical Sciences, at the University of Brighton.  Both Immy Holloway and Kate Galvin are affiliated with BU’s Centre for Qualitative Research (CQR), the longest running research centre in FHSS.

 

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

Reference:

  1. Holloway I & Galvin K. (2017) Qualitative Research in Nursing and Healthcare. Wiley-Blackwell 4th ed.

 

Fundraising for the Hearts Milk Bank at BU

On the 17th of November, The World Prematurity Day, there was a fundraising cake sale for the Hearts Milk Bank.

cake-saleThe amount raised will help to either

– feed 14 babies for a day

–  or feed 3 babies for 5 days, the average time they need donor milk

– or buy enough containers for 55 mums to start donating milk

– or buy almost 3  transportation bags.

The Hearts Milk Bank is therefore 1 step closer to provide donor milk for babies born too soon or too sick!

 

I would like to thank anyone who has made this cake sale possible, the bakers and the buyers, the great people who donated money, SUBU, and the people helping me on the day. You are awesome!

Gillian Weaver, co-founder of the bank contacted me to say “We are so grateful to you Isabell and to everyone who supported your cake sale on World Prematurity Day. You raised a fantastic amount and we will put it to very good use helping to ensure that all premature and sick babies get access to safe and assured supplies of donor milk irrespective of where they are born in the UK. We know that this not only helps to prevent tiny babies from life threatening illnesses but also supports their mothers whilst they build up their own breastmilk supply. The Hearts Milk Bank (the bank with a difference) will also be a biobank of breastmilk samples for much needed research into breast cancer so your support for us is doubly valuable!”

ukamb_logo2If you would like to learn more about donor milk visit the website of the UK Association for Milk Banking.

gkjo6pcssbgobqmecfa6If you would like to learn more about the Hearts Milk Bank or would like to donate, please click here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hearts-milk-bank-saving-tiny-babies-helping-mums-cancer

 

I learned about donor milk as part of my PhD thesis at BU, focusing on the effects of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the perinatal period. If you are interested in our research please contact me at inessel@bournemouth.ac.uk

Many thanks, Isabell