Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
Exciting news from the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre.We are really excited to announce that our Nutrition and Dementia Toolkit has been shortlisted as part of the 2019 CN Awards.
Please vote for us at https://nutrition2me.com/cn-awards/shortlist/
Deadline is the 22nd July.
Today ResearchGate alerted us that our paper ‘Nepalese Trekking Guides: A Quantitative Study of Sexual Health Knowledge And Sexual Behaviour’ [1] has been cited 300 times. This paper links between Tourism and Public Health in the field of sexually transmitted infections in travellers and tourism workers. This article, in an Open Access journal, is co-authored by BU’s Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen with BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada and Psychology colleagues from the University of Southampton.
This study assessed sexual behaviour, knowledge and condom use among male trekking guides in Nepal. A questionnaire (n=324) was administered to Nepali men working as mountain trekking guides. Most respondents (59%) had initiated sex before the age of 18. Most (84 %) reported 
sexual relations with a woman other than their partner, 46% reported foreign partners, 43% had Nepalese partners, and 28% had concurrent foreign and Nepalese partners. Most (70 %) reported ever having sex with a foreign woman and two-thirds had had sexual intercourse with foreign women in the previous 12 months. Participants’ age, education status, age of first sex, smoking and drinking habits and English proficiency were significant predictors of having sex with foreign women. About 60% reported condom use during their most recent occasion of extra-marital sex. A similar proportion had used a condom during last sexual intercourse with a foreign woman.
The likelihood of condom use was associated with a guide’s age, educational level, ethnicity, age of first sex and work experience. Most trekking guides reported sexual relations with foreign women as well as irregular use of condoms. Although sexual health knowledge about among trekking guides is high, some misconceptions still result in unsafe sex. Hence there is an urgent need to revise the existing training for trekking guides and implement appropriate health promotion programmes.
Reference:
A ‘UK Local Information Pack‘ will be introduced on the 5 June 2019 to support the set-up of NHS / HSC research in the UK.
The ‘UK Local Information Pack’ is the set of documents that NHS / HSC organisations use to formally start preparing to deliver the study. You can find more information here, including what comprises the pack. All researchers wishing to set-up their study at an NHS/HSC site from 5 June, will need to be aware of this change.
Researchers and research teams may be aware of a document called the ‘Statement of Activities’ – this is essentially a document that allows the sponsor to make clear to the research site, what activities will be undertaken locally. The document can also act as the agreement between the sponsor and site. Researchers setting up their study before 5 June should continue to use this document.
From 5 June the Statement of Activities will be replaced by a document called the ‘Organisation Information Document‘. For non-commercially sponsored studies, that are not clinical trials or clinical investigations, the ‘Organisation Information Document’ should be used as the agreement between sponsor and participating NHS / HSC organisation.
Another feature of the UK Local Information Pack is the inclusion of a delegation log template, which is intended to be used at participating NHS / HSC organisations. This will allow NHS/HSC organisations to locally record who will be working on the study and who is authorised to undertake study tasks.
For non-commercially sponsored studies studies an IRAS Schedule of Events or a SoECAT will be a part of the IRAS Form submission and is used in the UK Local Information Pack as a way of providing clarity to participating NHS / HSC organisations on the cost attributions associated with a study.
Guidance on the use of the UK Local Information Pack has now been published in the Site Specific page of IRAS Help to help applicants get ready for the change.
If you are making an IRAS Form submission or planning to set up research in an NHS / HSC organisation from 5 June 2019 please read the transition guidance so that you prepare the correct materials.
If you have any queries regarding any of the information provided above, or would like some guidance with regard to implementing your research in a healthcare setting – please get in touch with BU’s Research Ethics team.
You can also take a look at the Clinical Governance blog for documents, links and training opportunities.
The article titled “The effects of 8 weeks of inspiratory muscle training on the balance of healthy older adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study” has been published by Physiological Reports.
It is the first research to describe the effects of inspiratory muscle training (i.e. breathing exercises that improve the strength of inspiratory muscles) on static and dynamic balance (measured with the clinical tool mini-BEST) and functional mobility (such as Timed Up and Go and 5 sit to stand tasks) with community dwellers older adults (aged 65+).
The research is part of Francesco Ferraro PhD journey. Journey guided with the supervision of Professor Alison McConnell, Dr James Gavin and Tom Wainwright
The article is now fully available as open access here
https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.14076
To examine the effects of 8‐week unsupervised, home‐based inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on the balance and physical performance of healthy older adults. Fifty‐nine participants (74 ± 6 years) were assigned randomly in a double‐blinded fashion to either IMT or sham‐IMT, using a pressure threshold loading device. The IMT group performed 30‐breath twice daily at ~50% of maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP). The sham‐IMT group performed 60‐breaths once daily at ~15% MIP; training was home‐based and unsupervised, with adherence self‐reported through training diaries. Respiratory outcomes were assessed pre‐ and postintervention, including forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume, peak inspiratory flow rate (PIFR), MIP, and inspiratory peak power. Balance and physical performance outcomes were measured using the shortened version of the Balance Evaluation System test (mini‐BEST), Biodex® postural stability test, timed up and go, five sit‐to‐stand, isometric “sit‐up” and Biering–Sørensen tests. Between‐group effects were examined using two‐way repeated measures ANOVA, with Bonferroni correction. After 8‐week, the IMT group demonstrated greater improvements (P ≤ 0.05) in: PIFR (IMT = 0.9 ± 0.3 L sec−1; sham‐IMT = 0.3 L sec−1); mini‐BEST (IMT = 3.7 ± 1.3; sham‐IMT = 0.5 ± 0.9) and Biering–Sørensen (IMT = 62.9 ± 6.4 sec; sham‐IMT = 24.3 ± 1.4 sec) tests. The authors concluded that twice daily unsupervised, home‐based IMT is feasible and enhances inspiratory muscle function and balance for community‐dwelling older adults.
Yesterday the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology published its latest issue which included the paper on ‘Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among the Flood Affected Population in Indian Subcontinent’ [1]. This Short Communication is co-authored by Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and two members of the Visiting Faculty in our Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, namely: Prof. Padam Simkhada and Dr. Brijesh Sathian. The Nepal Journal of Epidemiology is an Open Access journal hence this paper is freely available for anybody with internet access to read.
Reference:
BU’s Dr. Bibha Simkhada’s paper ‘Factors affecting the utilisation of antenatal care in developing countries: a systematic review of the literature’ [1] is currently the 27th most cited paper in the Journal of Advanced Nursing. This is great achievement considering that the journal has published nearly ten thousand articles since its inception (to be precise 9,847). The Journal of Advanced Nursing (published by Wiley) is one of the prestigious journals in the nursing field. This extremely well-cited paper was part of Bibha’s Ph.D. study at the University of Aberdeen. Dr. Bibha Simkhada is Lecturer in Adult Nursing in the Department of Nursing and Clinical Sciences
. One of her co-authors also works at BU, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and a second co-author, Prof. Padam Simkhada from Liverpool John Moores University is Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. The third co-author Dr. Maureen Porter retired a few years ago.
Reference:
Looking at the SCOPUS data for 5 May 2019 on the International Day of the Midwife showed that the theoretical paper ‘Risk, Theory, Social & Medical Models: critical analysis of the concept of risk in maternity care’ [1] is in the top ten mosted quoted articles in Midwifery. Now in its 35th year, Midwifery is an international journal published by Elsevier. Since its inception in 1985 it has published 2,626 papers, and our paper ”Risk, Theory, Social & Medical Models’ has now been cited by 108 papers, making it the eighth most cited article. 
Professor Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)
Reference:
Today BU’s professor Edwin van Teijlingen and FHSS (Faculty of Health & Social Sciences) and Visiting Faculty Jillian Ireland presented their work at NorNAM (Nordic Network of Academic Midwives). The newly created network met in Reykjavik, Iceland for a three-day course on theories and models for midwifery. Prof. van Teijlingen spoke about the medical/social model of pregnancy & childbirth and Jillian, who is also Professional Midwifery Advocate at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, presented the A-EQUIP model which is widely used in the UK.
Social scientists can bring different perspectives and theoretical understandings to research into midwifery and maternity care. Today’s focus was on the social and medical model [1-5]. The medical model is ‘easy’ to understand, widely used in the media, based on medical science and claims to rely largely on objective measurement of symptoms and clinical observation. It offers individual treatment solutions for individual patients. The social model argues that there is inter-dependency between the ill person and their immediate and wider environment. The social model focuses on everyday life and the social, socio-economic, cultural and environmental aspects of health. It considers a wider range of factors that affect health, such as lifestyle, gender, poverty (or health inequality more generally), discrimination, and where and how we live. The social model is generally not individualist, but complex and multi-dimensional and often does not offer easy solutions. Solutions to health problem can be found at a population level and hence can be political or social as well as, for example, changes in the individual’s lifestyle.
The social model maintains that pregnancy and childbirth are largely physiological events that occur in most women’s lives. Following this line of thinking, the social model argues that pregnancy and childbirth do not normally need medical intervention or the transfer to hospital. A social model of care accepts childbirth as a normal social event in which preventative measures can be used. The medical model portrays a different view, namely that childbirth is potentially pathological, and therefore every woman is potentially at risk when she is pregnant and/or in labour. In short the medical model wants us to believe that pregnancy and childbirth are only safe in retrospect.
The medical model is often portrayed in the media as the most appropriate and hence ‘safe’ approach to pregnancy and childbirth and not only ‘controls’ women, but also their families, friends and health care providers. Understanding key sociological models of pregnancy and childbirth can help politicians, journalists, policy-makers, midwives, doctors, and other health care providers, childbirth activists as well as pregnant women and new mothers (and their partners) to put issues around ‘normal birth’ into perspective.
References:
‘The #WhyWeDoResearch campaign was established in December 2014 by Claire Whitehouse (@ClaireW_UK), Lead Nurse for Research at The James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (JPUH). The aim is to raise research awareness and opportunities to staff, patients and the public, and to start a conversation about research between all involved. ‘
The #whywedoresearch Tweetfest is back with 2 weeks worth of a wide range of topics, all exploring why or how we do research. The topics vary from ‘reaching out to involve communities in research’, to ‘digital health & research’, to ‘Clinical Academic careers’.
The Tweetfest is scheduled to being Monday 13th May with the last day being Friday 24th May.
Join in by clicking this link, which shows the range of topics on offer and when to take part. Happy tweeting!
The Health Research Authority (HRA) has formed the Research Transparency Strategy Group in response to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Report on clinical trials transparency.
You can read more about the first meeting of the expert group, including the minutes by clicking here
In relation to this, the HRA’s Director of Policy, Juliet Tizzard has released a blog post entitled What’s the point of research transparency? You can read the post here.
BU has access to the ClinicalTrials.gov system so get in touch if you would like access. This is a great opportunity to register your study and study results in the public domain. On ClinicalTrials.gov, it is free to do so.
Despite the name, the system may be used for other clinical research projects.
The AXA Research Fund announced new AXA Fellowship campaign. It will remain open until May 20, 2019 at 04:00 pm (Paris, France time).
The AXA Fellowship is a funding scheme aiming at supporting young promising researchers on a priority topic aligned with AXA and the Society – ‘Towards an Improved and Better Supported Mental Health’.
The campaign is dedicated to young Post-Doctoral Fellows – candidates should be maximum PhD+ 5 years with proven scientific excellence and high potential for innovation, transformation and dissemination. Selected projects will be supported for an amount of 125.000€ over 2 years (selection rate in 2018 was 20%). More details can be found on AXA website.
Each institution is eligible to submit maximum ONE expression of interest per call. To avoid more than one expressions of interest (what will lead to disqualification), submission process will be coordinated by RDS.
If you are interested to apply, please contact your research facilitator by 6 May 2019. In case of multiple expressions of interest internal competition will be organised.
BU’s researchers Dr. Pramod Raj Regmi and Dr. Nirmal Aryal have recently visited Malaysia for a consultation meeting. They organised meetings with stakeholders working on migration health related and Nepali migrant workers as Public Patient Involvement (PPI ) in Malaysia. These meetings discussed risk factors for sudden nocturnal deaths and kidney disease among Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia.
More than 350 Nepali migrant workers die in Malaysia every year. Nearly one-fourth of them die from cardiovascular problems often during their sleep, many without previous signs or illnesses. This also seems to be the case in South Asian workers in the Middle-East. The cause of death is hitherto unknown. During a consultation meeting on 19th April, participants suggested several possible causes of these deaths and strongly supported the idea of carrying out verbal autopsy with close friends, employers, roommates, etc. The emerging health issue of kidney health risk among Nepali migrant workers and its risk factors were also discussed. A total of 25 participants attended the meeting. Participants from many different disciplines [1], including from migration health researchers from several universities, migrant workers’ non-governmental organizations (NGO), the Malaysian Ministry of Health, and International Organization for Migration (IOM) Malaysia. FHSS’s Drs Aryal and Regmi facilitated the consultation workshops.
On the same day, Dr. Regmi and Dr. Aryal met with the Nepali ambassador to Malaysia Mr. Udaya Raj Pandey and his team and discussed migration issues. The Nepali Embassy in Malaysia is aware of these health problems and the ambassador committed to provide any support required for further investigation in these issues.
On 20th April, another PPI was carried out among Nepali migrant workers at their living quarters. Around 20 Nepali migrant workers participated. During this meeting, issues of sudden nocturnal deaths and acceptability and feasibility of verbal autopsy tools, problem of kidney disease and its possible triggers were discussed. The research into the usefulness of verbal autopsy tool as a good example of BU’s FUSION, since research can lead to a change in practice regarding health of migrant workers through better education of the migrant community, their left-behind families and NGOs working in the field.
These consultation meeting and PPI were intended to develop basis for further research in these area and build collaboration in Malaysia. The NGOs North-South Initiatives (Mr. Adrian Pereira and his team) and Migrant Workers’ Health Alliance (Dr. Erwin Martinez Faller and his team) have locally co-ordinated these events. These activities were conducted from the QR pump-priming fund awarded to Dr. Aryal this year in FHSS.
Finally, on 21st April, Dr. Regmi and Dr. Aryal were invited to the Philippine Embassy to share knowledge on mental health risk among migrant workers. They have presented findings of previous BU’s research on it as well as existing evidence on mental health risk on migrant workers and their left-behinds. More than 60 Filipino migrant workers attended the event.
As Malaysia is a popular destination for migrant workers from Asia Pacific and South Asia (there are currently more than 700,000 Nepali workers in Malaysia), these consultations will play a significant role in designing and developing grant applications to promote health and wellbeing of migrant workers. This consultation meeting builds on recent work on the topic conducted at BU [2-14] as highlighted in the recent Research Brief Migration and Health (Jan. 2019).
References:
Are you interested in running your own research project within the NHS? Good Clinical Practice, or ‘GCP’, is a requirement for those wishing to work on clinical research projects in a healthcare setting.
GCP is the international ethical, scientific and practical standard to which all clinical research is conducted. By undertaking GCP, you’re able to demonstrate the rights, safety and wellbeing of your research participants are protected, and that the data collected are reliable.
The next GCP full day session is scheduled for Wednesday 15th May, at Bournemouth University, Lansdowne Campus (Bournemouth House) – 8:45am – 4:30pm.
The day will comprise of the following sessions:
If you’re interested in booking a place, please contact Research Ethics.
Remember that support is on offer at BU if you are thinking of introducing your research ideas into the NHS – email the Research Ethics mailbox, and take a look at the Clinical Governance blog.
Following the successful Bournemouth University’s visit to Vietnam as part of the Global Festival of Learning Great as highlighted in the Daily Echo, Thanh-Hang Dinh a FHSS MSc in Public Health graduate had an article accepted on her research dissertation. Her paper ‘Factors influencing engagement in premarital sex among Vietnamese young adults: a qualitative study’ was published ‘online first’ this week in the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine & Health. 
The paper highlights the rising trend of sexual engagement among Vietnamese young adults in recent years, and its potential health consequences. In order to prevent such consequences and further promote health, an in-depth understanding of factors influencing young people to have premarital sex would be valuable. The qualitative analysis ‘generated’ six emergent themes: (a) desire as the ‘direct cause’; (b) the facilitators; (c) social changes; (d) media; (e) peer and (f) absence of family. The latter four themes are ‘indirect causes’ that influence through desire and the facilitators. The study concluded that there is a need for a reliable source of information to be tailor-designed to suit young people. Additionally, the stigma of talking about sex needs to be reduced to allow for more open discussions on sex, True Pheromones, and sexual health.
After completing her MSc at BU Thanh-Hang Dinh (known as Hana to her fellow students) started working at the famous Pasteur Institute Nha Trang in Vietnam.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
A ‘UK Local Information Pack‘ will be introduced on the 5 June 2019 to support the set-up of NHS / HSC research in the UK.
The ‘UK Local Information Pack’ is the set of documents that NHS / HSC organisations use to formally start preparing to deliver the study. You can find more information here, including what comprises the pack. All researchers wishing to set-up their study at an NHS/HSC site from 5 June, will need to be aware of this change.
Researchers and research teams may be aware of a document called the ‘Statement of Activities’ – this is essentially a document that allows the sponsor to make clear to the research site, what activities will be undertaken locally. The document can also act as the agreement between the sponsor and site. Researchers setting up their study before 5 June should continue to use this document.
From 5 June the Statement of Activities will be replaced by a document called the ‘Organisation Information Document‘. For non-commercially sponsored studies, that are not clinical trials or clinical investigations, the ‘Organisation Information Document’ should be used as the agreement between sponsor and participating NHS / HSC organisation.
Another feature of the UK Local Information Pack is the inclusion of a delegation log template, which is intended to be used at participating NHS / HSC organisations. This will allow NHS/HSC organisations to locally record who will be working on the study and who is authorised to undertake study tasks.
For non-commercially sponsored studies studies an IRAS Schedule of Events or a SoECAT will be a part of the IRAS Form submission and is used in the UK Local Information Pack as a way of providing clarity to participating NHS / HSC organisations on the cost attributions associated with a study.
Guidance on the use of the UK Local Information Pack has now been published in the Site Specific page of IRAS Help to help applicants get ready for the change.
If you are making an IRAS Form submission or planning to set up research in an NHS / HSC organisation from 5 June 2019 please read the transition guidance so that you prepare the correct materials.
If you have any queries regarding any of the information provided above, or would like some guidance with regard to implementing your research in a healthcare setting – please get in touch with BU’s Research Ethics team.
You can also take a look at the Clinical Governance blog for documents, links and training opportunities.
Congratulations to Dr. Alison Taylor and her Ph.D. supervisors on the acceptance of the paper ‘’Scrutinised, judged and sabotaged’: A qualitative video diary study of first-time breastfeeding mothers’ by Midwifery (published by Elsevier) [1]. This is the second paper from Alison’s extremely interesting Ph.D. research, the first one was accepted late last year. The first article ‘The therapeutic role of video diaries: A qualitative study involving breastfeeding mothers’ was accepted by the international journal Women & Birth [2]. Alison is Senior Lecturer in Midwifery in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) and Infant Feeding Lead in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. Her co-authors are Professor Emerita Jo Alexander, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (in CMMPH) and Prof. Kath Ryan based at the University of Reading.
Reference:
Congratulations to BU’s Paul Fairbairn, Fotini Tsofliou and Andrew Johnson who together with former BU academic Simon Dyall (now at the University of Roehampton) published their latest paper in the journal Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids . This scientific paper is called: ‘Combining a high DHA multi-nutrient supplement with aerobic exercise: Protocol for a randomised controlled study assessing mobility and cognitive function in older women‘.
Well done.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
Researchers from BU wishing to conduct their research within NHS premises will require the appropriate documentation. There is plenty of guidance available to guide researchers through these processes.
The Human Resources (HR) Good Practice Resource Pack has been reviewed and updated in light of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into force in the UK on 25 May 2018.
The HR Good Practice Resource Pack describes the process for handling HR arrangements for researchers and provides a streamlined approach for confirming details of the pre-engagement checks they have undergone with the NHS.
Changes to the document include:
You can find all the updated documents here along with the RDS workflow here surrounding staffing and delegation.
Remember that there is guidance available at BU with regard to implementing your research in a healthcare setting. Take a look at the Clinical Governance blog for documents, links and training opportunities. You can also get in touch with BU’s Research Ethics team with any queries.
BU staff can login below:
Paper on Nepal reaching 5,000 readers
First paper by PhD student
Update: ESRC Festival Info Session Rescheduled to Wednesday 23 April 11am-12pm
Prof. Jonathan Parker on social welfare
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025
Horizon Europe info days 2025 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025
Update on UKRO services
European research project exploring use of ‘virtual twins’ to better manage metabolic associated fatty liver disease
BU Professor has been invited to a series of plenary and invited lectures.
Research Information Network