Tagged / CMWHblog

Spotlight on the Menopause: A Recap of the Women’s Health Symposium

On the evening of Wednesday, November 20, 2024, Bournemouth University hosted at the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health at Bournemouth University shining a Spotlight on the Menopause. This event was an opportunity to better understand the menopause, including a discussion on the latest treatment options and menopause in the workplace. This event was intended for the general public, staff, students, researchers, charity partners and local organisations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJtnwGylQjQ

The symposium featured an impressive lineup of speakers:

  • Tim Hillard: Consultant Gynaecologist and Menopause Specialist, University Hospitals Dorset, Poole
  • Dr Abbie Laing: GP and Menopause Specialist, University Hospitals Dorset, Poole
  • Kathy Abernethy: Menopause Specialist Nurse and BMS Menopause Specialist, Director “The Menopause Course”
  • Dr Sarah Hillier: Senior Academic in Nutrition, Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health, Bournemouth University.

https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/centres-institutes/centre-midwifery-womens-health


Left to Right – Sarah, Tim, Carol, Emma, Abbie. Photo by Jakob Rossner 20 11 2024, Wolfson Theatre

and photo of Tim presenting below. Photo by Jakob Rossner 20 11 2024, Wolfson Theatre.

As part of the event, the CMWH showcased the fantastic research we are doing in this area at BU in a series of elevator style presentations from colleagues Dr Hyun-Joo Lim Principal Academic in Sociology, Psychology PhD researcher Eunhee Kim, as well as an overview of Nutrition related projects from PhD researcher Rebecca Owen (ANutr) and staff Dr Reena Vijayakumaran, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition, Dr Fotini Tsofliou, Principal Lecturer in Nutrition, Dr Sumanto Haldar, Lecturer in Nutrition Sciences and Dr Chloe Casey, Lecturer in Nutrition.

Special thanks to the BSc Nutrition and MSc Nutrition and Behaviour students who volunteered to support the event and to Jakob Rossner, Learning Technologist who helped with the smooth technology running of the event. 

#BUMenopause #BUHealthSymposium

BU academics’ paper read 170,000 times!

NHS, Publishing, Training, Women's Academic Network, writing

This week ResearchGate notified us that our methods paper ‘The Importance of Pilot Studies‘ [1], published 22 years ago in The Nursing Standard, has now been read 170,000 times!  Prof. Vanora Hundley and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen wrote this more elementary paper after  publishing an in-depth academic paper on a pilot study into assessing  maternity care in Scotland [2].  The latter paper described their learning from a pilot study which we conducted prior to a cross-national study of births in Scotland.

The methods paper in the Nursing Standard is also their most highly cited paper.  Today Google Scholar lists it with 2,035 citations, interestingly this is not the case on SCOPUS as The Nursing Standard is not listed on SCOPUS.  Researchers seem to be quoting this paper in their research methods section when they have done pilot or feasibility study for a larger-scale study.

 

 

References:

  1. van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2002) The importance of pilot studies, The Nursing Standard 16(40): 33-36. Web: nursing-standard.co.uk/archives/vol16-40/pdfs/vol16w40p3336.pdf
  2. van Teijlingen E, Rennie, AM., Hundley, V, Graham, W. (2001) The importance of conducting & reporting pilot studies: example of Scottish Births Survey, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34: 289-95.

Race Equity Month: Disparities in maternity care

NHS, open access, Women's Academic Network, writing

Race Equity Month – Can the UK finally tackle health disparities in maternity care?

Last week Prof. Hora Sultani, who leads the joint bid submitted by Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) and Bournemouth University (BU) in reply to the ‘NIHR Challenge: Maternity Inequalities funding call’, wrote an article on the website of the Council of Deans for Health.  This piece with the title ‘Race Equity Month – Can the UK finally tackle health disparities in maternity care?‘ can be freely accessed (click here!).  One of Prof. Soltani’s key arguments is that it is vital that national policy makers and service providers collaborate with researchers and communities to co-design and provide practical solutions for such important maternity challenges in UK society.

Prof. Soltani was writing on behalf of  the UK Network of Professors in Midwifery and Maternal and Newborn Health, an organisation to which both Profs Hundley and van Teijlingen belong.

Methods or Methodology paper: 300+ reads

BRIAN, international, Publishing, writing

Last month ResearchGate informed us that our paper ‘Methods or Methodology: Terms That Are Too Often Confused’ has been read 300 times [1].  This paper started as a discussion among the authors about how many students, researchers, and authors of academic papers do not seem to know the difference between methodology and methods. This is true in many academic disciplines.

In simple terms, the term methods refers to the research tools and techniques; for example, in the qualitative field, interviews are a tool to collect data, and in the quantitative field, a questionnaire-based survey is an example of a data collection tool. Methodology is a broader concept as it refers to the overall approach to the research, includes a justification for this approach, and links to research philosophy, i.e., how we produce knowledge. This methodological note aims to explain the confusion, drawing on examples from the published literature in education research and beyond. It also considers the complexities and crossovers. The final section ends with key advice to researchers and authors on key mistakes to avoid regarding the difference between methods and methodology, including covering this in early supervision discussions.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Reference:

  1. Harvey, O., Regmi, P.R., Mahato, P., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Dhital, R., van Teijlingen E. (2023) Methods or Methodology: Terms That Are Too Often Confused. Journal of Education & Research, 13(2): 94-105. https://doi.org/10.51474/jer.v13i2.716

Creative Health Nepal

international, writing

Wednesday saw the opening of the exhibition ‘Creative Health Nepal’ in Kathmandu.  Creative Health Nepal reflects our interdisciplinary public health work, for the website click here!  Our work on alcohol in Nepal’s society, which resulted in the paper ‘Participatory asset mapping and photovoice interviews to scope cultural and community resources to reduce alcohol harm in Chitwan, Nepal’ was represented in the exhibition.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Reference:

Dhital R, Yoeli H, Adhikari A, et al. Participatory asset mapping and photovoice interviews to scope cultural and community resources to reduce alcohol harm in Chitwan, Nepal. Perspectives in Public Health. 2024;144(5):312-323. doi:10.1177/17579139231180744

FHSS academics teaching in Nepal

international, writing

As part of our long-standing Memorandum of Agreement between Bournemouth University and Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Nepal, Dr. Pramod Regmi taught a postgraduate class in Kathmandu last week.  Pramod, who is Principal Academic in International Health in the Centre for Wellbeing and Long-term Health (CWLTH) in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, addressed M.Sc. students about the finer aspects of research methods.  Tomorrow (Sunday 24th November) I have been invited to speak to the same MMIHS postgraduate students about research theories and paradigms.

The process of internationalising higher education institutions through collaborative partnerships like this one between BU and MMIHS, brings benefits to both institutions’ staff and students.  This collaboration has led to many BU staff and students visiting Nepal, and many MMIHS staff and student visiting Bournemouth.  The collaboration has also led to several successful grant applications and nearly twenty academic publications [1-17].

 

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

 

References (BU + MMIHS authors in bold):

  1. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Winter, RC., Fanning, C., Dhungel, A., Marahatta SB. (2015) Why are so many Nepali women killing themselves? Review of key issues Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 1(4): 43-49. nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/12001
  2. Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen, E., Marahatta, S.B. (2015) Mental health services in Nepal: Is it too late? Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 1(4): 1-2.
  3. 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 nepjol.info/index.php/HPROSPECT/article/view/16326/13255
  4. van Teijlingen, E., Marahatta, S.B., Simkhada, P., McIver, M., Sharma, J.P. (2017) Developing an international higher education partnerships between high & low-income countries: two case studies, Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 3(1): 94-100.
  5. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, B., Regmi, P., Aryal, N., Marahatta, S.B. (2018) Experts warn Nepal Government not to reduce local Public Health spending, Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 4(1): 1-3.
  6. Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Neupane, S., Marahatta, S. (2019) Hormone use among Nepali transgender women: a qualitative study, BMJ Open 9: e030464. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030464.
  7. Sathian, B., Asim, M., Mekkodathil, A., van Teijlingen, E., Subramanya, S.H., Simkhada, P., Marahatta, S.B., Shrestha, U.M. (2020) Impact of COVID-19 on community health: A systematic review of a population of 82 million, Journal of Advanced Internal Medicine 9(1): 4-11. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JAIM/article/view/29159
  8. Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Gautam, S., Ghimire, S., Karki, J., Lee, A.C.K., Marahatta, S.B., Panday, S., Pohl, G., Rushton, S., Sapkota, S., Simkhada, P.P., Subedi, M., van Teijlingen, E. for the Nepal Federal Health System team (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.
  9. Khatri, R., van Teijlingen, E., Marahatta, S., Simkhada, P., Mackay, S., Simkhada, B. (2021) Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities for Continuing Professional Development of Nurses: A Qualitative Study with Senior Nurse Leaders in Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 7(1); 15–29. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v7i1.43147
  10. Sapkota, S., Panday, S., Wasti, S.P., Lee, A., Balen, J., van Teijlingen, E., Rushton, S., Subedi, M., Gautam, S., Karki., J., Adhikary, P., Marahatta, S., Simkhada, P., for the Nepal Federal Health System Team (2022) Health System Strengthening: The Role of Public Health in Federal Nepal, Journal of the Nepal Public Health Association 7(1):36-42. https://nepha.org.np/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/5.-Manuscript_Health-System-Strengthening.pdf
  11. van Teijlingen, E., Thapa, D., Marahatta, S.B., Sapkota, J.L., Regmi, P. Sathian, B. (2022) Editors and Reviewers: Roles and Responsibilities, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 32-37.
  12. Mahato P., Adhikari B., Marahatta S.B., Bhusal S., Kunwar K., Yadav R.K., Baral, S., Adhikari, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) Perceptions around COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy: A qualitative study in Kaski district, Western Nepal. PLOS Global Public Health 3(2): e0000564. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000564
  13. Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Rushton, S., Balen, J., Subedi, M., Karki, J., Adhikary, P., Sapkota, S., Gautam, S., Marahatta, S., Panday, S., Bajracharya, B., Vaidya, A. for the Nepal Federal Health System Team (2023) Selection of Study Sites and Participants for Research into Nepal’s Federal Health System, WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health (accepted).
  14. Sapkota, S., Dhakal, A., Rushton, S., van Teijlingen, E., Marahatta, S.B., Balen, J., Lee, A. for the Nepal Federal Health System Team (2023) The impacts of decentralisation on health systems: a systematic review of reviews, BMJ Global Health 8(12) https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/12/e013317
  15. Marahatta, S., Regmi, P., Knight, A., Kuncova, J., Asbridge, E., Khanal, D., van Teijlingen, E. (2023). Staff-Student Exchange between MMIHS and Bournemouth University (UK). Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 8(1): 1–5. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v8i1.57265
  16. Sapkota, S., Rushton, S., van Teijlingen, E., Subedi, M., Balen, J., Gautam, S., Adhikary, P., Simkhada, P., Wasti,SP., Karki, JK., Panday, S., Karki, A., Rijal, B., Joshi, S., Basnet, S., Marahatta, SB. (2024) Participatory policy analysis in health policy and systems research: reflections from a study in Nepal. Health Research & Policy Systems, 22(7) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01092-5 .
  17. 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

 

New weight change BU paper

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

Congratulations to Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) PhD student Eirini-Iro Arvanitidou and two FHSS colleagues Dr. Fotini Tsofliou, and Dr. Juliet Wood who published together with Ioulia Tsatsani (Stanley Centre for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, USA) the paper ‘The effectiveness of couples’ lifestyle interventions on weight change: A systematic review and meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials‘.

Iro is a PhD student and this systematic review and meta-analysis is the first to investigate the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions targeting couples on weight loss, compared to interventions focused on individuals or standard care. The findings suggest that interventions aimed at couples lead to greater weight loss, though the results should be interpreted with caution due to the wide heterogeneity among the studies. The authors conclude that further research is needed with evidence-based study designs, targeting younger participants, and incorporating intervention of longer duration, and longer follow-up periods.

Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Reference:
  1. Arvanitidou, E. I., Tsofliou, F., Wood, J., & Tsatsani, I. (2024). The effectiveness of couples’ lifestyle interventions on weight change: A systematic review and meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. Nutrition and health, 2601060241291123. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02601060241291123

Congratulations to three former BU staff

Publishing, writing

Bournemouth University Emeritus Professor, Jonathan Parker, now Health Services University, UK, former BU academic Professor Vanessa Heaslip, now Salford University and Professor Sarah Hean and Pravin Tembjerg from the University of Stavanger, Norway, are pleased to announce the publication of their edited international research collection Rebuilding Family Relations for Children and Youth Separated from Family.  This edited volume is published by Palgrave Macmillan.

This edited volume explores a range of causes for separation of children and young people from family, the impact of these causes, and methods that both professionals and families may employ to build or rebuild these relations. In particular, contributions focus on six high priority crises through which children and young people become either permanently or temporarily separated from their families: removal by child welfare services, migration, family breakdown, placement into institutional care, incarceration and/or the death of a parent. Contributors include scholars in social work, psychology, health, sociology, social policy, and political science and the work develops co-production participatory research methods and tools in addition to empirical research to enhance professional practice.

 

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

World Menopause Day 18th October

Let’s start talking about the menopause and sharing stories. There is much to celebrate with the great work happening in this area. We can recognise that each journey through the menopause is individual in relation to how we feel and how long it lasts. For some the changes felt may almost go unnoticed for others the effects are life changing. The more we understand about the menopause the more we may be able to support each other and work out when to seek specialist care.

Many institutions have set up a menopause group and are providing support to work colleagues to improve understanding. Earlier this year local experts Rosie Harper and Dr Emma Thurston at Bournemouth University led a discussion on the menopause to raise public awareness   

Bournemouth University is working in collaboration with NHS Dorset, Dorset Women CIC, and Health Innovation Wessex and many other key partners as part of the Dorset Women’s Health Programme. One of the projects is to focus on menopause support led by Dr Tim Hillard and we have been working closely with women to understand their needs and to work with GPs and their teams to ensure specialist support is available.

On the 20th November, 2024  Bournemouth University will also be holding a Menopause Symposium  to Spotlight the Menopause as a Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health  event. Book your place now:

Women’s Health Symposium – Spotlight on the Menopause Tickets, Wed 20 Nov 2024 at 17:00 | Eventbrite