BU Research Blog

23 July 2023

Sociology journal seeks second book review editor

open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

The British Sociological Society’s (BSA) journal Sociological Research Online is seeking a new second book review editor. All Editors, including the book review editor, have to be BSA members throughout their term of office and previous engagement with the BSA is desirable. The term of office is three years with the possibility of an extension, starting mid-November 2023. The deadline for applications is 11th October 2013.

Sociological Research Online is published by the international social science publishing house SAGE. The editorial team has just been informed this week that the Impact Factor of the journal has increased to 1.6.

Interested candidates should submit a pro forma application of no more than 2 pages and a short CV. To receive a pro forma application, please contact Selina Hisir, BSA
Publications Coordinator, at email: sro.journal@britsoc.org.uk

As current book review editor I am very happy to talk to interested sociologists informally.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

Email: evteijlingen@bournemouth.ac.uk

17 July 2023

BU PhD student presents at Royal Life Saving Society event in London

conferences, international, PG research, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

FHSS PhD student Md. Shafkat Hossain was invited last week to speak at the event’Accelerating Action on Global Drowning Prevention’ in London. On the 12th July the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) hosted a meeting on 12 July at Marlborough House, home of the Commonwealth Secretariat. This event was a partnership with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), and included presentations from Dr David Meddings, Drowning Prevention Lead at the World Health Organization. Our PhD student Md Shafkat Hossain presented in the event, which was well attended by staff from various High Commissions in London, representatives from the NIHR Global Health Research Programme, UNICEF, the Ministry of Health and Social Care, the International Maritime Organisation.

Shafkat spoke about Bangladesh’s experience of and contribution to drowning prevention. He introduced the NIHR-funded Sonamoni project with the title ‘Prevention of drowning for under-2 years old in Bangladesh’. The Sonamoni project has been made possible thanks to a grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through their Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme. For more information, visit the NIHR website. Bournemouth University (BU) is the joint lead organisation for the project with Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) with as key partners the RNLI, the University of West of England, and the University of Southampton. BU’s involvement spans three faculties, namely the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, the Faculty of Science & Technology and the Bournemouth University Business School.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

16 July 2023

New ways of publishing: Qeios one more time!

innovation, international, open access, PG research, Publishing, Training, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

In May I wrote a BU Research Blog under the title ‘New ways of publishing?’ on the first time we published an academic paper in the post-review journal Qeios. The paper in question ‘The paper ‘Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review‘ [1] is part of Shraddha Manandhar’s Ph.D. study at the University of Huddersfield. Shraddha is supervised by the University of Huddersfield’s Prof. Philip Brown and Prof. Padam Simkhada and Bournemouth University’ Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. Today’s blog is an update on that novel publishing journey.

The first point to make is that our paper received twenty-two reviews, not two or three, but 22 different people read and commented on this paper. Sure, some reviews were better than others, some were more insightful, others were more generic, some seem to miss out points, or perhaps skimming the surface a little, but still twenty-two reviews! Secondly, by the nature of post-publication review we have taken the reviews to heart and submitted the second improved version of the paper [2]. The new reference for the paper is very similar to the first one, apart from the new submission data and the indication in the https that we are now on the second version [2]. Thirdly, each of the 22 reviews has its own DOI, and hence can easily be quoted. In the second version of the paper we have cited several of the online reviews [e.g. 3-6]. Last, but not least, Qeois offers Open Access and publishing is free of charge.

The great unknown for us how the academic world is going to view post-publication way of peer-reviewing. We realize that we have been lucky in getting 22 reviews for this paper. As part of learning about Qeios I read a 2022 paper in one of my areas of interest and submitted my own review [7]; this review was only the fifth for the paper.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

References:

Manandhar, S., Simkhada, P., Brown, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review, Qeios,
May 13, https://doi.org/10.32388/BX9WFC
Manandhar, S., Simkhada, P., Brown, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review, Qeios, July 16, https://www.qeios.com/read/BX9WFC.2
Wu, H. (2023). Review of: “Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review”, Qeios. https://doi:10.32388/NVW8C3
Ghosh, A. (2023). Review of: “Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review”, Qeios. https://doi:10.32388/O1JP7C
Dong, W. (2023). Review of: “Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review”, Qeios. https://doi:10.32388/V05O6G
Bhattacharya, L. (2023). Review of: “Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review”, Qeios. https://doi:10.32388/SPFPQH
van Teijlingen, E. (2023). Review of: “Research & Evaluation Framework 2022/23”, Qeios. https://doi.org/10.32388/N8TI2P

2 July 2023

Reflections from visiting Erasmus+ students to Bournemouth University

international Edwin van Teijlingen

Late last week my colleague Dr. Pramod Regmi, Senior Lecturer in International Health, returned home from his Erasmus+ exchange to Nepal. He brought home for me a copy of the MMIHS (Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences) Souvenir 2023, this outliens key events at the institution of the past year. One of the write ups in the Souvenir is from the seven MMIHS M.Sc. students in Public Health who visited Bournemouth University in late 2022-early 2023 for three months. The students have since all completed their M.Sc. in Public Health at MMIHS. Their story highlights some of the British features of student life which were new to them. These included the support they received from our SUBU (=students’ union), or registering with the NHS, and the UNIBUS app, as well as cultural celebrations during their time in Dorset, such Halloween, Christmas and New Year. They rave about the module Public Involvement in Research and specifically thank Dr. Mel Hughes and BU’s PIER (Public Involvement in Education & Research) team. Their second module at BU focused on Systematic Reviewing, they particularly mention the guidance and support received from Prof. Vanora Hundley in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) and our Faculty of Health & Social Sciences librarian Mr. Caspian Dugdale.

Unfortunately, the Erasmus+ scheme has come to an end, but Bournemouth University has just been awarded funding for a serious number of Turing Scheme exchanges. The latter is for BU students to go aboard, and this funding supports study exchanges, work placements, voluntary traineeships and other international extra-curricular or curricular activities worldwide for a minimum of 28 days and maximum of 12 months.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

21 June 2023

BU team meets with Green Tara Nepal in Kathmandu

international, PG research Edwin van Teijlingen

A team of academics from Bournemouth University (BU) on the Erasmus+ exchange met with the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Green Tara Nepal (GTN) in Kathmandu this week. BU has been collaborating with Green Tara Nepal for nearly 15 years. GTN is non-profit making charity, established in 2007, which focuses on research, publications, advocacy, training and social mobilization in a holistic community development approach. GTN works closely among the individuals and groups through health promotion using participatory and community development approaches. Over the years various BU academics have conducted many research projects with the support of GTN in Nepal, organised dissemination events and conferences, wrote grant applications, published papers, and so so.

The BU Erasmus+ visitors included FHSS academics Prof. Steve Ersser, Dr. Michele Board and Dr. Pramod Regmi, as well as the Head of BU International Partnerships Dr. Alistair Morrison and Global Engagement Officer Elaine Hakes, and from the department of Psychology Dr. Shanti Shanker, and last, but not least, FHSS Ph.D. student Yagya Adhikari.

I would personally like to say thank you very much for all the support I have received from GTN over the past two decades!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

18 June 2023

Global Consortium in Public Health meets in Huddersfield

international Edwin van Teijlingen

On Monday and Tuesday 18-19 June the University of Huddersfield will organize its Global Consortium in Public Health meeting. This meeting is the brain child of Prof. Padam Simkhada, he is Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University and based at the University of Huddersfield. The event brings together public health researchers and experts from the UK, the USA, Ghana, Nepal, India, Qatar and Brazil to discuss the latest developments and challenges in the field. The Global Consortium in Public Health is an international network of public health researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who are committed to advancing the field of public health through collaborative research, education, and advocacy. The consortium provides a platform for sharing best practices and building future collaborations.

On Monday 19th June Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen will be talking about the REF 2028 and the importance of strong international partnerships in the fields of research and education. BU’s Dr. Pramod Regmi was also invited to this event in Huddersfield, but he is on his way to Nepal as part of Bournemouth University’s Erasmus+ staff and student exchange with Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS).

14 June 2023

Bournemouth University mentioned in Pakistan

international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Last week The Aga Khan University (AKU) in Pakistan put a news story on its website highlighting a first for Pakistan. The reason for celebrating was that the Journal of Asian Midwives, one of the only two research journals hosted by The Aga Khan University, has been accepted for inclusion in Scopus. Scopus, which is part of the publishing house Elsevier, is the world’s largest electronic database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. The Journal of Asian Midwives is an Open Access journal and publishing is free. One of its three co-editors is based at Bournemouth University.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

4 June 2023

BU graduate speaks at 2023 World Health Assembly in Geneva

international, PG research, Women's Academic Network Edwin van Teijlingen

On Friday 26th May Dr. Sheetal Sharma (BU PhD awarded in 2017) was invited to speak at a Strategic Round Table “A safer and healthier tomorrow by restoring essential immunization today”, at the UN (United Nations) Palais during the 2023 World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switserland. The round table included the Director General of WHO (World Health Organization), the Head of Immunization of WHO & the CEO of GAVI Vaccine Alliance with ministers of health of Nepal, Moldova, Somalia, and other health representatives from Ghana and Canada. Sheetal said it was a great opportunity to share solutions to health and immunization equity as health services recover from the pandemic.

Sheetal’s PhD thesis Measuring what Works: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Women’s Groups on Maternal Health was supervised by Professors Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen, Associate Professor Catherine Angell, BU Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada and Dr Elisa Sicuri from the ISGlobal Foundation based in Barcelona, Spain.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women Health

3 June 2023

Using participatory asset mapping and PhotoVoice in Nepalese alcohol study

international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week we received an email from the editorial office of Perspectives in Public Health with congratulations on the acceptance of your paper ‘Participatory asset mapping and photovoice interviews to scope cultural and community resources to reduce alcohol harm in Chitwan, Nepal’ [1]. The lead researcher on this public health alcohol research project in Nepal is Dr. Ranjita Dhital, Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Health Studies in the Arts and Sciences Department at UCL (University College London).

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Nepal, morbidity and mortality risks are greater per litre of pure alcohol consumed than in higher-income countries. This is largely due to poverty, poor nutrition, adverse living conditions, and poor access to care. These inequities are made worse by the dearth of understanding of the most appropriate and cost-effective approaches to reduce alcohol-related harm in LMICs. Our study aims to stimulate new thinking on how cultural and community assets could be integrated to co-designed alcohol interventions for future evaluation in LMICs, through scoping the breadth of cultural and community assets in relation to alcohol use and to exploring attitudes towards alcohol and people experiences with it.

The journal Perspectives in Public Health is published by SAGE and the paper will be Open Access when it appears online. My previous alcohol studies have focused on students [2], Nepalese migrants living in the UK [3], and Public Health measures to reduced alcohol misuse in Scotland [4].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

Reference:

Dhital, R., Yoeli, H., Adhikari, A., Luitel, N.P., Nadkarni, A., van Teijlingen, E., Sin, J. (2023) Participatory asset mapping and photovoice interviews to scope cultural and community resources to reduce alcohol harm in Chitwan, Nepal, Perspectives in Public Health (accepted). DOI: 10.1177/17579139231180744).
Engs, R.C, van Teijlingen E (1997) Correlates of alcohol, tobacco & marijuana use among Scottish post-secondary helping profession students, Journal of Alcohol Studies, 58:435-44.
van Teijlingen E, Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P. (2009) Alcohol use among the Nepalese in the UK BMJ Rapid Response: bmj.com/cgi/eletters/339/oct20_1/b4028#223451
Ludbrook A, Godfrey C, Wyness L, Parrott S, Haw S, Napper M, van Teijlingen E. (2002) Effective & Cost-Effective Measures to Reduce Alcohol Misuse in Scotland: Lit Review, ISBN: 0755932803 www.alcoholinformation.isdscotland.org/alcohol_misuse/files/MeasureReduce_Full.pdf

29 May 2023

Congratulations to Heidi Singleton

PG research Edwin van Teijlingen

Dr. Heidi Singleton, Programme Lead for Children’s and Young People’s Nursing in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences had a paper from her PhD ‘Accounting for complexity in critical realist trials: the promise of PLS-SEM’ accepted this month by the Journal of Critical Realism. This journal is published by Taylor and Francis.

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

25 May 2023

Erasmus+ visitors from Nepal teaching at BU

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

This week we had the luxury of four exchange visitors from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Nepal who are here on the Erasmus+ scheme. Erasmus+ funds are a great way to build academic networks and gain experience of teaching and learning elsewhere. Global staff mobility, including training and teaching, leads to professional development and networking and brings great value to BU and our students, whilst also offering invaluable international experience for BU staff and postgraduate students in Nepal.

Today Prof. Sujan Marahatta, Dr. Sujata Sapkota and Dr. Sujan Gautam offered a workshop under the title ‘Introducing federalization in Nepal: What are the effects on its health system?’ All three academics are 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 the University of Sheffield and it is an collaboration with Bournemouth University, the University of Huddersfield, MMIHS and PHASE Nepal. This longitudinal interdisciplinary study is funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative [Grant ref. MR/T023554/1]. After highlighting the difference between ‘federalisation’ and ‘decentralisation’, the Nepalese academics briefly explained the political changes in the Nepal over the past decade or so. Followed by an outline of the project’s research methods and the key preliminary findings. The presenters focused on the data generated through a participatory method called River of Life, and from the policy analysis based on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Health System Building blocks. This project has resulted in three publications to date [1-3].

Our visitors got involved in a range of teaching activities, for example, Prof. Beenu Bista, Professor of Nursing at MMIHS, taught various groups of BU nursing students earlier this week, whilst Dr. Sujata Sapkota helped supervise and advise one of BU’s M.Sc. Public Health students for her dissertation project.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

References:

Sapkota, S., Panday, S., Wasti, S.P., Lee, A., Balen, J., et al. (2022) Health System Strengthening: The Role of Public Health in Federal Nepal, Journal of Nepal Public Health Association 7 (1): 36-42.
Rushton, S., Pandey, S., van Teijlingen, E., Subedi, M., Balen, J., et al. (2021) An Investigation into the Impact of Decentralization on the Health System of Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 7(1): 3–14. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v7i1.43146
Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Gautam, S., Ghimire S., Karki J.K., et al. (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)

19 May 2023

BU Workshop on Health Systems in Nepal

open access, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

You are invited to a two-hour ‘Workshop on Health Systems in Nepal’ at Bournemouth University (BU) on Thursday 25^th May in the Bournemouth Gateway Building (BGB room 315) starting at 14.00, aiming to finish at 16.00. We have the pleasure of welcoming three academic visitors from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Kathmandu who are at BU on an Erasmus+ exchange.

‘Prof. Sujan Marahatta, Dr. Sujata Sapkota and Dr. Sujan Gautam from MMIHS are part of an international project examining the consequences for the health system of Nepal’s move to a federal government structure. This project, launched in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, is led by the University of Sheffield, in collaboration with BU, the University of Huddersfield, PHASE Nepal and MMIHS. This nearly four-year project is UK-funded by the MRC (Medical Research Council), the Wellcome Trust and DFID (now called Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office [FCDO]) under the Health Systems Research Initiative.

The project has resulted in several publications, all in Open Access journals. The first of three papers introduced the research project ‘The impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system: a longitudinal analysis’ [1], the second focused on COVID-19 when examining the effects of changing Nepal’s constitution towards a federal republic on its health system [2], and the third one highlighted Public Health approaches around the ongoing federalisation of the state of Nepal and the associated decentralisation processes in its health system [3].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (formerly CMMPH)

References:

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 Nepal Public Health Association 7 (1): 36-42.
Rushton, S., Pandey, S., van Teijlingen, E., Subedi, M., Balen, J., Karki, J., Simkhada, P. on behalf of the Nepal Federal Health System Team (2021) An Investigation into the Impact of Decentralization on the Health System of Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 7(1): 3–14. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v7i1.43146
Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Gautam, S., Ghimire S., Karki J.K., Lee A.C., Marahatta S.B., Pandey S., Pohl G., Ruston S., Sapkota S., Simkhada P.P., Subedi M., van Teijlingen E.R., on behalf of the NFHS 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)

14 May 2023

New ways of publishing?

international, open access, PG research, Publishing, student research, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Last we took a new step into the academic publishing by submitting a paper to Qeios. This Open Access journal publishes papers for free, more or less immediately and after the paper has appeared online peer-reviewers are being invited. The paper ‘Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review‘ [1] is part of Shraddha Manandhar’s Ph.D. study at the University of Huddersfield. Her supervisors are Huddersfield’s Prof. Philip Brown and Prof. Padam Simkhada and Bournemouth University’ Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. This journal uses AI to find and invite reviewers, and these reviews will the be are published alongside our article. Should we advised by reviewers to make changes, edits or improvements the next version of the paper will be published online alongside the original submission and the reviews.

We have had some previous experience with the process of post-publication review, in 2017 BU’s Dr. Sarah Collard and Prof. van Teijlingen wrote a referee report for F1000Research after it published a methods paper on online focus groups [2]. More recently we published a COVID-19 paper in a so-called pre-print journal SSRN [3], but this was later in published in a traditional peer-reviewed journal called Scientific Reports [4], part of the Nature publishing family.

References

Manandhar, S., Simkhada, P., Brown, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review, Qeios,
May 13, https://doi.org/10.32388/BX9WFC
Collard, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Referee Report For: Insights for conducting real-time focus groups online using a web conferencing service [version 2; referees: 2 approved]. F1000Research 6:122 (doi: 10.5256/f1000research.11236.r21467) https://f1000research.com/articles/6-122/v1#referee-response-21467
Parajuli, R.R., Mishra, B., Banstola, A., Ghimire, B.R., Poudel, S., Sharma, K., Dixit, S.M., Shah, S., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., (2020) Multidisciplinary Approach to COVID-19 Risk Communication: A Framework and Tool for Individual and Regional Risk Assessment. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3634190 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3634190
Parajuli, R.R., Mishra, B., Banstola, A. et al. Multidisciplinary approach to COVID-19 risk communication: a framework and tool for individual and regional risk assessment. Sci Rep 10, 21650 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78779-0

9 May 2023

The Journal of Asian Midwives accepted for inclusion by Scopus

international, Knowledge Exchange, open access, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today one of my co-editors of the Journal of Asian Midwives emailed me to announce that our journal has been accepted for inclusion by Scopus.

Scopus, which is owned by the publishing house Elsevier, is the world’s largest electronic database of peer-reviewed literature. The Scopus assessors of our application made some very nice comments about the Journal of Asian Midwives, for example that it:

“consistently includes articles that are academically sound and relevant to an international academic or professional audience in the field. The journal has scholarly relevance as evidenced by citations in other journals currently covered by Scopus… The journal has clear aims and scope/journal policies that are consistent with the journal’s content. Although the scope of this journal is narrow, it addresses the need of an important niche audience.”

We are very proud of this achievement and we, as editors (Prof. Rafat Jan, Ms. Kiran Mubeen, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, with editorial assistant Ms. Abeer Musaddique), thank all our supporters, especially the library staff at The Aga Khan University in Pakistan, our reviewers, our authors and of course, you, our readers! I personally like to thank our former CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health) PhD student Dr. Sheetal Sharma for suggesting many years ago that I might like to help this, at the time, new journal. It is a proper well-run peer-reviewed journal, and I know that from personal experience, as a few years ago one of the papers on which I am a co-author was rejected after peer review by ‘my’ journal!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

Co-editor Journal of Asian Midwives

6 May 2023

New COVID-19 paper on Nepal

BRIAN, international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday Plos ONE published our latest study on the health system in Nepal under the title ‘Barriers in accessing family planning services in Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study‘ [1]. This qualitative study, in an Open Access journal, explores what sorts of barriers are faced by women needing family planning services in Nepal during the pandemic. It was conducted in five districts of Nepal. Telephonic in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 women of reproductive age (18–49 years) who were the regular clients of family planning services. Data were coded deductively using the preexisting themes based on a socio-ecological model (e.g., individual, family, community, and health-facility levels).

The paper reports that individual level barriers included low self-confidence, inadequate knowledge on COVID-19, myths and misconception related to COVID-19, limited access to family planning services, low priority to sexual and reproductive health services, low autonomy in family and limited financial ability. Family level barriers comprised partner’s support, social stigma, increased time at home with husbands or parents, not accepting family planning services as essential health services, financial hardship due to loss of jobs, and communication with in-laws. Movement restrictions and transportation hindering access, unsecured feeling, violation of privacy, and obstacles from security personnel were the community level barriers and unavailability of preferred choice of contraception, increased waiting time, limited outreach services by community health workers, limited physical infrastructures, the behavior of health workers, stock out of commodities, and absence of health workers were health facility level barriers.

The authors conclude that policymakers and programme managers should consider strategies to ensure continued availability of the full method mix during emergency, particularly since disruptions may go unnoticed and strengthen the provision of services through alternative service delivery channels to ensure sustained uptake of such services in this sort of pandemic.

This is the latest addition to the pool of academic papers published by Bournemouth University academics on the effects of COVID-19 on health care in Nepal or issues related to Nepal [2-11].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

References:

Sigdel A, Bista A, Sapkota H, van Teijlingen E (2023) Barriers in accessing family planning services in Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study. PLoS ONE 18(5): e0285248. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285248
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.
Regmi, P., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, N., Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Fear, Stigma and Othering: The Impact of COVID-19 Rumours on Returnee Migrants and Muslim Populations of Nepal, International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 19(15), 8986.
Simkhada, P., Tamang, P., Timilsina, L., Simkhada, B., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E., Sah, S.K., Wasti, S.P. (2022) Factors Influencing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Nepali in the UK: A Qualitative Study, Vaccine 10(5): 780. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10050780
Khanal, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Sharma, M.K., Acharya, J., Sharma, C. (2021) Perceived threats towards COVID-19 pandemic among Nepali migrant workers returned from India, Journal of Health Promotion 9(1):87-99.
Wasti, SP., Simkhada, P., Magar, S.A., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) Nepalese Health System Response to Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic, Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences 3(1): 98-104.
Simkhada, P., Mahato, P., Tamang, P., van Teijlingen, E., Shahi, P. (2020) The Role of Health Promotion during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Health Promotion, 8:1-4. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v8i0.32964
Parajuli, R.R., Mishra, B., Banstola, A., Ghimire, B.R., Poudel, S., Sharma, K., Dixit, S.M., Shah, S., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2020) Multidisciplinary Approach to COVID-19 Risk Communication: A Framework and Tool for Individual and Regional Risk Assessment. Scientific Reports 10: 21650
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.
Mahato, P., Tamang, P., Shahi, P., Aryal, N., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2020) Effects of COVID-19 during lockdown in Nepal, Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences 2(2):1-5.
Tamang, P., Mahato, P., Shahi, P., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Amgain, K. (2020) COVID-19 Quarantine: A Key Part of Prevention in Nepal. Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences 3(1):1-14.

5 May 2023

Measuring Health Literacy & Health Promotion in Adolescents

international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Our team published the article ‘Systematic Review of Health Literacy and Health Promotion in School-Aged Adolescents‘ in the Journal of Education and Community Health [1]. The authors include a Bournemouth University PhD graduate Dr. Jib Acharya and a former BU member of staff Dr. Cate Wood.

This paper identified gaps in adolescent health literacy (AHL) measurements, as well as how the health literacy (HL) level is related to health promotion (HP) aspects. This study aimed to examine the tools used to measure HL and determine its relation with HP among adolescents. In this review three databases were searched for papers published between January 2016, and January 2021. In this review, 373 articles were identified and after removing duplicates and screening titles and abstracts of articles, 49 full texts were selected for full-text reading. After appraisal 23 papers were included in the synthesis.

The paper reports that of these 23 papers, 21 focused on assessing AHL measures, and 15 addressed the association between AHL and HP. Seven studies used the HL School-Aged Children instrument. The findings suggested that the methodological and conceptual underpinnings of HL measures are insufficient. Furthermore, HL acts as an independent and positive mediator for many facets of HP. Overall, this review offers a warning to practitioners and educationists interested in measuring HL as the number of measurement tools is substantial with different tools applying different scales.

Congratulations to all.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

Reference:

Khanal SP, Budhathoki CB, Okan O, van Teijlingen E, Sharma MK, Acharya J, Wood C. Systematic review of health literacy and health promotion in school-aged adolescents. Journal of Education & Community Health. 2023; 10(1):49-57. doi:10.34172/jech.2023.1982

3 May 2023

Erasmus exchange visit to Nepal by Dr. Jon Williams

Knowledge Exchange Edwin van Teijlingen

Dr Jonathan Williams, Principal Academic and Deputy Head of the Department of Rehabilitation & Sports Science is the latest BU academic to visit Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Nepal as part of the Erasmus+ exchange funding. Yesterday he run a workshop in Kathmandu on how to conduct a Literature Review for Health Professionals. This session was well attended by medical doctors at Manmohan Memorial Teaching Hospital.

The workshop was organised buy Prof. Sujan Marahatta at MMIHS, who is also Visiting Faculty member in FHSS. BU is currently in the process of renewing its MoA with MMIHS, to continue working together after this successful Erasmus+ programme.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

1 May 2023

PhD paper on health management in pre-Taliban Afghanistan

BRIAN, international, open access, PG research, Publishing, student research, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday FHSS graduate Dr. Shaqaieq Ashrafi Dost heard from Razi International Medical Journal the the paper from her Ph.D. study had been accepted for publication. Her paper ‘Management capacity in the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) Afghanistan: Political and socio-cultural issues’ is based on a mixed-methods case-study was conducted with staff at the Afghan Ministry of Public Health. The Ph.D. study explores MoPH’s management capacity. Interviews were conducted with 12 senior staff and qualitative data were analysed thematically. A quantitative survey, covering directors of 30 departments, was analysed using descriptive statistics.

The paper reports that management capacity was generally weak. Key appointments including directors were subject to political interference and many directors appointed by politicians lacked the skills to manage well. Consequently, those directors were not able to support employees appropriately or to create a healthy work environment. The respondents reported that there were strong socio-cultural influences such as nepotism and favouritism. Often employees believed they were not treated consistently or fairly. This was compounded by overly complex administrative systems. The authors concluded that the Afghan government needs to appoint competent and committed staff who can recognize/address the gaps in the functioning of the Ministry, especially the negative political and socio-cultural practices that undermine effectiveness.The reader needs to bear in mind that this Ph.D. study was conducted prior to the 2021 takeover by the Taliban. Putting the paper’s conclusion in perspective.

Razi International Medical Journal founded in 2021 is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal from Afghanistan that aims to impact public health and global health and distributed internationally. The journal is Open Access and published in electronic and paper-based format twice a year, and there is no article publishing charge (APCs).

Tagged / Edwin-blog-post

Reflections from visiting Erasmus+ students to Bournemouth University

BU team meets with Green Tara Nepal in Kathmandu

Bournemouth University mentioned in Pakistan

BU graduate speaks at 2023 World Health Assembly in Geneva

Congratulations to Heidi Singleton

The Journal of Asian Midwives accepted for inclusion by Scopus

Erasmus exchange visit to Nepal by Dr. Jon Williams

PhD paper on health management in pre-Taliban Afghanistan

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