Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
We are wishing our colleagues, students, researchers and collaborators from South Asia a Happy New Year today. The best wishes for the Bangla New Year 1433 and for the Nepali New Year 2083!
Professors Edwin van Teijlingen and Vanora Hundley
Congratulations to HEMS’s Dr. Malika Felton, Dr. Vikram Mohan and Prof. Vanora Hundley on the recent publication of their academic paper ‘Acute cardiovascular responses to slow and deep breathing in normotensive men and women‘ [1]. 
The BU authors outline that there differences in cardiovascular responses to different methods of slow and deep breathing (SDB) delivery. They query whether utilising a multi-parametric approach to measuring cardiovascular variables reveal new/different responses. Their key findings are that all SDB conditions elicited similar cardiovascular responses to each other when compared with spontaneous breathing. However, lower breathing frequencies elicit greater blood pressure oscillations, and higher breathing frequencies (∼8 breaths min−1) may not fully optimise cardiovascular responses. This has implications on the practice of SDB for management of hypertension.
Well done!
Prof.Edwin van Teijlingen
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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
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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].
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Last week, to coincide with International Women’s Day, the Parliamentary Women and Equalities Committee of published its report on improving menstrual health [1]. This report ‘Menstrual health of girls and young women‘ includes a submission by BU M.Res. student Susara Blunden [2]. Susara is currently conducting her M.Res. research on endometriosis, a condition which affects more women than many people realise. 
Susara Blunden balances her job as a women’s health research midwife at University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) NHS Foundation Trust with a place on the National Institute for Heath and Care Research (NIHR)’s INSIGHT programme. 
Endometriosis is not a problem unique to the UK, as last week a national newspaper in the Netherlands also under the heading ‘So much pain that you can’t to anything anymore’ [3]. This same newspaper article added that on average women suffer seven years of pain before they are diagnosed with endometriosis. A similar delay can be found in the UK and the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and Labour MP Sarah Owen noted more generally that: “The Committee is not convinced that the menstrual and gynaecological needs of young women and girls has been sufficiently prioritised in wider reforms to the healthcare system.”
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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.
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As members of the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health, we are passionate about sharing our knowledge to tackle societal challenges and benefit the community socially, culturally and economically. Through partnership working we have been collaborating with Dorset Women and NHS Dorset to improve health literacy among women in Dorset.
Reflecting on the Bournemouth University motto, Discere Mutari Est (“To learn is to change”), we worked with an interdisciplinary team of women, practitioners and academics in Dorset to co-create the Women’s Health Programme website.
A series of podcasts support this, covering aspects such as menopause, reproductive health and pelvic health. The podcasts feature informal discussions providing a window into the work of the team. You can find the podcasts here: https://dorsetwomen.org.uk/speaking-of-womens-health-podcast/
CMWH midwives and students have also been working with Dorset Women to facilitate education sessions for Afghan women in Dorset. Collaboration with volunteer partners, especially the support of a skilled interpreter, was vital for cultural awareness and effective communication. Women were signposted to useful websites, charities, support groups, and educational materials. Student midwives also created additional resources to address the very limited availability of existing information in Dari and Pashto.
CMWH community collaboration is at the centre of what is known as Knowledge Exchange (KE):
the two-way exchange of knowledge, expertise, and capabilities between higher education institutions and external partners (businesses, government bodies, non-profits, and communities).
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.
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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].
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On the last day of 2025 Dr. Chloe Casey appeared on Sky News in a piece with the heading ‘Nutrition key in new alcohol abuse rehabilitation scheme to fight addiction‘. The media coverage was for the project Nourish the New You which looks at the science behind how better nutrition can prevent relapses during withdrawal. Dr. Chloe Casey from Bournemouth University is working with the drug and alcohol charity We Are With You and the Friendly Food Club to deliver cooking courses. Chloe is Lecturer in Nutrition and Behaviour and she conducts her research in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences.
Well done!
Professor Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health
Happy New Year and we hope it will be prosperous and healthy. On the last day of 2025 the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology published our editorial ‘Progress of the Unique Fellowship in Health Research Evidence Synthesis in Nepal‘ [1]. Co-authors of this editorial include Faculty of Health & Social Sciences Visiting Faculty: Prof. Padam Simkhada and Dr. Bibha Simkhada who are both grant holders on the British Academy grant which also includes BU’s Dr. Pramod Regmi. The journal editor added a photo of our recent three-day event on research capacity building in Dhulikhel (Nepal) to the cover of the December issue.
Nepalese researchers, academics, policymakers and practitioners are undertaking a unique Fellowship in evidence synthesis and evidence-based policy making. This Fellowship is part of a larger project called ‘Evidence Informed Health Policy Making in Nepal (EHPN)’, funded by the British Academy. After our training event Dr. Regmi had the opportunity to present our (2022) textbook Academic Writing and Publishing in Health and Social Sciences to His Excellency Mr. Madhav Chaulagain, Nepal’s newly appointed Minister of Forest & Environment.
Evidence-informed policy making developed out of the earlier idea of ‘evidence-based policy making’. The central idea behind evidence-based policy making was that it should be largely (or even solely) guided by evidence. Evidence-informed policy making adds that policies should not just be evidence-based they should also be feasible, appropriate for their context and aligned with stakeholders’ values and therefore one would expect meaningful input from these stakeholders. This is the second editorial highlighting our research capacity-building work in Nepal. The first editorial ‘Strengthening Evidence Synthesis for Health Policymaking in Nepal: A New Fellowship Initiative’ appeared in an earlier edition of the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology [2].
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health
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On Christmas Day (25 December 2025) the Journal of Mixed Methods Studies published Dr. Orlanda Harvey’s latest paper ‘Using A Range Of Recruitment Strategies To Recruit Those Who Use Anabolic Androgenic Steroids‘ [1]. 
The Journal of Mixed Methods Studies is an Open Access journal, hence this paper is freely available to anybody with internet access.
Dr. Harvey is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences. This is the latest in a series of publications based on Orlanda’s Ph.D. work at Bournemouth University. She has published a steady stream of papers over the past six years [2-7].
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
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Saturday 8th November was the final day of the national Festival of Social Sciences (FoSS), which was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Many universities across the Uk organised a wide-ranging set of events. 
Bournemouth University (BU) organised six events, and on the last day it put up a public-engagement event around its Sonamoni research project at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) building in Poole. 
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children aged 6-24 months in Bangladesh, yet it rarely receives the same attention as other global health issues. The Sonamoni project, led by Bournemouth University and the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), is an interdisciplinary collaboration with the University of Southampton, the University of the West of England (UWE), the RNLI, and Design Without Borders (DWB) in Uganda. 
This £1.6m project has been made possible thanks to a grant from the UK’s National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR) through its Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme. Sonamoni is in the process of developing practical, community-based solutions to reduce drowning among 6-24 months’ old children.
The FoSS event at the RNLI earlier this month was presented by BU academics John Powell and Edwin van Teijlingen with a major contribution from BU’s PhD student Md. Shafkat Hossain, whose doctoral studies focuses on the local community’s understanding of, and engagement with, the Human-Centred Design element of the Sonamoni project. Prof. van Teijlingen, from BU’s School of Health & Care, introduced the project and he highligthed the harmony between the different social science disciplines of the members of the international research team as well as the interdisciplinary nature of this collaboration. The FoSS event was prepared and supported by BU’s Yasemin Oksel Ferraris and Claire Fenton.
One of the ideas generated by the Sonamoni project, which involves local community involvement at all stages of the study, is a low cost playpen to keep young children save. John Powell MBE outlined the Human-Centred Design process and the eight potential solutions it generated. 
The FoSS event on the Saturday morning focused particulary on the design stages of the playpen, from concept to a model that could be tested in the field in rural Bangladesh. The colourful first batch of playpens in the photo are ready to be taken to families to be tested in the two field sites. The audience of the FoSS event was particularly interested ways the researchers in Bangladesh managed to get and keep the community involved in this very applied research.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health
Earlier this year Sara Stride, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Science (HEMS), applied to a joint venture between Bournemouth University and BEAF Arts Co, a multi-art form festival and year-round arts programme. She was awarded funding for the fees and materials of a local artist, to help her share the findings from her excellent PhD research project. Sara’s research explores midwives’ experience when women that they have cared for sustain birth injuries. Midwives report experiencing physical and emotional problems or feelings of guilt and shame.
A novel research method Appreciative Inquiry was used as an approach that is particularly appropriate for sensitive topics, to help participants reflect on their experiences together [1-3]. Participants used creative methods of storytelling, clay, drawing and mosaics to share reflections, what works for them and how this helped them professionally and personally.
Sara commented: “As a researcher I could see how therapeutic it was for midwives to participate in the discussions whilst using the creative resources. This inspired me to apply to work with the artist to capture the research findings in an image. As a visual learner myself I felt that this would help me to share my research findings in a way that using words alone may not be able to convey.”
The local artist, Corrianna Clarke, had chosen Sara’s project, and Cora created a digital image to portray the research findings. They had several meetings to discuss the initial images and colour palette, research participants research were asked for feedback on the image. Their comments were very positive and they did not feel there was anything missing. They hoped that others would understand the “feeling of being cared for” and the importance of “protection, care and working together”.
Sara felt that her collaboration with Cora really captured the value of how midwives work together. Sara added: “It was an amazing opportunity to work with an expert in another field, as we learnt from each other as we worked together. The completed image will be available to share after I have completed my PhD. Cora and I would like to thank the organisers for funding this project and giving us this opportunity and as this was a pilot project we hope that the same opportunity will be extended to others in the future.”
Sara Stride, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery & Corrianna Clarke, Community Artist.
For more information about the research or the use of Appreciative Inquiry, contact: Sara Stride: sstride@bournemouth.ac.uk
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Dr Chloe Casey, lecturer in Nutrition and Behaviour, was interviewed on BBC Woman’s Hour about her collaborative research called ‘Nourish the New You’.
Chloe’s innovative project supports women in recovery from disordered alcohol use through nutrition education and creative expression. The project is part funded by Wessex Health Partners,
the Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
Working with The Friendly Food Club, the team explored how nutrition education can be meaningfully integrated into community recovery services. They introduced cookery and nutrition classes delivered by The Friendly Food Club alongside creative workshops led by Pauline Ferrick-Squibb from AUB. These sessions provided women with opportunities to explore and express what it means to nourish themselves in recovery.
Congratulations to Tom Weeks, PhD student in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences at Bournemouth University, who has been awarded a scholarship from Gilead Sciences to attend the 2025 British HIV Association (BHIVA) Conference. His PhD research focuses on HIV stigma in the UK. Tom is supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi (Principal Academic in International Health) and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. The BHIVA conference features key sessions including:
Tom is eager to engage with the latest developments in HIV care and contribute to the ongoing dialogue around stigma reduction and equitable access to treatment.
Well done!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen & Dr. Pramod Regmi
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