Tagged / collaboration

New Delphi study published

PG research

Congratulations to Bronwyn Sherriff, Carol Clark, Clare Killingback and Dave Newell.  Their manuscript titled “Musculoskeletal practitioners’ perceptions of contextual factors that may influence chronic low back pain outcomes: a modified Delphi study” was recently published in Chiropractic & Manual Therapies.   The Delphi study provides initial insights regarding a panel of musculoskeletal practitioners’ attitudes towards contextual factors during chronic low-back pain (LBP) rehabilitation in the UK. If you are interested in their findings, click here: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-023-00482-4 or as a PDF: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12998-023-00482-4.pdf.   

 

Congratulations and well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (CMMPH)

Successful event with senior policymakers in Nepal

international

Today, the last day of the Nepalese year 2079, we held a well attended event to discuss the preliminary findings of the interdisciplinary study of the impact of federalisation on health system in the country.  We invited policymakers and politicians from all three levels of government in the country to help the research team to analyse the large amount of high-quality data.  This meeting helped to validate the study results and guide our future capacity building as part of this project.  We were pleasantly surprised by the number who turned up and with their  active engagement!

One of the interesting comments made by the participants was that this was the first time that they had met with staff from differ levels to discuss the working of the system.  In fact, participants expressed that they wanted more opportunities to have this kind of discussions across all three levels of government. The researchers reported both positive and negative developments in the decentralized health system of Nepal.  Positive aspects included, for example, improvements in the availability of resources for health, the construction of new health posts and hospitals, better availability of essential medicines in many places.  We also commented on the positive management of COVID-19, compared to other many countries.  The policymakers from local, provincial and national level largely agreed with our findings and analyses.

This stakeholders’ event is part of the Nepal Federal Health System Project, our major collaborative project examining the consequences for the health system of Nepal’s move to a federal government structure in 2015.  This is a joint project (2020-2024) led by colleagues the University of Sheffield in collaboration with the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) Bournemouth University, the University of Huddersfield, with two partners in Nepal, namely Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) and PHASE Nepal.  This longitudinal interdisciplinary study is funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative [Grant ref. MR/T023554/1].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

BU signs up to Jisc agreement with the American Psychological Association

Guidance, open access, REF Subjects, Research assessment, writing

BU authors can now publish OA for free in select journals with American Psychological Association. Read on to find out more!

Authors affiliated with UK institutions participating in APA’s Jisc agreement may publish open access in hybrid journals published by APA at no cost to the author, provided that:

  • The article’s corresponding author is affiliated with a participating institution’s UK campus.
  • The article is accepted after August 1, 2022.
  • The article is an original peer-reviewed research article or review article.

All articles under this agreement will be published under the CC-BY copyright license. Upon publication, articles will be made immediately open access.

You can find further information on how to submit an article for consideration and other key information, such as maximum number of articles, here.

As a reminder, BU holds a number of agreements with key publishers, many of which allow you to publish open access for free. You can read more about them here.

If you have any queries, please contact the Open Access team.

Erasmus+ exchange visit to Nepal by Dr. Rebecca Neal

international

Last weekend Dr. Rebecca Neal, from the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) arrived in Kathmandu on her Erasmus+ exchange with Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Nepal.  Rebecca is a Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology in the Department of Rehabilitation & Sport Sciences.  She met with Prof. Sujan Marahatta at MMIHS to discuss her her teaching in Kathmandu (see photo).  Prof. Marahatta is also BU Visiting Faculty in FHSS. Rebecca faciltiated a workshop session with MSc students on their research proposals for their dissertations on her first day in Kathmandu.

BU is currently in the process of renewing its MoA with MMIHS, to continue working together after the completion of the Erasmus+ programme.  We aim to to maintain the partnership, as the BU-MMIHS collaboration includes various funded and unfunded research projects apart from the Erasmus+ programme.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

#StepForward and become an NHS Research Ethics Committee member

NHS, Research Ethics

The Health Research Authority are inviting people to #StepForward and become a Research Ethics Committee (REC) member.

REC members meet virtually to review exciting new research studies for some of the biggest challenges in health and social care, including cancer, dementia and COVID-19.

It’s important that committees have insight from different perspectives so that we can all trust their decisions. The HRA are particularly looking for people with no healthcare or research experience.

You’ll be provided with regular training and support and it’s a great opportunity to work with people from a range of backgrounds and learn new skills.

You can find out more here. Alternatively, if you have any questions about being on a REC, please get in touch with Suzy Wignall, Clinical Governance Advisor, and Alternate Vice Chair of the West Midlands – Black Country Research Ethics Committee.

Reminder: International Care Network to present at Community Voices webinar March 8th 12-1pm

March’s webinar welcomes Rachael Sawers from International Care Network. ICN is a local charity providing support and advice services to refugees, asylum-seekers and vulnerable migrants in the BCP and Dorset LA areas. Rachael manages the Resettlement Support services (working with Syrian, Afghan and Ukrainian families) as well as coordinating community activities for vulnerable women and their families, such as conversation groups, English lessons, homework clubs and key working.

Community voices is a collaboration between BU PIER partnership and Centre for Seldom Heard Voices to provide a platform and a voice to local community activists.

Please do join us for this webinar….

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SaferKids VR launch

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, Industry collaboration, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

Before the pandemic, local school children had a local facility near Wallisdown called SafeWise. SafeWise supported children learning about keeping safe and in particular road safety. However, during the pandemic this facility closed, leaving children without such an important resource. In collaboration with Colin Parnell from Centre VR, Dr Sarah Hodge (from the Department of Psychology) was awarded a bid by Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council to develop a VR simulation/game about road safety skills; SaferKids VR.

The educational simulation/game was designed and created, with an interdisciplinary team, including psychologists, and game developers and programmers. The team of game developers and programmers, consisted of two BU graduates Sam Walsh and Josh Maddocks, as well as Andrew Ham. Since graduating from his Masters degree, Sam has led the team on the SaferKids VR development.

Within SaferKids VR, there was the creation of SKIE: Safer Kids Interactive Expert (robot pictured above). SKIE supports the player in VR, navigating the friendly real-life interactive virtual world and achieving learning goals and road safety skills. In the United States, every year, thousands of people are injured as a result of someone else’s negligence. You can read this article to know what to do if you ever get into an accident.

Schools can sign up for their pupils to be involved. 

For more information on the project please see the link https://centrevr.co.uk/saferkidsvr/ or contact shodge@bournemouth.ac.uk

Peer review picking up weaknesses in a scientific paper

international, Publishing, writing

Peer review is the the key pillar of academic publishing.  Peer reviewers will read the submitted paper and assess its knowledge contribution, the appropriateness of the research question, the ethical considerations, the quality of the research methods used and the appropriateness of the discussion, conclusion, and recommendations in the manuscript. [1]  It is worth bearing in mind that most peer reviewers are unpaid volunteers, academics like us who review for journals over and above the day job.[2]  For the authors peer reviewers can give excellent feedback.  Harvey and colleagues remind their readers that peer reviewers reading your manuscript with a fresh pair of eyes, can lead to them raising great questions and offering useful comments.  In short, reviewers’ reservations and misunderstandings can help you to rephrase and better focus your paper. [3]

However, what the review process does not do is picking up every possible minor mistake and typo in a paper.  I was reminded of this last week when I read a peer-reviewed paper in which the basic demographics table (the characteristics of the study participants) did not add up to 100%.  Luckily, the same authors (who shall remain nameless) published a different paper from the same study in another quality journal, which allowed me to check the numbers.  Interestingly, the second paper in another peer-reviewed journal had the same mistake.   In the end I ended up writing to two different editors pointing out this anomaly.   The editors contacted the authors who have since promised to rectify the mistake.

Something similar has also happened to us.  Occasionally I reread one of our articles in a good journal and wonder about some of the unclear sentences or poorly expressed grammar or style.  Neither the editor nor the peer-reviewers spotted it nor did my co-authors and I noticed these mistakes in the paper proofs.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

 

 

References:

  1. van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Shanker, S. (2022) Selecting an Appropriate Journal and Submitting your Paper, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 20-31.
  2. 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.
  3. Harvey, O., Taylor, A., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Struggling to reply to reviewers: Some advice for novice researchers. Health Prospect, 21(2):19-22.

 

BU professors lead research workshop at Kathmandu University, Nepal

international, Training

Prof Carol Clark and Prof Vanora Hundley travelled to Dhulikhel in the Kavrepalanchok District of Nepal to deliver a workshop on research methodology.

The attendees included nurses, lecturers and senior academics from Kathmandu University. Together the group discussed the research gaps in women’s health in Nepal and the types of studies needed to help build evidence for practice.

Like many countries, research into women’s health is a neglected area but one that is beginning to gather strength. The discussion identified research gaps in specific areas of health, such as postnatal care and nutrition, and also cross-cutting themes, such as empowerment and education. Next steps for research collaboration were also discussed.

The workshop was supported by Erasmus+ and Green Tara Nepal (GTN).  Erasmus+ is the European Commission’s flagship for financial support of mobility for Higher Education students, teachers and institutions. Bournemouth University has been working with GTN for the last two decades and has collaborations with BU academics including Prof Edwin van Teijlingen, D. Pramod Regmi, Prof Carol Clark, Dr Nirmal Aryal, Dr Shanti Shanker, and Prof Vanora Hundley.

 

The PhD viva and then….

Centre for Excellence in Learning, international, PG research, Publishing, student research, Women's Academic Network, writing

Today the Journal of Education and Research published online our paper ‘Reflections on Variations in PhD Viva Regulations: “And the Options Are …”’. [1]   The paper outlines that examining PhD research in the form of a doctoral thesis is specialist work, which is why few people know the potential variations. This paper highlights the different options that are available for PhD examiners. There are four general options: (1) pass, (2) rewrite and resubmit; (3) lower degree, with or without resubmission; and (4) fail the PhD. However, from our experience, of both being examined for our own PhDs and examining others at a range of different universities, we have noted a considerable variety in detail within these common options. This paper outlines a variety of outcomes of a PhD examination, followed by four short case studies, each reflecting on a particular aspect /differences we experienced as examinees or as examiners. This paper further aims to alert PhD candidates and examiners to study the examination rules set by the awarding university, as the details of the PhD examination outcome, and hence the options available to both examiners and the students may differ more than one might expect.

This publication adds to our earlier work on the roles of PhD supervisors providing in-depth discipline-specific Public Health knowledge and technical (e.g., methodological) support to the students, encouraging them towards publications or conference presentations, offering pastoral support for student wellbeing, and finally preparing them to defend their thesis by conducting a mock viva. Our earlier paper focused on the responsibilities, opportunities, and sometimes the challenging nature of being a PhD supervisor in the field of Public Health in Nepal. [2]

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

References:

  1. van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, B., Regmi, P. ., Simkhada , P. ., Hundley, V. ., Poudel, K. C. (2022). Reflections on Variations in PhD Viva Regulations: “And the Options Are …”. Journal of Education and Research, 12(2), 61-74. https://doi.org/10.51474/jer.v12i2.624
  2. Regmi, P., Poobalan, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2021). PhD supervision in public health. Health Prospect, 20(1), 1-4.

It is all about experience

Delicious links, international, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, Publishing, student research, Women's Academic Network, writing

This week we published a paper on the experience of conducting fieldwork in the public health field in the Journal of Health Promotion. [1] Fieldwork is usually a crucial part of PhD research, not only in the health field. However, few researchers write about this, often challenging, process. This paper highlights various occasions where fieldwork in the area of public health, health promotion or community health was more difficult than expected or did not go as planned. Our reflections on working in the field are aimed at less experienced researchers to support them in their research development. Moreover, this paper is also calling upon health researchers to share more details about the process of doing fieldwork and its trials and tribulations. Our key advice is to be inquisitive and open-minded around fieldwork, followed by: be prepared for your fieldwork, conduct a risk assessment of what might go wrong, and consider your resources and options to overcome such trials and tribulations. Fieldwork can be unpredictable.  We believe it is important to share practical lessons from the field which helps other to better understand these tribulations, and learn from them. Finally, sharing such information may guide new researchers and help them identify strategies that can address those issues and challenges in their future studies.

Dr. Preeti Mahato (at Royal Holloway, University of London), Dr Bibha Simkhada and Prof. Padam Simkhada (both based at the University of Huddersfield) are all BU Visiting Faculty.  Moreover, I have had the pleasure of acting as PhD supervisor for five of my co-authors.  I have included in this blog what is probably my favourite fieldwork photo taken a decade ago by former BU PhD student Dr. Sheetal Sharma.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

 

References:

  1. Mahato, P., Tamang, P., Simkhada, B., Wasti, S. P., Devkota, B., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Reflections on health promotion fieldwork in Nepal: Trials and tribulations. Journal of Health Promotion 10(1): 5–12. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v10i1.50978