BU Research Blog

August 27, 2021

Risk of kidney problems in migrant workers

international, open access, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Pramod Regmi, Lecturer in International Health & Global Engagement Lead, Department of Nursing Sciences, and Dr. Nirmal Aryal, formerly of the Centre of Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH), whose editorial “Kidney health risk of migrant workers: An issue we can no longer overlook” has been published today in Health Prospect [1]. Further co-authors (Arun Sedhain, Radheshyam Krishna KC, Erwin Martinez Faller, Aney Rijal, and Edwin van Teijlingen) work in India, Nepal, the Philippines and at BU. The study was funded by GCRF.

This editorial highlights that low-skilled migrant workers in the countries of the Gulf and Malaysia are at a disproportionately higher risk of kidney health problems. The working conditions are often Dirty, Dangerous and Difficult (referred at as the 3Ds) include physically demanding work, exposure to a hot environment, dehydration, chemical exposures, excessive use of pain killers, and lifestyle factors (such as restricted water intake and a high intake of alcohol/sugary drinks) which may precipitate them to acute kidney injuries and subsequent chronic kidney disease.

References

Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K., Martinez Faller, E., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E., (2021) Kidney health risk of migrant workers: An issue we can no longer overlook. Health Prospect 21(1): 15-17.

August 26, 2021

Engagement opportunity for NERC researchers to counter eco-anxiety in young people

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

New public engagement and professional development opportunity for Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) climate scientists* looking to engage young people with their environmental science research, and develop their digital and youth engagement capacity.

As part of NERC’s contribution to COP26, NERC Public Engagement have commissioned a public engagement project that seeks to support young people in the UK who experience eco-anxiety to reshape new positive narratives about the future. Through a series of events and co-design activities, the project will look at how the actions and stories of young citizens and recent scientific advancements in decarbonisation fit together within a systemic picture.  

How you can be involved

NERC researchers* are invited to this unique professional development and engagement opportunity to work on the project with eco-anxious young people. Through a series of workshops with young people, you would be supported to share insights from your research and professional careers, engage young people in climate science, and develop your own public engagement skills including co-design, storytelling, digital communication and engagement with young people. 

*for this project, Common Vision and NERC, are inviting NERC researchers to be involved, including; PhD students, Early career researchers, and other roles involved in delivering NERC science research, for example, project managers, engagement staff etc.

Time commitment

Researchers who can commit to being involved for at least six months. In the first month (September) approximately a day of your time will be required to feed into the project design and initial materials. From then on, an afternoon in October, December, and February. The total estimated time commitment will be no more than 3 days of your time between September 2021 and March 2022.

More about the project

The magnitude of the climate crisis and the mismatch between the scale of the problem, and the power that any individual has to address it, has left many conscientious young people with feelings of eco-anxiety, anger and helplessness. While these feelings of helplessness may paralyse some young people, they can also be precursors to committed action and positive activism.

This public engagement project, funded by NERC, will examine the narratives which permeate and influence public understanding of climate change. It will draw on insights from environmental science research to understand and showcase the many different ways that citizens are already engaging with decarbonisation on their own terms, and how these individual actions can complement wider structural and systemic shifts. Through active storytelling exercises and live prototyping events, we will engage young people in shaping new positive narratives about the future and co-designing materials, which can be used to address eco-anxiety.

About the partners

This project is a collaboration between the following partners:

The project is funded by the National Environmental Research Council (NERC) the UK’s largest funder of independent environmental science, training and innovation.

Common Vision is an independent think tank with a mission to unite people around long-term intergenerational goals and catalyse collaborative action and collective agency. Common Vision specialises in public dialogue and engagement and has a strong track record facilitating policy dialogue and civic leadership opportunities for young people.

Octophin Digital is a London-based digital agency working primarily within the wildlife conservation, arts and charity sectors.

Force of Nature is a youth non-profit mobilising mindsets for climate action. Force of Nature supports leaders across business, education and policy to centre young people in delivering intergenerational climate solutions

Climate Carers is a team of researchers, designers, policy-makers and educators aiming to understand and support mental health in the current climate and ecological crises. Climate Cares is a collaboration between the Institute of Global Health Innovation and the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London.

Contact

To express an interest in taking part, please email Matilda Agace, Research and Engagement Manager at Common Vision: matilda.agace@covi.org.uk, please copy in Hannah Lacey, NERC Public Engagement Programme Manager: hannah.lacey@nerc.ukri.org no later than 4pm on Tuesday 7 September 2021

If you would like to discuss ideas, please contact BU Engagement Officer, Adam Morris publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk

August 23, 2021

New interdisciplinary paper

international, Knowledge Exchange, NHS, Publishing, Research Integritiy, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Shanti Shanker in BU’s Department of Psychology and Dr. Pramod Regmi in the Department of Nursing Science on their paper ‘The Interdisciplinary Team Not the Interdisciplinarist: Reflections on Interdisciplinary Research’ which was accepted over the weekend by the journal Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences. This interesting paper is co-authored with two BU Visiting Faculty, Ms. Jillian Ireland, Professional Midwifery Advocate in Poole Maternity Hospital (University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust) and Prof. Padam Simkhada based at the University of Huddersfield. Co-author Dr. Sharada Wasti is also based the University of Huddersfield.

With interdisciplinary research growing in popularity, researchers, lecturers, journal editors and funders to consider how this is going to work in reality. This paper argues that interdisciplinary working is with in the team, not ‘in a person’. Multidisciplinary teams provide unique opportunities for researchers from different disciplines (and hence different ways of working and thinking) to collaborate with one another. We need to be careful not to try to create interdisciplinarists, or at least, not too many. We need people who are strong in their discipline and open-minded/flexible/reflective enough to see the value of other people’s disciplines.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH (Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health)

Reference:

Shanker, S., Wasti, S.P., Ireland, J., Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) The Interdisciplinary Team Not the Interdisciplinarist: Reflections on Interdisciplinary Research, Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences 3(2):1-5.

August 10, 2021

Horizon Europe collaboration tools and novelties

Funding opportunities Ainar

Collaboration tools

Following the recent Horizon Europe (HEU) Cluster 1 Health Brokerage Event, the online partnering system remains open to book partnering video meetings and publish new collaboration profiles until 31 October 2021. The UK National Contact Point provides further materials from UK-focussed events on a dedicated website and via a newsletter, which you can subscribe to for free.

Following the recent Horizon Europe Cluster 2 Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society Brokerage Event, the online partnering system for 2021 calls has been reopened and remains available to book video meetings and contact registered users until 5 October 2021. The UK National Contact Point provides further materials from national events on a dedicated website. The ‘Sustainable future for Europe’ information and brokerage event (Cluster 2 “Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Societies”) for 2022 calls will be held virtually on 30 September.

Horizon Europe Novelties

The Online Manual for EU Funding Programmes 2021-27 states that all EU-funded actions, including Horizon Europe projects, should have a maximum of 10-15 major deliverables.

This is to make the proposal concise, moving away from the 70-page limit in H2020 to the new 45-page limit in Horizon Europe for RIA/IA projects and about giving the proposal a good structure, not limiting work/outputs. There can be many internal deliverables within the project, but they should be structured to no more than 15 major deliverables in the list itself. Minor sub-items should not be included (internal working papers, meeting minutes, etc.).

The recently published Horizon Europe Programme Guide includes useful information on the novelties and horizontal aspects of Horizon Europe.

HEU Work Programme Update

The Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2021-22 will be updated in the autumn to accommodate some important changes, which were not included in the original version, published in mid-June. The first Horizon Europe Work Programme may include several elements related to the implementation of the new programme, for example:

Information about topics which will be part of the ‘blind evaluation’ pilot
Information about topics which will use the lump sum funding model
Information about countries that will be subject to new restrictions on participation in the Cluster 4 Work Programme
Further information on the implementation of the Horizon Europe Missions

Funding briefings

As announced earlier, Funding Development Briefings for BU academics will resume in September. RDS Research Facilitators still are updating the Major Opportunities pipeline on a weekly basis, so you have access to the latest funding opportunities on the I Drive here: I:\RDS\Public\Funding Pipeline

August 9, 2021

Health Research Authority Releases Question and Answers: Student Eligibility Criteria

Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics, student research Suzy Wignall

The Health Research Authority have published some questions and answers in relation to student research – this is in relation to the recent update regarding the upcoming changes to eligibility criteria.

You can find the Q&As here.

If you have any queries please contact Suzy Wignall, Clinical Governance Advisor in Research Development & Support.

August 4, 2021

Health is not in a vacuum

international, open accecss, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Last night I misread a call from BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth. To be fair the email included two different request to contribute to two different kinds of blog posts with different set of instructions. Of course, I managed not to simply to swap these instructions around, but mix them up properly. The result is the text below that does not fit either of the two calls, I think.

The question I tried to address was: “Tell us how your research published in BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth has links to wider issues than health!. The actual call in the email was: “Tell us about your contribution to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) – We invite our Editorial Board Members who have research or personal interests related to the SDGs to contribute a blog post to our BMC Series Blog network discussing your work/interests as these relate to the SDGs”.

My adopted question explains the title ‘Health is not a vacuum’. The short overview of the blog I drafted focused on all the papers I have published in this journal over a fifteen-year period from 2006-2021 [1-11]. Not surprising for a sociologist of health & illness, my argument is that there are nearly always issues wider than SDG 3 ‘Good health and well-being’ in the way health care/service or health policy factors affects maternity care and midwifery. Social, cultural and economic factors affect the way maternity services ares provided, used and perceived. SDG 5 ‘Gender equality’ springs to mind first, but also important is SDG 4 ‘Quality education’, especially of girls, and SDG 1 ‘No poverty’, of course strongly linked with SDG 10 ‘Reduced inequalities’.

Gender is highlighted or at least part of the argument in many of our papers in low- and middle income countries [2,3,5, 7,10,11], but also in a high-income context [1,6]. Education, both health education and education more generally, for example education levels of maternity service users, appears in several papers [1,6,8-11] whilst poverty is a key factors in several papers based on our work in Nepal [2,3,5,6,11]. Several of our papers address issues wider than health that are not strictly speaking SDG, such as paper on cultural differences in postnatal quality of life among German-speaking women living either side of the Swiss-German border [4], and of course, our paper on media and childbirth [6].

Last, but not least, all papers published in BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth are Open Access and freely available online!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

References:

Hall, J., van Teijlingen E. (2006) A qualitative study of an integrated maternity, drugs and social care service for drug-using women, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, 6(19) biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2393-6-19.pdf
Dhakal, S., Chapman, G., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Stephens J., Raja, A.E. (2007) Utilisation of postnatal care among rural women in Nepal, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 7(19). Web: biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2393-7-19.pdf
Simkhada, B., Porter, M., van Teijlingen, E. (2010) The role of mothers-in-law in antenatal care decision-making in Nepal: A qualitative study. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 10(34) biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2393-10-34.pdf
Grylka-Baeschlin, S., van Teijlingen, E.R., Gross, M.M. (2014) Cultural differences in postnatal quality of life among German-speaking women – a prospective survey in two countries, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 14: 277. https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2393-14-277
Milne, L, van Teijlingen, E, Hundley, V., Simkhada, P, Ireland, J. (2015) Staff perspectives of barriers to women accessing birthing services in Nepal: A qualitative study BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 15:142 biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/15/142 .
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
Sharma, S., van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V, Angell, C., Simkhada, P. (2016) Dirty and 40 days in the wilderness: Eliciting childbirth & postnatal cultural practices and beliefs in Nepal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 16: 147 https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-016-0938-4
Symon, A., Pringle, J, Cheyne, H, Downe, S., Hundley, V, Lee, E, Lynn, F., McFadden, A, McNeill, J., Renfrew, M., Ross-Davie, M., van Teijlingen, E., Whitford, H, Alderdice, F. (2016) Midwifery-led antenatal care models: Mapping a systematic review to evidence-based quality framework to identify key components & characteristics of care, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 16:168 http://rdcu.be/uifu
Symon, A., Pringle, J., Downe, S, Hundley, V., Lee, E., Lynn, F, McFadden, A, McNeill, J, Renfrew, M., Ross-Davie, M., van Teijlingen, E., Whitford, H., Alderdice, F. (2017) Antenatal care trial interventions: a systematic scoping review & taxonomy development of care models BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 17:8 http://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-016-1186-3
Ladur, AN, van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2018) `Whose Shoes?’ Testing educational board game with men of African descent living in UK, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 18:81. http://rdcu.be/JXs0
Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K., Holloway, I. (2019) Villains or victims? An ethnography of Afghan maternity staff and the challenge of high quality respectful care, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 19 :307 https://rdcu.be/bPqlj

July 29, 2021

BU conference presentation on migration and COVID-19 in Nepal

conferences, international, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Shovita Dhakal Adhikari, Dr. Nirmal Aryal and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, all based in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, presented at the tenth Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal & the Himalaya. Their paper ‘Moral panic and othering practices during Nepal’s COVID-19 Pandemic (A study with returnee migrants and Muslims in Nepal)’ was co-authored by Dr. Sharada Prasad Wasti from the University of Huddersfield and Shreeman Sharma (Department of Conflict, Peace & Development
Studies, Tribhuvan University, Nepal). The presentation was partly based on research funded by the British Academy.

July 28, 2021

Funding Development Briefings – back in September

Funding opportunities Lisa Andrews

The RDS Funding Development Briefings have occurred weekly, on a Wednesday at 12 noon since January 2021.

Thank you to those of you who have joined us to discuss the latest funding opportunities, ask questions, and share your research ideas. We will be taking a break over August, with the briefings returning in September.

Over August, we will still update the Major Opportunities pipeline on a weekly basis so you have access to the latest funding opportunities. The pipeline is available on the I Drive here: I:\RDS\Public\Funding Pipeline. The Research Facilitators will still be available over the summer to discuss your research bidding plans, so please do get in touch when required.

Details of the Funding Development Briefings for 2021/22 will be available shortly. Please email RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk to receive the Teams invite for these sessions.

We hope you have a restful summer, and look forward to seeing you in September!

July 27, 2021

Pilot studies paper reaches 90,000 reads

Knowledge Exchange, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today ResearchGate informed Prof. Vanora Hundley and I that our paper in the Nursing Standard of 2002 had reached 90,000 reads. This short methods paper called ‘The Importance of Pilot Studies’ [1] was one of our earlier attempts, nearly two decades ago, to publish more of our work in practitioners journals. This approach has been highly successful in terms of reaching a wider audience. We have written longer, more sophisticated research methods papers on pilot studies over the years, including in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, Social Research Update, and the SAGE encyclopedia on research methods [2-6], but none of these has been read or cited as often as our short paper in the Nursing Standard.

The term ‘pilot studies’ refers to mini versions of a full-scale study (also called ‘feasibility’ studies), as well as the specific pre-testing of a particular research instrument such as a questionnaire or interview schedule. Pilot studies are a crucial element of good study design. Conducting a pilot study does not guarantee success in the main study, but it does increase the likelihood of success. Pilot studies fulfill a range of important functions and can provide valuable insights for other researchers. There is a need for more discussion among researchers of both the process and outcomes of pilot studies.

References:

van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2002) ‘The importance of pilot studies’ Nursing Standard 16(40): 33-36. Web: nursing-standard.co.uk/archives/vol16-40/pdfs/vol16w40p3336.pdf
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.
van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2001) The importance of pilot studies, Social Research Update Issue 35, (Editor N. Gilbert), Guildford: University of Surrey. Web: http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/SRU35.html
Hundley, V., van Teijlingen E. (2002) The role of pilot studies in midwifery research RCM Midwives Journal 5(11): 372-74
van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2005) Pilot studies in family planning & reproductive health care, Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care 31(3): 219-21.
van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2003) Pilot study, In: Encyclopaedia of Social Science Research Methods, Vol. 2, Lewis-Beck, M., Bryman, A. & Liao, T. (eds.), Oregon, Sage: 823-24.

July 26, 2021

New FHSS nutrition publication

Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Faculty of Health & Social Sciences’ PhD student Karim Khaled and supervisors Prof. Vanora Hundley and Dr. Fotini Tsofliou on the acceptance of your manuscript ‘Perceived Stress was associated with Poorer Diet Quality among Women of Reproductive Age in the UK’. This paper will appear in the international journal Nutrients.

All three are associated with our research unit CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health). This paper is supported by BU’s Open Access Fund will be freely available online soon.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

July 22, 2021

Two international midwifery publications by Prof. Vanora Hundley this month

international, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday the international journal Midwifery (published by Elsevier) announced that our paper “Male Involvement in Promotion of Safe Motherhood in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. A Scoping Review” has been published online. [1] This paper is based on Dr. Alice Ladur’s innovative PhD thesis on men’s involvement in their partners’ maternity care in Uganda. This is Alice’s second PhD paper, her first one was published in BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth. [2]

The second international midwifery paper that came out last week is ‘Slovenian midwifery professionalization: Perception of midwives and related health professions’ which appeared in the European Journal of Midwifery. [3] This paper is written with colleagues from Slovenia: Polona A. Mivšek, Majda Pahor, and Valentina Hlebec.

References:

Ladur, AN, van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2021) Male Involvement in Promotion of Safe Motherhood in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. A Scoping Review, Midwifery 103 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0266613821001698
Ladur, AN, van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2018) `Whose Shoes?’ Testing educational board game with men of African descent living in UK, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 18:81. http://rdcu.be/JXs0
Mivšek, AP, Hundley V, van Teijlingen, E, Pahor, M, Hlebec V. (2021) Slovenian midwifery professionalisation: Perception of midwives and related health professions, European Journal of Midwifery:30 https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/137664

July 22, 2021

New joint publication with Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust

NHS, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This morning International Journal of Mental Health Nursing informed us that our article ‘Cultural issues on accessing mental health services in Nepali and Iranian migrants communities in the UK‘ has been published today. This paper is written by an interdisciplinary team including Hannah Blunt who works at Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust, Dr. Bibha Simkhada who is Senior Lecturer in Nursing at the University of Huddersfield and Dr. Mariam Vahdaninia who works in the Peninsula Medical School at the University of Plymouth. Both Mariam and Bibha worked with me at Bournemouth University at the time of the study.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

July 6, 2021

Health Research Authority UPDATE: undergraduate and master’s research projects

Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics, student research Suzy Wignall

New eligibility criteria from 1 September 2021

The HRA and the devolved administrations, supported by the Wessex Institute at the University of Southampton, have reviewed their approach to study approval for student research.

The review aimed to ensure students have the best learning experience of health and social care research, and to reduce the time that the HRA, DAs and NHS Research Ethics Committees (RECs) spend advising on and reviewing student applications.

In March 2020 the HRA paused student research approvals to create capacity for urgent COVID-19 research. Now, from 1 September 2021, they are introducing new eligibility criteria for standalone student research.

The new criteria mean that some master’s level students will be able to apply for ethics review and HRA/HCRW Approval or devolved administration equivalent. Standalone research at undergraduate level that requires ethics review and/or HRA/HCRW Approval (or devolved administration equivalent) cannot take place. Arrangements for doctoral research remain unchanged. Full details are in table one – permitted student research table. They have also made it clear when students are able to take the role of Chief Investigator, see table two – which type of students may act as Chief Investigator.

It is possible for students to learn about health and social care research without completing standalone projects. Looking at other ways to build skills and experience better reflects modern research and emphasises team science. View the video of the HRA event ‘Exploring good practice in Student Research’ to hear from course leaders about how successful these alternative approaches have been (registration is required to view) or read the HRA website for further information and ideas https://www.hra.nhs.uk/student-research/.

The HRA are giving notice now so that course leaders and students have time to prepare for the new arrangements, including ensuring that any changes to institutional policies and procedures are made.

If you have any queries about the eligibility criteria, please contact queries@hra.nhs.uk or swignall@bournemouth.ac.uk

July 4, 2021

Unsatisfactory conference attendance?

conferences, international, Training Edwin van Teijlingen

Over the 15 months many academics have learnt to use online tools to communicate with colleagues, students, the media, politicians and the general public. The COVID-19 pandemics forced us to introduce (more) virtual classrooms, internet-based tutorials, online marking, Zoom and Teams meetings (and other platforms!) as well as online conferences and workshops, albeit each with their own limitations. In general, we often marvel about the internet and online conference technology as well as value the reduction of our carbon foot print, reaching global audiences and so on.

The past three weeks I attended three international conferences in three countries without leaving my living room, including the postponed 2020 ICM (International Confederation of Midwives) conference. Perhaps there is an element of online-working fatigue, but I am beginning to see more and more disadvantages of online conferences. First, the contact with fellow presenters, chairs and the audience is more superficial than at a physical conference. At a conference held in person you meet people over lunch or coffee or people simply stop you in the corridors of the conference centre to discuss or challenge your paper or express their ideas for future studies.

Secondly, many conferences seem to use two online systems and have different ways of running online conferences, at one of the recent conferences the presenters and the audience were in different cyber spaces, so as a presenter you had no idea how many people attended or how the audience reacted to what you have just said. Moreover, in one conference any questions people in the audience had written in the chat box were invisible to the speakers. These questions had to be read out by the chair, who was tasked with linking the two cyber spaces, that of speakers and that of the audience. At another conference the chair largely let the speakers deal with questions in the chat without any direction or guidance, as a consequence I was still answering questions in the chat long after the next speaker had started.

Thirdly, because I was not physically away I didn’t attend as many of the sessions at any of the three recent conferences as I would have liked to. This issue is similar in nature as the ‘old’ problem of attending a face-to-face conference at your own institution. Since you are not away your students, colleagues, etc. manage to find you and expect you to do something else instead of attending the conference. Fourthly, you don’t meet up in person with international colleagues, therefore, you don’t get a chance to discuss long-term ideas, plans, problems over a meal and a beer.

I am still positive about online conferences, but perhaps not as enthusiastic as I was in a BU Research Blog in April last year! In this blog I pointed out that Donald Nicolson in his book Academic Conferences as Neoliberal Commodities raised the question about return of investment of a conference [1-2] not just for the conference organisers (and funders) but also for individual academics. Internet-based conferences are cheaper than face-to-face conferences although often not free, two of my three international conferences had a registration fee, moreover there is the opportunity cost for the academic in attending a conference, especially if one does not receive the traditional benefits of meeting like-minded people in person.

Some thought for Sunday morning.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Nicolson. D.J. (2017) Academic Conferences as Neoliberal Commodities, Palgrave Macmillan.
Nicolson. D.J. (2018) Guest post by Donald Nicolson: The problem of thinking about conferences and Return on Investment (ROI)

June 30, 2021

New obstetrics publication by PhD student Sulochana Dhakal Rai

international, PG research, Publishing, student research, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Mrs. Sulochana Dhakal Rai on the publication today of her PhD article ‘Classification of Caesarean Section: A Scoping Review of the Robson classification‘ in the Nepal Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology [1]. Sulochana’s PhD project in the Centre of Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) is supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Juliet Wood and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen at BU and she is supported in Nepal by Prof. Ganesh Dangal [Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Kathmandu Model Hospital] and senior obstetrician Dr. Keshar Bahadur Dhakal [Karnali Province Hospital, Nepal]. Sulochana has already published two earlier papers from her PhD thesis research [2-3].

References:

Rai SD, van Teijlingen E, Regmi P, Wood J, Dangal G, Dhakal KB. (2021) Classification of Caesarean Section: A Scoping Review of the Robson classification. Nep J Obstet Gynecol. 16(32):2-9.
Dhakal-Rai, S., Regmi, PR, van Teijlingen, E, Wood, J., Dangal G, Dhakal, KB. (2018) Rising Rate of Caesarean Section in Urban Nepal, Journal of Nepal Health Research Council 16(41): 479-80.
Dhakal Rai, S., Poobalan, A., Jan, R., Bogren, M., Wood, J., Dangal, G., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Dhakal, K.B., Badar, S.J., Shahid, F. (2019) Caesarean Section rates in South Asian cities: Can midwifery help stem the rise? Journal of Asian Midwives, 6(2):4–22.

June 29, 2021

Congratulations to Sara Stride

NHS, Publishing, student research, Training, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Sara Stride and her PhD supervisors on the publication of ‘Identifying the factors that influence midwives’ perineal practice at the time of birth in the United Kingdom’ in the international journal Midwifery [1]. The Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries (OASI) Care Bundle is designed to reduce the incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injuries. However, introducing behavioural change requires an understanding of current practice. This national study aims to establish midwives practice at the time of birth, and the factors that influence this. The paper concludes that there has been a growth in the number of midwives using “hands on” at the time of birth but midwives feel that they require additional training in regards to identifying an OASI. The study should be repeated following the roll out of the OASI care bundle, to identify its impact on midwives’ perineal practice. This nation-wide study identified the need for improvements in the recognition of OASI by midwives, and in future repeating the study would identify whether the OASI care bundle has influenced midwives’ practice.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference

Stride, S.L., Hundley, V.A., Way, S., Sheppard, Z.A. (2021) Identifying the factors that influence midwives’ perineal practice at the time of birth in the United Kingdom, Midwifery, 103077

June 28, 2021

Congratulations to Debora Almeida in FHSS

Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Debbie Almeida (in the Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences) who had another article published last month. This latest academic article “Dominant versus non-dominant hand during simulated infant CPR using the two-finger technique: a randomised study” appeared in Resuscitation Plus [1]. Debbie’s BU co-authors are Carol Clark, Ursula Rolfe and Jon Williams.

Reference:

Gugelmin-Almeida, D., Clark, C., Rolfe, U., Jones, M., Williams, J, (2021) Dominant versus non-dominant hand during simulated infant CPR using the two-finger technique: a randomised study, Resuscitation Plus, 7:

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June 21, 2021

How visual stories and social media can help save lives in a global pandemic

Awarded & submitted bids afeigenbaum

Digital and visual communications are crucial methods for disseminating information during the COVID-19 pandemic. From slice-of-life diary pieces to public health guidance on prevention and symptoms, visual storytellers are using online platforms to share their experiences and disseminate information. While digital platforms have the capacity to facilitate misinformation, they have also been utilised to ensure the spread of important, and potentially life-saving messages. To learn more about how AHRC-funded projects are researching media communications and health messaging during the pandemic, Shannon McDavitt, a Research Assistant on our BU-Based Comics in the time of COVID-19 project, took part in a Pandemic and Beyond Knowledge Exchange Workshop on 7 June 2021.

research illustration by Dr. Alexandra Alberda

As a response to the pandemic, the AHRC launched a scheme to fund projects dedicated to understanding the impact of COVID-19. The Public Health, Communication and Healthcare Knowledge Exchange Workshop run by the Pandemic and Beyond Project allowed researchers working on similar research questions to come together to share their projects and exchange ideas and network with like-minded people. This workshop also gave the project teams a greater understanding of the role they are playing in the wider response to COVID-19, and of the issues being tackled. A key area of focus among these projects was health communication and public health messaging, and within those projects, there was a mutual understanding of the necessity of not only verbal or linguistic messaging, but of visual communication during the pandemic.

instagram post by monachalabi

The dissemination of COVID-19 guidance is a key element to managing the pandemic. Due to social distancing and lockdown regulations, the pandemic has made social media and digital communication essential for public health communications. Social media has been a major outlet for this. As scrolling and sharing are daily routines for a large part of the population, these platforms become an indispensable method of giving and receiving information. Although social media has been criticised as a platform for misinformation and fake news, when used to convey evidenced-based information, the government and public health authorities can benefit from a large platform that is accessible to many. This is why designers and graphic storytellers are working to enhance how visual data and social media can be used more effectively together. Zenith Clipping is a professional clipping path company in Bangladesh with more than 150 Photoshop professionals. We help studios, photographers, and e-commerce store owners edit photos. We are a well-reputed top-ranked image editing company in Bangladesh serving since 2010.

comic about anxiety induced by making COVD19 health decisions

research illustration by Dr. Alexandra Alberda

The power of images in communications is stronger than ever. According to market research, online visual content is 40 times more likely to get shared and articles that include images every 75-100 words receive double the shares than those without (PWC 2017). During the pandemic, visual information has become more important for a wide range of reasons, including ensuring those who have difficulty reading, and interpreting a high amount of information have a means to understand what is being communicated. For example, the AHRC-funded project ‘Information Design for Diagnostics: Ensuring Confidence and Accuracy for Home Sampling and Home Testing’ led by Professor Sue Walker, investigates how user-friendly instructions, print and video are key to accurate use of tests, demonstrating how good visual communication is essential in managing the pandemic effectively.

Getting artists involved with our Covid Comics AHRC research

Green and Myers (2010) argue that combining pictures and text enhances understanding and can help increase recall of health information. This is a major aspect of ensuring guidance is met in, for example, washing hands or how to correctly wear a mask and test from home. This is why our AHRC-funded project ‘Comics in the time of COVID-19: Tracking data on web-based comics and evaluating their potential for communicating public health messages’ led by Dr Anna Feigenbaum develops the idea that comics can be an effective method of sharing public health messaging. As suggested, information that includes images are more likely to receive shares which is an important aspect of digital communication in the time of COVID-19. Visually, comics and imagery are easy to engage with compared to long pieces of text. This helps make them effective for a wide range of the population. As the written aspects are minimal and simplistic, they are accessible to a broad range of audiences, including the young and old. Since public health messages can be complex, these kinds of visuals can be especially useful where English is not a person’s first language, or for those who have a difficulty reading written information. In addition, research suggests that we are better at learning and remembering content that we’ve seen in pictures than just in text, a phenomenon known as Picture Superiority Effect (Nelson et al 1976) This makes comics a perfect candidate for the dissemination of important public health information to maintain and manage the pandemic.

image of woman with long COVID discussing symptoms

instagram post from _coronadiary

Comics and visuals can communicate both risk factors and social issues surrounding an illness. Readers can relate to events and experiences, creating empathy (McAllister 1992). Although visual storytelling and public health messaging through social media may not be the only method needed to effectively spread information and manage the pandemic, these on-going projects funded by the AHRC show the power that visual storytelling online can have. By including visual elements such as video, photographs and sketches in future public health guidance, governments, health professionals and organisations can reach wider audiences, help increase comprehension, create more accessibility and better encourage behavioural change. .

PWC, 2017. [online]. Available from: https://www.pwc.com.au/the-difference/the-power-of-visual-communication-apr17.pdf [Accessed 10 Jun 2021].
Nelson, D.L., Reed, U.S., & Walling, J.R. (1976). Pictorial superiority effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory, 2, 523-528
Hanna, R., Rohm, A. and Crittenden, V. L., 2011. We’re All Connected: The Power of the Social Media Ecosystem. Business Horizons [online], 54 (3), 265-273
Green, M., & Myers, K. (2010). Graphic medicine: use of comics in medical education and patient care. BMJ : British Medical Journal, 340.

Further information:

Williams, D., 2007. What is “Graphic Medicine”? | Graphic Medicine [online]. Graphic Medicine. Available from: https://www.graphicmedicine.org/why-graphic-medicine/ [Accessed 10 Jun 2021].

A previous version of this post was published on https://pandemicandbeyond.exeter.ac.uk/

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