Centre for Wellbeing & Long-Term Health

Centre for Seldom Heard Voices

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
Centre for Wellbeing & Long-Term Health
Centre for Seldom Heard Voices
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health
The next Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health (CWLTH) Research Seminar will be at 13:30-14:30 on Wednesday 4th June in BG-108. Kelsie Fletcher (Lecturer in Nursing at the University of the Sunshine Coast and PhD student at BU) will be speaking about her doctoral research on ‘Becoming leaders of change: adaptive moral navigation and the challenges of international disaster management‘. Kelsie will be submitting her doctoral thesis later this year. Everyone is welcome to join us to learn more about Kelsie’s research.
For more information about the CWLTH please contact cwlth@bournemouth.ac.uk.
At today’s Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health (CWLTH) Research Seminar, Yagya Adhikari, a PhD student supervised by Professor Edwin van Teijlingen and Dr Pramod Regmi, presented part of his doctoral research focusing on ‘Parental migration for work and psychosocial problems among left-behind adolescents in Nepal‘. Yagya is part of the CWLTH’s Marginalised Groups Workstream and will be submitting his thesis later in 2025.
An astonishing 2,000 people leave Nepal everyday to work overseas and it has long been known that this has an impact on the families left-behind. Yagya’s research explores a new dimension by focusing on the experiences of the left-behind adolescents. The findings Yagya presented today demonstrate that left-behind adolescent boys and girls have poorer results on measures of psychosocial well-being when compared to similarly aged adolescents not left behind by a parent. Yagya’s research has genuine potential to have a positive impact in Nepal.
If you would like to know more about Yagya’s research he can be contacted at yadhikari@bournemouth.ac.uk. For more information about the CWLTH contact cwlth@bournemouth.ac.uk.
The Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health (CWLTH) will be hosting their next Research Seminar and Centre meeting at 11:00 on Tuesday 22nd April. PhD student Yagya Adhikari will be presenting their doctoral research exploring ‘Parental migration for work and psychosocial problems among left-behind adolescents in Nepal.‘ Click HERE to join this meeting on Teams. Contact CWLTH@bournemouth.ac.uk for more information about the Centre.
The Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health‘s next Research Seminar and Centre meeting will be 13:00-14:00 on Wednesday 19th March. Dr Chris Long (Principal Academic on Healthcare Statistics) with be speaking about ‘Avoiding the common statistical pitfalls when planning a research project.’ For more information contact CWLTH@Bournemouth.ac.uk.
Summary from our visiting professor lecture.
In addition, specialist professionals in palliative and end-of-life care from hospices and NHS Hospital Trusts across Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight attended the event, which provided a unique platform for collaboration and knowledge-sharing among healthcare professionals and students working within this critical field.
Key highlights of the afternoon, apart from the keynote lecture by Professor Bee Wee, included a presentation by Cathy Beresford, who is investigating experiences of care in advanced liver disease for her doctoral research study. An insightful panel discussion, led by Professor Bee Wee, featuring recently graduated nursing students from Bournemouth University—Tina Smith, Julia Copson, and Christina Keeping. These nursing graduates shared their personal experiences as former BU/Lewis Manning Hospice Care Scholarship recipients, offering valuable insights into the practical application of palliative care principles in their new professional roles as registered nurses working in a hospice, specialist palliative care unit, and acute stroke unit in Dorset.
The event also included an introduction to the Centre for Wellbeing and Long-term Health, with presentations by Professor Sam Porter and Dr. Duncan Randall on ongoing research within the centre and various aspects of palliative and end-of-life care.
“We are thrilled with the success of this year’s Lewis Manning Hospice Care Visiting Professor Lecture,” said Dr. Sue Baron, Principal Academic at Bournemouth University. “It was an incredibly enriching experience to bring together so many dedicated professionals and students who are passionate about improving palliative and end-of-life care. Professor Bee Wee’s expertise, coupled with the variety of presentations, made for an uplifting and thought-provoking afternoon.”
The event was a collaboration led by Clare Gallie, CEO of Lewis Manning Hospice Care, and Dr. Sue Baron, Principal Academic in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at Bournemouth University. Together, they provided attendees with a unique opportunity to engage with thought leaders in the field of palliative care, network with colleagues, and discuss future advancements in the sector.
Looking ahead, organizers are already planning future initiatives to continue advancing the discussion and research into the future of palliative and end-of-life care.
For more information about the Visiting Professor Lecture Series and ongoing research into palliative care, please visit Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health www.bournemouth.ac.uk/CWLTH
About Lewis Manning Hospice Care Lewis Manning Hospice Care is a charity dedicated to helping people with life-limiting illnesses and their families across East Dorset. They promote acceptance, hope, and peace of mind, helping people to live well through their illness. The organization offers a range of services that prioritize quality of life and compassionate care. Lewis Manning website https://lewis-manning.org.uk/
Contact: Dr. Sue Baron Principal Academic in Nursing & Lead of Lewis Manning Hospice Care/Bournemouth University Nursing Scholarships in Palliative and End of Life Care Department of Nursing Science, Bournemouth University Contact: sbaron@bournemouth.ac.uk / cwlth@bournemouth.ac.uk Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health Website @CWLTH_BU
The next Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health (CWLTH) Research Seminar and Centre Meeting will be 13:00-14:00 on Tuesday 25/02/2025. Dr and Dr Katey Collins will be leading a discussion about the Centre’s newest work stream ‘Rehabilitation and Prevention’. All are welcome to join this meeting … click HERE to join the meeting on Teams. Contact CWLTH@bournemouth.ac.uk for more information about the Centre.
The FLIE report:
FLIE joined colleagues from BU and Imperial College to present at the NK Fusion conference on Digital Education and AI in the 21st Century. We talked about the creation of our AI Literacy resources for staff and students and showcased some of the innovative practice of BU academics who have worked with us employing digital tools such as 360 cameras, immersive films and H5P interactive learning objects. It was a really interesting day with some really thought-provoking speakers.
Further information email Debbie Holley: dholley@bournemouth.ac.uk
The next CWLTH Research Seminar and Centre Meeting will be at 14:00-15:00 on Wednesday 13th November 2024. Dr (Principal Academic in Mental Health Nursing and CWLTH Workstream Lead for Mental Health and Psychosocial Care) will speak about ‘New directions in mental healthcare: international perspective’. Steve will be drawing on his experiences of working with colleagues and CWLTH members at Bern University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland. The second half of the meeting will be an opportunity to reflect on CWLTH activities and future plans. All are welcome to join this event. Click HERE to join the meeting and for more information contact CWLTH@Bournemouth.ac.uk.
on behalf of Professor Debbie Holley
I am delighted to report that Dr Michele Board, Dr Heidi Singleton and I were invited to share our virtual reality research as part of the Wessex Academic Health Science Network webinar on 16.03.2023. Dr Board presented her work on ‘walk through dementia’, which brings the reality of lived experiences places the viewer in the shoes of the person with dementia. More information about this projects and the collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Society are available from the ADRC website.
Dr Singleton and I presented on our work on the mental health 360 video scenarios we created for student nurse education which have been embedded within the curriculum.
Evaluated via Focus group discussions (n=6 students) and an online survey (n=33 thus far); with 94% of nursing students reporting that the videos were extremely or very useful for their learning.
“It flags up potential extra considerations in practice that you wouldn’t anticipate with just the theoretical teaching. You can better visualise.” (Student Nurse 31)
“It made me feel confident in how to interact with an individual who may be having a mental health breakdown.” (Student Nurse 15)
“It showed me that you can take time and check the correct information and repeat steps when assessing and treating a patient.” (Student Nurse 8)
The learning resources mean that students can link theory to practice and can repeat the activity at any point during their course and from any location.
Thanks to the wider team Ursula Rolfe, John Moran, Emma Collins and our former colleague Jasmine Snowden,
Team: Dr Heidi Singleton, Yaqing Cui, Dr Xiaosong Yang, Dr Emily Arden-Close, Professor Steven Ersser, Professor Debbie Holley, Dr Sarah Thomas, Richard Glithro, John Moran, Dr Andy Hodder and Amanda Roberts (Nottingham Support Group for Carers (NSG) of Children with Eczema).
Aim: To co-create a complex VR health intervention based on the guided imagery approach to treating eczema (Ersser et al., 2014); targeted at children (aged between 7 and 11 years of age) (complex intervention development). This intervention is not a medical device but addresses a clinical issue and can be used at hospital or in the home. Our processes and outputs will be congruent with some of the staging of complex intervention development advised by the Medical Research Council (2021).
Evidence from our small-scale PPI project (Singleton et al. 2022), points to the need for an interactive VR innovation that provides an immersive experience to distract from itchy eczema with minimal requirements for contact with the child’s face or hands. To tackle this problem, we will design and develop a prototype system of an interactive “mini-VR igloo headset”. We will work with the Department of Design and Engineering to design and develop the prototype.
In keeping with a person-based approach these ideas will be discussed with our PIER group and will form part of the developmental work with our Nottingham based charity stakeholder partner.
This Open Call HEIF funding will enable this cross faculty team to work together, with some additional paid staff, to accelerate and maximise the development of a complex intervention to enhance its potential for impact of this well-established VR Eczema project. It will also provide us with several prototypes to test at BU events.
Heidi, Steve and Debbie research as part of the Centre for Wellbeing & Long-Term Health, follow us at Twitter CWLTH_BU
L-R Dr Claire Young, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Service Lead; Dr Phil Morgan, Head of Nursing, Therapies and Quality; Morad Margoum (Interim Service Director DHC) Andy Sweetmore (CAMHS and BU) Professor Ann Luce (BU)
The aims of the symposium were to:
Morad Margoum, Intermin Service Director (DHC) and on the supervision team, welcomed the symposium delegates, comprising mental health experts and practitioners from across Dorset, school nurses, academics from the Bournemouth University mental health team.
Andy then reported on his systematic literature review, conducted covering publications from January 2004 to March 2024. The inclusion criteria encompassed children and young people aged 4 to 25 years, in educational or primary care settings, and studies reporting self harm outcomes. Definitions of self-harm underpinned the work:
The review highlighted a significant gap in robust, high-quality studies on self-harm interventions within educational and primary settings. The limited evidence base suggests potential benefits of school based interventions, but further research with rigorous methodologies is required. It was noted that Iatrogenic harm was not discussed. Interventions to support mental health conditions in any environment carries inherent risks, with Foulkes & Andrews (2023) finding that mental health support within schools may not be as effective or safe as initially presumed. Recent literature (Andrews et al. 2022; Harvey et al. 2023; Montero-Marin et al. 2023), also indicate potential post-intervention deterioration in school-based interventions. Even if only a small fraction of adolescents are adversely affected within a school, the widespread application of these interventions could result in significant harm to thousands, underscoring the importance of assessing even minor adverse effects at scale. Despite the NHS strategy of moving mental health initiatives rapidly into school, these interventions may make some young people worse. There isn’t one therapy which an evidence base points to that can reliably say will be effective, which offers limited treatment options for those who are trying to ensure a standardised provision.
Expert speakers offered their insights, followed by a panel discussion to seek comment, clarification and a focus for the lively debate that followed. The next steps include disseminating the insights and findings from the symposium to inform the prospective CAMHS clinical transformation plan, which aims to develop innovative approaches to supporting children and their families, as well as the broader strategy to address self-harm within local mental health services.
Andy Sweetmore is a match funded DHC/BU doctoral student, supervised by Dr Heidi Singleton (DNS) Professor Debbie Holley (DNS) and Professor Ann Luce (FMC)
Heidi and Debbie research as part of Centre for Wellbeing and Long Term Health (@CWLTH) and Ann the Centre for Science, Health, Data Communication Research (@SHDCResearch)