Tagged / BU research

Promoting Human-Centred Design in Drowning Prevention

international, Knowledge Exchange, student research

The Department of Design and Engineering at Bournemouth University has a reputation for its Human-Centred Design (HCD) work.  In our interdisciplinary Sonamoni project we have HCD at its centre.  The Sonamoni project is coordinated by Bournemouth University in collaboration with the University of the West of England (Bristol), the University of Southampton, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Design Without Border (DWB) in Uganda and Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB). The interdisciplinary team at Bournemouth University covers three faculties and six academics: Dr. Mavis Bengtsson, Dr. Kyungjoo Cha, Dr. Mehdi Chowdhury, Dr. Yong Hun Lim, Mr. John Powell, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

Last month two staff from CIPRB, Notan Chandra Dutta and Mirza Shibat Rowshan visited DBW in Uganda, as part of so-called South-South learning. Their objective was to share (1) knowledge and experience of using HCD techniques and (2) best practices of drowning prevention in both countries. Utilizing HCD techniques, Sonamoni is working to identify and prioritize potential solutions, develop prototypes, and assess the acceptability of the interventions to reduce drowning deaths among old children under two in Bangladesh.

During the visit, Notan and Shibat participated a four-day ideation workshop with the fisher community near Lake Victoria, organized by DWB. In the workshop, different HCD tools were used along with other group activities to generate and refine ideas for the solutions. The generated ideas were recorded by visualization tools. Notan and Shibat also attended a session on the principles of creative facilitation of HCD, including the need to understand the problem, role of the facilitator and other stakeholders.  Various visualization tools were discussed, e.g.  ‘journey maps’, ‘stakeholder map’, ‘context map’ and different types of sketches.  Notan shared CIPRB’s experiences of managing the best drowning prevention practices and its challenges from Bangladesh context.

This international project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through their Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme, also includes a BU-based PhD student, Mr. Md. Shafkat Hossein.  Last week Shafkat presented our Sonamoni project in lecture to BU Engineering students at Talbot campus.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

First paper by PhD student

NHS, open access, PG research, Publishing, student research, writing

We are delighted to announce that Bournemouth University (BU) and University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (UHD) Clinical Match-Funded PhD researcher, Leila Kattach, has published her first academic paper. This milestone marks an important step in Leila’s research journey and highlights the impactful work being carried out within our clinical research community.
The paper, titled “Nurse-Led Models of Service Delivery for Skin Cancer Detection: A Systematic Review“, was published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing yesterday (April 1, 2025) [1]. This research consolidates evidence on nurse-led models for skin cancer detection, comparing their effectiveness to physician-led care and highlighting their potential benefits in terms of accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and patient satisfaction.
The systematic review, co-authored with Heidi Singleton, Steven Ersser, Debbie Holley, Ian Pearson, and Abdulrahman Shadeed, rigorously analyzed studies from 1992 to 2024, assessing the role of nurses in diagnosing, treating, and supporting skin cancer patients. The findings demonstrate that nurse-led models can complement or even substitute traditional physician-led care, offering high diagnostic accuracy, improved access to care, and enhanced patient education.
Key highlights from the study include:
Comparable diagnostic accuracy between nurses and ophthalmologists in skin cancer detection.
Increased accessibility and reduced waiting times for patients through community-based, nurse-led services.
Significant cost savings associated with nurse-led care delivery.
Patient preference for nurse-led models, citing convenience and enhanced education on self-examination.
The study also emphasizes the need for further research and standardized national guidelines to scale and integrate nurse-led models effectively into healthcare systems.
Leila’s research has strong implications for policy and clinical practice, advocating for:
✅ Enhanced dermatology nursing training to equip nurses with advanced skills in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.
✅ Development of Dermatology Nurse Consultant Training Programmes to support professional development and independent practice.
✅ Support for community-based care to enhance accessibility, particularly in underserved regions.
✅ Standardization of nurse-led models to ensure consistency and high standards across healthcare settings.
Leila Kattach’s research has a PhD studentship jointly funded by BU and UHD NHS Foundation Trust. The study was conducted in collaboration with academic dermatology experts, specialist clinicians, and a patient representative with lived experience of melanoma, ensuring a patient-centered approach.  Leila’s work paves the way for further exploration into nurse-led service delivery models and their long-term impact on skin cancer care, cost-effectiveness, and healthcare workforce sustainability. We look forward to seeing how her research evolves and contributes to improving patient care in dermatology.
👏 Congratulations to Leila Kattach and the research team on this outstanding achievement!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Reference:
  1. Kattach, L., Singleton, H., Ersser, S., Holley, D., Pearson, I. & Shadeed, A. (2025), Nurse-Led Models of Service Delivery for Skin Cancer Detection: A Systematic Review. Journal of Advanced Nursing.[online first]  https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.16854

 

NCCA Research: Ensuring the Quality of Autonomous Intelligent Systems through the Guide to Ethical Assessment of the Product

IEEE CertifAIEd Four Phases

Image Source Link

So far, I successfully complete IEEE Standards Association | IEEE SA training program 🎓, dedicated to guide Ethical Assessment and Product Improvement using the CertifAIEd framework.

The following Wednessday 26th of March 2025, as a part of NCCA Research Seminars, I am looking forward to briefly demostrate the potentials of earned skills in the following talk:

Title: Ensuring the Quality of Autonomous Intelligent Systems: A Guide to Ethical Assessment and Product Improvement using the IEEE CertifAIEd framework. 

Description: Many products employ Autonomous Intelligent Systems (AIS) including: transportation (self-driving cars), manufacturing, retail / customer service, healthcare, finance, education (AI learning platforms). The use of a quality framework to manage the risks of AIS is crucial to protect users and grow product adoption. The standards association IEEE offers the ability to evaluate the quality of any AIS using an evaluation framework – CertifAIEd. Having recently completed the first stage of IEEE CertifAIEd training, I will present an overview of the potentials of CertifAIEd and the route to become an authorized assessor.

Dr. Nicolay Rusnachenko
Research Fellow at Centre For Applied Creative Technologies PLUS (CFACT+)
Bournemouth University

The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey 2025 – now open

PG research

The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2025 has launched! 

Check your email to access your link to complete the survey. 

We’re keen to make sure our postgraduate research students (PGRs) have the best possible experience while studying with us. To do this, we need to know what you think works well and what we could do better.

The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES 2025) is your chance to tell us about your experience as a PGR at Bournemouth University. The more specific your feedback is, the more targeted and effective our actions can be. This includes both positive feedback and what we as a university could do better. Your voice truly makes a difference and helps shape your experience.

This year the survey opened on Monday 17 March 2025 and will close on Wednesday 30 April 2025. Upon completing the survey, PGRs will automatically be entered into a free prize draw. Four winners will be able to claim a £50 shopping voucher. Terms and conditions apply.

In addition, we will be making a £1 donation for every survey completed to the student mental health wellbeing charity, Student Minds.

Once you have completed the survey, you are entitled to claim a Chartwells voucher with a value of £3.95. This covers the cost of a meal from the “Savour menu” but can be used to purchase any items from Chartwells outlets. Please come to the Doctoral College (DLG08, Talbot Campus) to collect your voucher.

How do I take part?

PGRs have now received an email containing a unique link which will allow you to access and complete the survey. If you can’t find this email, contact PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk and we’ll help you to get access.

What will I be asked?

The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete. Your response is confidential, and any reporting will be entirely anonymous. The survey is your chance to tell us about your experience as a PGR at BU. It will ask you to share your views on supervision, resources, research community, progress and assessment, skills and professional development and wellbeing.

Why should I take part?

Your feedback is important. The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey is the only national survey of PGRs and so is the only way for us to compare how we are doing with other institutions and to make changes that will improve your experience in the future.

More information

If you would like to know more about the survey, please visit: PRES 2025.

If you would like to know more about the surveys at Bournemouth University, please visit: Your feedback | Bournemouth University.

Please click here to see actions that we have taken based on feedback from previous surveys.

 

We hope you take the opportunity to get involved this year and help us make improvements to your experience.

Best wishes,

The Doctoral College

For any PRES related queries, please email: PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk

3MT Competition – register to attend

PG research

Registrations are open to attend the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition! 

All BU staff and students are invited to attend the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition! This is an internationally recognised research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland in 2008. It challenges doctoral researchers to condense their thesis into a compelling three-minute presentation, communicating its originality and significance to a non-specialist audience.

Date: Wednesday 26 March, 10:30-14:30

The National competition is run by the research organisation Vitae. More information about the history of 3MT® can be found on the Vitae and 3MT® websites.

There will be four parallel presentation sessions, one for each Faculty, to select the 2 finalists to advance to the final round, which will take place in the afternoon. The winner will be able to take part in the national competition run by Vitae.

Lunch will be provided.

See below for the tentative programme of the day:

10:30-12:00: First round (4 parallel sessions, Fusion Building)

  • Faculty of Health and Social Sciences: F310
  • BU Business School: F205
  • Faculty of Media & Communication: F109
  • Faculty of Science & Technology: F112

12:00-13:00: Lunch (Share Lecture Theatre)

13:00-14:00: Final round (Share Lecture Theatre)

14:00-14:20: Break

14:20-14:30: Winners Announcement and Closing

Register to attend

Come along and support BU doctoral researchers at this exciting event. Let’s share knowledge, foster collaboration, and build connections with the research community!

Further information available on Brightspace.

Please do contact us if you have any questions: pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk

Best wishes,

The Doctoral College RDP Team

Congratulations to Dr. Tsofliou

open access, PG research, writing

Earlier this month the scientific journal Psychology & Health published the paper ‘Effectiveness of client-centred counselling on weight management among Black African women with overweight and obesity in high-income countries: a systematic review’ [1].   This paper is based on the work of Itse Olaoye, a PhD student at St Mary’s University, London.  Bournemouth University’s Dr Fotini Tsofliou is part of the student’s interdisciplinary supervisory team together with academics from the Faculty of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Science at St Mary’s University, London.
The message in the paper is that client-centred counselling appears promising for weight management in Black African women with overweight or obesity. Long-term follow-up studies are needed to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of these interventions in this population over time.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health
Reference:
  1. Olaoye, I., Myrissa, K., Kelaiditi, E., Tsofliou, F., & Brown, N. (2025). Effectiveness of client-centred counselling on weight management among Black African women with overweight and obesity in high-income countries: a systematic review. Psychology & Health, 1–32. [Published online: 11 Mar 2025]  https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2025.2475161

 

RDS Academic & Researcher Induction

Knowledge Exchange, Post-award, R & KE Operations

RDS Academic & Researcher Induction – Weds 23rd April, 10:00 – 11:00, online

The primary aim of this event is to raise participants’ awareness of how to get started in research at BU or, for more established staff, how to take their research to the next level.  It will provide participants with essential, practical information and orientation in key stages and processes of research and knowledge exchange at BU

You’ll be made aware of the support available at each stage of the research lifecycle and get an introduction to the Research, Development & Support Team, who are here to help! It will be hosted by our experts who are responsible for strategy, outputs, ethics, public engagement, knowledge exchange, project management & training.  It will include:

  • A brief overview of research excellence at BU and how RDS can help/support academic staff
  • How we can support your impact, public engagement, knowledge exchange & output activity and why it’s important – essential to quality bids and the REF
  • How to find funding opportunities and access support for the application process
  • How to manage an awarded RKE projects, incl aspects on intellectual property & commercialisation
  • Key points on research ethics and governance
  • Where to find what training is available, incl other BU support and internal networks

Come along, join in, get some important insights – hopefully see you there!  Book your place HERE

If you are new to academia, it may be helpful for you to meet with your faculty mentor to guide your familiarisation of research at BU and expectations of an early career researcher before attending this induction. You can also join the Early Career researcher (ECR) Network.

For some background and more immediate information on RDS, please head to the RKE SharePoint

For further information on this event or joining the ECRN, please contact RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk

The order of things: Starting an M.Sc. after your Ph.D.

PG research

In the 1990s after I had completed my Ph.D. in Medical Sociology my first lectureship was in Public Health at the University of Aberdeen where my job title included that of coordinator of the B.Sc. Health Sciences.  At the time I was required to do a variety of training modules and workshops on education at university level. Since there was the option to register for the Master of Education (M.Ed.) in the Department of Education at the University of Aberdeen, I thought I might as well gain more insight into education and learning than the required basic training and get a degree out of it at the same time.  For a long time, I considered myself as odd, starting a lower degree after having completed a higher one.  I bit like the guy I met thirty years ago who had completed to Ph.D.’s, one in Chemistry and then afterwards one in Divinity.

My view changed a few years ago when a colleague (with a Ph.D.) commenced an M.Sc. for a different reason.  On this occasion to become a qualified practitioner, through the completion of a practice-based M.Sc. in Mental Health Nursing.  The M.Sc. programme started a decade after the completion of a Ph.D. in Public Health.

And the idea for this blog sprang on me this morning when a colleague with a Ph.D. in Statistics and Epidemiology asked me for a reference to support his application for a place on an M.Sc. in Neuroscience.  His argument for starting such M.Sc. is that he is actively involved in several neuro-psychology research projects and as a quantitative researcher he wants to have a greater understanding of the underpinning science and the wider topic area.

Having successfully passed your Ph.D. viva is evidence that you study and learn effectively on your own, the subsequent M.Sc. can offer licensure (the right to practice) or greater insight into an academic field different from your Ph.D. one.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

RKEDF: Imposter Syndrome session

Training

Wednesday 19th March, in person, 13:00-14:00, Talbot Campus

 

This development session is aimed at any colleagues dealing with feelings of imposter syndrome in academia. The session will offer a space to discuss this growing issue as well as offer advice, guidance and support on how to manage, avoid and overcome such feelings. At the end of the session, attendees will have achieved greater confidence in developing their career and profile.

This workshop is facilitated by our ECRN leads, Prof Sam Goodman & Prof Ann Hemingway, and is aimed at: All staff – Academic, teaching, research, professional services & PGRs.

Book your place HERE

For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact RKE Development Framework

Presenting HSRI results at Nepal Dialogue UK

international, Publishing, writing

Today, Saturday morning, BU Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada from the University of Huddersfield was guest speaker at the third Nepal Dialogue UK webinar series of the Centre for Nepal Studies UK (CNSIK).   His presentation was titled Is Nepal’s Health System fit for Purpose? Reflections on Transformations, Maladies and Future Needs.  He outlined the state of health (epidemiology) as well as that of the health system.  He presented a lot of change in the health of the population, in the health system, as well as issues around human resources, including the high rate of migration of health workers.  He highlight that there is in Nepal insufficient investment in health, unethical practices,

He introduced some the key findings from our recently completed study on the effects of the federalisation process on Nepal’s health system.  Padam was one of the co-applications on this study together with academics from the University of  Sheffield, Canterbury Christ Church University and Bournemouth University in the UK, and colleagues in Nepal from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) and PHASE Nepal.  The project was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative (Grant ref MR/T023554/1). For more information on the Nepal Federal Health System Team, see: https://www.nepalfederalhealthsystem.com/.  This interdisciplinary study has been disseminated in the form of eight published papers [1-8].

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

 

References:

  1. Koirala, B., Rushton, S., Adhikary, P., Balen, J., et al. (2024) COVID-19 as a challenge to Nepal’s newly federalised health system: capacities, responsibilities, and mindsets, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health (online first) https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539524125012.
  2. Sapkota, S., Rushton, S., van Teijlingen, E., et al. (2024) Participatory policy analysis in health policy and systems research: reflections from a study in Nepal. Health Research & Policy Systems, 22 (No.7) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01092-5 .
  3. Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., et al. (2023) Selection of Study Sites and Participants for Research into Nepal’s Federal Health System, WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health 12(2):116-119.
  4. Sapkota, S., Dhakal, A., Rushton S., et al. (2023) The impact of decentralisation on health systems: a systematic review of reviews. BMJ Global Health 8:e013317. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013317.
  5. Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Rushton, S., et al. (2023) Overcoming the Challenges Facing Nepal’s Health System During Federalisation: An Analysis of Health System Building Blocks, Health Research Policy & Systems 21(117) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01033-2
  6. Sapkota, S., Panday, S., Wasti, S.P., et al. (2022) Health System Strengthening: The Role of Public Health in Federal Nepal, Journal of the Nepal Public Health Association 7(1):36-42.
  7. Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Gautam, S., et al. (2020) The COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Emerging evidence on the effectiveness of action by, and cooperation between, different levels of government in a federal system, Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences 3 (3): 1-11.
  8. Rushton, S., Pandey, S., van Teijlingen, E., et al. (2021) An Investigation into the Impact of Decentralization on the Health System of Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 7(1): 3–14. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v7i1.43146