BU Research Blog

4 January 2017

Media coverage in Nepal

international, Knowledge Transfer, PG research, Public engagement, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday’s health promotion dissemination meeting in Kathmandu has been widely reported in the national media in Nepal. Some of the national media focused largely (but not solely) on the words of the Minister of Health Mr Thapa, whilst the television news reports included the organisers and presenters at the event. The Green Tara Nepal Health Promotion Dissemination conference in Kathmandu was supported by the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health at BU and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Green Tara Trust UK (a Buddhist charity based in London). BU has been working with Green Tara Nepal for the past eight years on a number of maternal health promotion projects in rural Nepal. Overall the media in Nepal had difficulty understanding the notion of ‘health promotion’, therefore many journalists focused on health services as this was mentioned by the Minister of Health.

The event was also attended by BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at LJMU), CMMPH PhD student Preeti Mahato and FHSS Post-Doc. Dr. Pramod Regmi.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

3 January 2017

Health Promotion feedback meeting in Kathmandu

conferences, international, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Today the charity Green Tara Nepal (GTN) in collaboration with two UK universities, BU and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) presented the findings of its long-term maternal project plus a review of health promotion in (a) government policies and strategies and (b) the curricula of university-based health courses in Nepal. The event in Hotel Yellow Pagoda was attended by the Nepal’s Minister of Health Mr. Gagan Kumar Thapa. We presented some of the key research findings of the GTN maternity project which have shown that interventions based on health promotion principles using women’s groups can be effective in the community.

Bournemouth University was represented by Dr. Pramod Regmi (FHSS), Mrs. Preeti Mahato, PhD student in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health (CMMPH) and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. One of the strengths of Green Tara’s approach is its collaboration with UK universities for its research. Several excellent MSc and PhD students have been, and some, such as CMMPH’s PhD students Sheetal Sharma and Preeti Mataho, still are, contributing to the health promotion evidence base.

The workshop was attended by a range of directors of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations), INGOs (International Non-Governmental Organisations), academics, the Government of Nepal, and many other stakeholders including the media. The GTN Chair Krishna Lamsal commented: “This dissemination workshop follows on from the First National Health Promotion Conference in Nepal in which Bournemouth University was also a joint organiser. The 2003 conference brought together nearly 300 people for the first time to discuss key issues in health promotion.”

31 December 2016

Two FHSS conference presentations in Nepal

international, Public engagement, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen from BU’s Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) spoke at the 9th Conference and Seminar on Adolescent’s Health Promotion in Kathmandu. This event was organised by the Health Education Association of Nepal (HEAN). The first keynote speech ‘Adolescent’s Health Promotion: Global Perspectives‘ was presented by BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at Liverpool John Moores University) on behalf of his BU co-authors Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. The second keynote speech ‘Global Health Promotion Approach‘ was presented jointly by Prof. van Teijlingen and Green Tara Nepal country director Mr. Ram Chandra Silwal on behalf of their collaborators Prof. Simkhada and Green Tara Trust, UK (Dr. Jane Stephens and Ms. Colette Fanning).

Both presentations were well received and generated considerable discussion amongst an audience of health educationalists, public health teachers and health promotion experts. Several of the active members of HEAN and conference organisers are collaborators with BU on our THET project on training community-based maternity care providers in rural Nawalparasi, southern Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

29 December 2016

Promoting evidence-based policy-making in Nepal

Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement, Publishing, Training Edwin van Teijlingen

We had the honour to speak to Parliamentarians (MPs) in Kathmandu today (December 29th) as part of workshop to promote evidence-based policy-making. The workshop was organised by a consortium of three UK universities: Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), Bournemouth University and the University of Sheffield. Fund the Fund supported this Advocacy Workshop with Parliamentarians and Policy Experts on HV and AIDS (Discussion series IV) in the Himalayan Hotel in Lalitpur in Kathmandu Valley. The workshop was attended by some 30 MPs from all major parties and three or four former ministers. The drive to increase evidence-based policy-making in Nepal is led by Dr. Gangalal Tuladhar MP.

Prof. Padam Simkhada from LJMU and BU Visiting Professor addressed ‘key challenges on evidence-based health care delivery in Nepal’ and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen from the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences compared selected different health-care systems in high-income countries.

29 December 2016

New paper CMMPH

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

At the very end of December, one more academic paper on maternity care in Nepal from the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Neonatal Health (CMMPH). Our latest paper ‘The uptake of skilled birth attendants’ services in rural Nepal: A qualitative study’ was published today in the Journal of Asian Midwives [1]. The paper is co-authored with colleagues from London Metropolitan University, and is the third in a series based on the PhD project of the first author Dr. Yuba Raj Baral [1-3]. The Journal of Asian Midwives is an Open Access journal hence the paper is freely available across the globe.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Baral, YR., Lyons, K., van Teijlingen, ER., Skinner, J., (2016) The uptake of skilled birth attendants’ services in rural Nepal: A qualitative study, Journal of Asian Midwives 3(2): 7-25.
Baral, YR, Lyons, K., Skinner, J, van Teijlingen, ER (2012) Maternal health services utilisation in Nepal: Progress in the new millennium? Health Science Journal 6(4): 618-633. www.hsj.gr/volume6/issue4/644.pdf
Baral, Y.R, Lyons, K., Skinner, J, van Teijlingen, E. (2010) Determinants of skilled birth attendants for delivery in Nepal Kathmandu University Medical Journal 8(3): 325-332. http://www.kumj.com.np/issue/31/325-332.pdf

23 December 2016

Worldwide media coverage BU co-authored paper

international, PG research, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Many prestigious newspapers across the globe re-published a very interesting Associate Press article called ‘At soaring rate, Nepalis seeking jobs abroad come home dead’ on the plight of Nepali migrant workers in countries such as Malaysia, Korea, India and the Middle East. This article cited our co-author Nirmal Aryal who is a Nepali researcher based in New Zealand. This newspaper piece also quoted our recent paper ‘Injury and Mortality in Young Nepalese Migrant Workers: A Call for Public Health Action’, which was published earlier this year in the Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health [1]. This scientific journal has an Impact Factor of 1.72

We have received email message and tweets from colleagues and friends who spotted this article in newspapers in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand (NZ), Taiwan, Nepal, India and many more countries as well as on several news websites. The article was sighted in North American papers such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Billings Gazette, Dothan Eagle, The Daily Times, The Roanoke Times, Union Times, The Daily Courier, The Journal Times, Medicine Hat News. and many more. Whilst in Britain the article can be found on the webpages of the Mail Online. In the Philippines the piece is on Inquirer.net

Elsewhere we were alerted to The Hindustan Times in India, which is incidently one of the few papers that changed the original title of the Associated Press piece to ‘Mysterious deaths: Nepalis working abroad come back home in caskets’. Furthermore, as our colleague Nirmal Aryal is based in NZ it is not surprising that several newspaper there reported on the issue: The New Zealand Herald, The Dominion Post (NZ), and as expected several English-language daily newspaper in Nepal picked up the story, including The Himalayan Times, and The Kathmandu Post.

It’s a pity that the original Associated Press article only refers to the BU collaborators as ‘colleagues in the United Kingdom’. We have a long-standing interest in the health and well-being of Nepali migrant workers in various host countries. Dr. Pramod Regmi is post-doctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS). He is part of the BU India-HUB, which involves the study of Nepali migrant workers in India. Prof. Padam Simkhada from Liverpool John Moores University is also BU Visiting Faculty in FHSS. Dr. Pratik Adhikary is a recent BU PhD graduate who has published several articles on Nepalis migrant workers [2-3]. Finally, our work on Nepali migrants has also been submitted as a contribution to the BU’s Global Festival of Learning.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen & Dr. Pramod Regmi

Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

References:

Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P., Bhatta, Y.K.D., Mann, S. (2016) Injury and Mortality in Young Nepalese Migrant Workers: A Call for Public Health Action. Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health 28(8): 703-705. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1010539516668628
Adhikary, P., Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen E., Raja, AE. (2008) Health & Lifestyle of Nepalese Migrants in the UK BMC International Health & Human Rights 8(6). Web address: biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/8/6.
Adhikary P., Keen S., van Teijlingen, E (2011) Health Issues among Nepalese migrant workers in Middle East. Health Science Journal 5: 169-175. hsj.gr/volume5/issue3/532.pdf

19 December 2016

New blog on Open Access publishing

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

Some months ago Andy Nobes asked my colleague Prof. Padam Simkhada and I if we could write a blog about why we had so many papers in freely available online journals in Nepal. Andy is the Programme Officer, Research Development & Support at INASP, which is an international development charity based in Oxford working with a global network of partners in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

We had a whole range of immediate answers to Andy’s question, including ones like: we both love Nepal; we are on the editorial board of a few journals that are part of the NepJOL group; and editors invite us to submit articles and/or editorials. Moreover, we feel reasons for Open Access publishing are very similar to our key reasons for working in a low-income country like Nepal. These principles are (a) conducting applied academic research in low-income countries for the greater good; (b) helping to build research-capacity; and (c) telling the world about our research through quality academic publications. This week saw the publication of our blog ‘Publishing in journals of the NepJOL family’ on the AuthorAid website, click here to read the post.

Edwin van Teijlingen, Professor of Reproductive Health Research at Bournemouth University and Padam Simkhada, Professor of International Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University and BU Visiting Faculty.

17 December 2016

Top three most accessed 2016 paper BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth

international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

It is always nice to receive some good news just before Christmas. The journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth informed us that our paper ‘“Is it realistic?” the portrayal of pregnancy and childbirth in the media’ was in the top three most popular papers [1]. This interdisciplinary paper crosses the boundaries between the study of maternity care & midwifery, sociology of health & illness, and that of the media. With BU’s Dr. Ann Luce as first author, it is one of the top three accessed articles of nearly 400 articles published in 2016 (as of Dec 16^th).

Reference:

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

13 December 2016

New publication CMMPH student Donna Wixted

Festival of Learning, PG research, Public engagement, Publishing, student research, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to CMMPH’s Donna Wixted, Joint BU-Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, doctoral student who just had a paper published in MIDIRS.[1] The paper is titled ‘Drinking in pregnancy: poor guidelines or lack of evidence?’ The paper reports a very lively debate at the 2016 BU Festival of Learning which was a debate around the motion: “Advising pregnant women to avoid drinking alcohol during pregnancy is symptom of the Nanny State and another step towards the medicalisation of childbirth”. The debate was chaired by CMMPH’s Prof. Vanora Hundley.

The Festival of Learning event grew out of Donna’s PhD research. Donna’s PhD is jointly supervised by Dr. Greta Westwood of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust & the University of Southampton and FHSS academics Dr. Liz Norton and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

Reference:

Wixted, D., Hundley, V., Norton, L., van Teijlingen, E., Westwood, G. (2016) Drinking in pregnancy: poor guidelines or lack of evidence? MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 26(4): 462-65.

12 December 2016

Congratulations to Dr. Regmi new publication

international, open access, PG research, Public engagement, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Pramod Regmi in FHSS on the publication of the editorial ‘Need and Scope of Global Partnership on Public Health Research’ published this week. [1] As a global partnership, it is our intention to make a tangible impact upon major public health challenges, whilst strengthening the participating institutions in a sustainable manner. Our collaboration came to a consensus on a number of priority research areas, based on our strengths and collective experience and on our knowledge of the key global issues for the next decades (Table 1). The paper is led by BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada and co-authored by another BU Visiting Faculty Dr. Bibha Simkhada. The editorial is in an Open Access journal hence freely available to any researcher or practitioner (or policy maker) with internet-access in our collaborating countries.

Table 1 : Key areas of research focus of the consortium

Reproductive, maternal and child health
Rural and urban comparisons (Equity and health)
Nutrition
Environment and health
Health systems and health workforce
Health, lifestyle and substance use
Non-Communicable Diseases
Preventable road traffic injuries and safety
Disability

Reference:

Simkhada, P., Poudel, A.N., Simkhada, B., Sumnall, H., Jones, L., Bista, S., McVeigh, J., Gaidhane, A., Zahiruddin, Q.S., Chowdhury, M.E., Bhuiyan, M.B.A.S., Iliyasu, Z., Pant, P.R., Kurmi, O., Hill, R., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P. (2016) Need and Scope of Global Partnership on Public Health Research, The Journal of Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University 11(3): 260-262.

6 December 2016

Four new FHSS publications

open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Carol Bond and Dr. Osman Ahmed in FHSS on the publication of their latest academic paper ‘Can I help you? Information sharing in online discussion forums by people living with a long-term condition’ [1]. Further congratulations are due to Osman who recently had three other papers accepted for publication [2-4].

Prof Edwin van Teijlingen

References:

Bond, C., Ahmed, O., 2016. Can I help you? Information sharing in online discussion forums by people living with a long-term condition. Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics, 23 (3).
West L.R., Griffin , S., Weiler, R., Ahmed,O. 2016 Management of concussion in disability sport: a different ball game? British Journal of Sports Medicine doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096767
“Educating the masses: Suggestions for improving online concussion information via the mainstream media” in Concussion (not available online yet)
“Do Neurocognitive SCAT3 Baseline Test Scores Differ Between Footballers (Soccer) Living With and Without Disability? A Cross-Sectional Study” in Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine (not yet available online)

5 December 2016

Health Innovation Programme – February 2017

Business Engagement, innovation jcodling

This 3 day course is aimed at innovators and entrepreneurs who are looking to start or expand a healthcare related business.

Dates: 9, 10 & 14 February 2017

Location: University of Southamption Science Park

Deadline for applications: 31 January 2017* – places will be filled on a first come first serve basis

For more information: click here

To apply: click here

3 December 2016

New edition qualitative research book

Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to BU Professor Emerita Immy Holloway and FHSS (Faculty of Health & Social Sciences) Visiting Faculty Professor Kathleen Galvin on the publication of the latest edition of Qualitative Research in Nursing and Healthcare [1]. This new edition offers insights into both the abstract ideas in qualitative research and its practical procedures. Structured into four sections, the new edition looks at the initial stages, methods of data collection, qualitative approaches and analysis of collected data. Professor Galvin is Professor of Nursing Practice in the College of Life, Health & Physical Sciences, at the University of Brighton. Both Immy Holloway and Kate Galvin are affiliated with BU’s Centre for Qualitative Research (CQR), the longest running research centre in FHSS.

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Reference:

Holloway I & Galvin K. (2017) Qualitative Research in Nursing and Healthcare. Wiley-Blackwell 4th ed.

1 December 2016

Engagement Fellowships – Funding call

Funding opportunities Joanna Pawlik

Wellcome exists is a global charitable foundation, both politically and financially independent. It exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive.

They currently offer number of funding schemes and one of them is engagement fellowships.

Engagement Fellowships support and develop the careers of emerging leaders in public engagement.

Engagement Fellowships are open to a wide range of people, including:

professional science communicators
academics exploring health and wellbeing (eg, biomedical or social scientists and medical historians)
clinicians or healthcare professionals
professionals working in the arts and creative industries.

Scheme at a glance

Where your audience is:

UK, Republic of Ireland

Level of funding:

Salary and research expenses covered

Duration of funding:

Up to 2 years

For more information and how to apply click here.

5 November 2016

Helping Nepal to establish its midwifery profession

international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

The international journal Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (Elsevier publication) published the online first version of our latest maternity-care research paper on Nepal [1]. This paper is part of the successfully completed PhD research project of Malin Bogren (first author). The paper uses a qualitative approach based on the framework of Complex Adaptive Systems. Malin conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 key people representing eight different organisations (actors) promoting the development of the midwifery profession in Nepal. The move of midwifery from an occupation to a profession in Nepal is a challenging process. The study indicates the importance of understanding the motivations of, and barriers perceived by, actors that can promote or obstruct the establishment of the midwifery profession. It also points to the importance of informing the wider public about the role and responsibility of an autonomous midwifery profession.

The paper adds to our previous work around midwifery in Nepal [2-3].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Bogren, M.U., Berg, M., Edgren, L., van Teijlingen, E., Wigert, H. (forthcoming) Shaping the midwifery profession in Nepal – Uncovering actors’ connections using a Complex Adaptive Systems framework. published online: October 4, 2016
Bogren M, van Teijlingen E., Berg M. (2013) Where midwives are not yet recognized: A feasibility study of professional midwives in Nepal, Midwifery 29(10): 1103-1109.
Bogren, M.U., Bajracharya, K., Berg, M., Erlandsson, K., Ireland, J., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2013) Nepal needs midwifery, Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (JMMIHS) 1(2): 41-44.

18 October 2016

EU award for PhD student Preeti Mahato

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

FHSS PhD student Preeti Mahato in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) has been awarded a funded place on the COST Action Training School BEYOND BIRTH COHORTS: from study design to data management. This training school will run from 23-15 November in Spain.

COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a unique platform where European researchers can jointly develop their ideas and initiatives across all scientific disciplines through trans-European networking of nationally funded research. Preeti pal has been awarded the sum of 500 euro to cover the cost of attending the Training School and travel and accommodation costs. Preeti’s PhD project is on maternity care provision in Nepal. Preeti’s research focuses on the quality and equity of service available at birthing centres. In Nepal, birthing centres act as first contact point for the women seeking maternity services especially the basic obstetric care. She is supervised by Dr. Catherine Angell, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at Liverpool John Moores University).

Preeti has already published the first PhD paper ‘Birthing centres in Nepal: Recent developments, obstacles and opportunities’ in the Journal of Asian Midwives (JAM) [1], whilst another was published in the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology [2]. Furthermore, a more general health and development paper was published this year in Health Prospect [3].

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Angell, C. (2016) Birthing centres in Nepal: Recent developments, obstacles and opportunities, Journal of Asian Midwives 3(1): 17-30.
Mahato, P.K., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Angell, C., Sathian, B. (2015) Birthing centre infrastructure in Nepal post 2015 earthquake. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 5(4): 518-519. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/14260/1157
Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Sharma, S., Mahato, P. (2016) Sustainable Development Goals: relevance to maternal & child health in Nepal. Health Prospect 15(1):9-10. healthprospect.org/archives/15/1/3.pdf

13 October 2016

FHSS Dr. Vanessa Heaslip awarded Florence Nightingale Travel Scholarship

Awarded & submitted bids, international Edwin van Teijlingen

Dr. Vanessa Heaslip in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) has been awarded a Florence Nightingale Travel Scholarship. She will be using this prestigious award to travel to New Zealand and various locations in the United Kingdom. She is hoping to learn from New Zealand, which is decades ahead in tackling these issues, to establish, adapt and develop principles for implementation in the UK. Vanessa’s study funded by the Florence Nightingale Foudation is called: “Towards addressing health inequalities of marginalised communities; using Gypsy Roma Travellers (GRT) as the model.”

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

26 September 2016

New THET project paper published

international, open access, Publishing, Training Edwin van Teijlingen

Today saw the latest publication on our BU-led THET in Nepal. The paper ‘Needs assessment of mental health training for Auxiliary Nurse Midwives: a cross-sectional survey’ was published the Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences [1]. This paper reports on a quantitative survey with nearly all Auxiliary Nurse Midwives in Nawalparasi District in the southern part of Nepal. The findings illustrate the lack of training on mental health issues related to pregnancy and childbirth in this group of health workers. Thus the paper’s conclusions stress the need for dedicated training in this field.

This is the third publication linked to our mental health and maternity care project. In Nepal mental health is generally a difficult to topic to discuss. THET, a London-based organisation, funded Bournemouth University, and Liverpool John Moores University in the UK and Tribhuvan University in Nepal to train maternity workers on issues around mental health. This latest paper and the previous two papers are all Open Access publications. The previous two papers raised the issue of women and suicide [2] and outlined the THET project in detail [3].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Simkhada, B., Sharma, G., Pradhan, S., van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Simkhada, P., Devkota, B. & the THET team. (2016) Needs assessment of mental health training for Auxiliary Nurse Midwives: a cross-sectional survey, Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 2(1): 20-26. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/15793/12738
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Winter, R.C., Fanning, C., Dhungel, A., Marahatta S.B. (2015) Why are so many Nepali women killing themselves? A review of key issues Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 1(4): 43-49. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/12001
van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Devkota, B., Fanning, P., Ireland, J., Simkhada, B., Sherchan, L., Silwal, R.C., Pradhan, S., Maharjan, S.K., Maharjan, R.K. (2015) Mental health issues in pregnant women in Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 5(3): 499-501. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/13607/11007

Tagged / Health

Four new FHSS publications

Health Innovation Programme – February 2017

Engagement Fellowships – Funding call