BU Research Blog

8 January 2024

Partnership planning meeting in Kathmandu

This afternoon Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen attended a partnership meeting with colleagues from Nepal’s Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Yak & Yeti Hotel in Kathmandu. The discussion highlighted the longstanding partnership and collaboration between MMIHS and BU. The meeting was part of a wider collaboration around between MMIHS, BU and the University of Huddersfield, The University of Sheffield and Canterbury Christ Church University. The latter universities have been working together for over fours years in an interdisciplinary study ‘The impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system: a longitudinal analysis’. This project has been funded by the Health System Research Initiative, a UK collaboration between three funding bodies: the MRC (Medical Research Council), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and the Welcome Trust.

The BU-MMIHS collaboration has included successful ERASMUS+ staff and student exchanges as well as student exchanges from BU to Kathmandu as part of the Turing Scheme. Currently various BU academics are also involved a co-supervisors on MSc projects conducted by MMIHS postgraduate students.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

6 January 2024

New migration paper related to Nepal

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

On the last day of 2023 the Journal of Health Promotion published the paper ‘Sexual Harassment Among Nepali Non-Migrating Female Partners of International Labor Migrant Men’ [1]. This paper, in an Open Access journal, addresses one of the consequences of male labour migrants leaving their family members behind in Nepal. While non-migrating spouses often receive financial support in the form of remittances, their husbands’ migration also creates numerous social and personal problems. This qualitative study explored non-migrating spouses’ experience of sexual harassment/abuse and its impact on their mental health. Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted and women reported experiencing harassment by men they knew, including their teachers and colleagues, who knew their husbands were abroad. But none of the women reported taking any action against their perpetrators, indicating a lack of power in this study population in still predominantly patriarchal society.

The lead author of the paper is Assistant Prof. Kalpana Gyawali from Tribhuvan University, Nepal’s largest and oldest university paper. Her co-authors are: Padam Simkhada, Visiting Professor in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences as well as Professor in Global Health at the University of Huddersfield, Edwin van Teijlingen in Bournemouth University’s Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health, Ms. Shraddha Manandhar, PhD. student at the University of Huddersfield, and Mr. Ram Chandra Silwal the Country Director of Green Tara Nepal, the charity we have been working with for nearly twenty years.

References:

Gyawali, K., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E.R., Manandhar, S., Silwal, R.C. (2023). Sexual Harassment Among Nepali Non-Migrating Female Partners of International Labor Migrant Men. Journal of Health Promotion, 11(1): 22–31. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/jhp/article/view/61198

30 December 2023

Well-being of Nepal’s migrant workers no longer on global agenda

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

A few days ago were alerted by ResearchGate that our article ‘Migrant Workers in Qatar: Not just an important topic during the FIFA World Cup‘ has reached 300 reads [1]. We (Padam Simkhada, Pramod Regmi and I) wrote this article a year ago to raise publicity about the conditions of Nepalese migrant workers in the Middle East. The hazards faced by migrant workers engaged in building the football stadiums in Qatar have been well documented before and during the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup. Their working conditions are often very dangerous and their living conditions are often very poor.

This time last year Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, and BU’s Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada also published ‘Excessive Mortalities among Migrant Workers: the Case of the 2022 FIFA World Cup’ [2]. At the time we wrote “The men’s FIFA Football World Cup 2022 is in full flow in Qatar” which finished with a very exciting final between Argentina and France. Around the same time BU’s PhD student Yagya Adhikari also wrote a paper on ‘Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers’ [3]. This paper was co-authored by Dr.Pramod Regmi in the Department of Nursing Sciences, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, and BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Bhimsen Devkota.

Unfortunately, since the World Cup finished, the world, the media and our politicians have moved on and the health and well-being of migrant workers are no longer headline news. The reminder this week of 300 reads for our editorial gives us another opportunity to remind everyone of the need to keep the plight of migrant workers in the Middle East (and elsewhere) on the world’s agenda.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

References:

Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P. R. (2022). Migrant Workers in Qatar: Not just an important topic during the FIFA World Cup 2022 . Health Prospect, 21(3). https://doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v21i3.49835
Adhikari, Y.R., Regmi, P.R., Devkota, B., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers. Journal of Health Promotion, 10(1):1–4.
Adhikari, Y.R., Regmi, P.R., Devkota, B., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers. Journal of Health Promotion, 10(1):1–4. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v10i1.50976

30 December 2023

Migration and mental health meeting in Kathmandu

international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday (29th December) Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen attended a workshop on ‘Current situation of migration and its impact on Mental health’ in a hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal. This workshop was organised by the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Nepal (TPO Nepal) and funded by a Finnish aid organisation. Two of BU’s current collaborators were members of the workshop panel. One of the panel members was FHSS Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada, who is Professor of Global Health at the University of Huddersfield. He spoke about the limited amount of research into mental health in general in Nepal and in migrant workers in particular. The chair was Mrs. Manju Gurung from the organisation POURAKHI Nepal, who collaborates with BU in the recently started project on health and migration funded by the USA State Department. Unsurprisingly, several speakers at the workshop referred to studies conducted in the field of migrant workers’ health by BU academics, particularly the work published by Dr. Pramod Regmi and Dr. Nirmal Aryal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

23 December 2023

Paper published on ‘living evidence’

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

The Nepal Journal of Epidemiology published today carries an article on so-called ‘living evidence’ as an on-going synthesis approach that provides up-to-date rigorous research evidence [1]. This short research methods paper argues that living evidence is particularly useful in rapidly expanding research domains, uncertain existing evidence, and incorporating new research evidence that may impact policy or practice, ensuring that health worker, managers and health-policy makers have access to the best, i.e. the most recent evidence.

The Nepal Journal of Epidemiology is an Open Access journal, and hence freely available to researchers across the globe. The paper has been co-authored by researchers from the Denmark, Qatar, Mauritius and the UK.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

Reference:

Sathian B., van Teijlingen E., do Nascimento I.J.B., Khatib M.N., Banerjee I., Simkhada P., Kabir R., Al Hamad H. (2023) Need for evidence synthesis for quality control of healthcare decision-making. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 13(3):1288-1291. DOI: 10.3126/nje.v13i3.61004

22 December 2023

New Nepal paper published

international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

BMJ Global Health published our latest paper today under the title ‘The impact of decentralisation on health systems: a systematic review of reviews‘ [1]. This so-called review of reviews is part of a larger study funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative [Grant ref. MR/T023554/1]. in this larger Nepal Federal Health System Project we study the consequences for the health system of Nepal’s move from a centralised political system to a more federal government structure. This joint project is led by the University of Sheffield in collaboration with Bournemouth University, the University of Huddersfield, and two collaborating institutions in Nepal, namely Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) and PHASE Nepal. We have managed to publish four papers from this project prior to today’s one. [2-5]

This latest paper, is Open Access and it includes nine reviews, each addressing somewhat different questions, contexts and issues. More negative than positive impacts of decentralisation on health system building blocks were identified. Although inconclusive, evidence suggested that the impacts on leadership and governance and financing components in particular shape the impact on the overall health system. Assessment of how the impact on building blocks translates to the broader impact on health systems is challenged by the dynamic complexities related to contexts, process and the health system itself. This review highlights some of the common potential issues to consider in advance.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH (Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health)

References:

Sapkota, S., Dhakal, A., Rushton S., et al. (2023) The impact of decentralisation on health systems: a systematic review of reviews. BMJ Global Health 8:e013317. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013317.
Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Rushton, S., et al. (2023) Overcoming the Challenges Facing Nepal’s Health System During Federalisation: An Analysis of Health System Building Blocks, Health Research Policy & Systems 21(117) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01033-2
Sapkota, S., Panday, S., Wasti, S.P., et al. (2022) Health System Strengthening: The Role of Public Health in Federal Nepal, Journal of the Nepal Public Health Association 7(1):36-42.
Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Gautam, S., 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): 1-11.
Rushton, S., Pandey, S., van Teijlingen, E., 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

5 November 2023

BU Sociology professor invited to speak at Royal Holloway

Delicious links, international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) has been invited to speak at Royal Holloway, University of London, about writing an academic paper. His public lecture will be coming Tuesday lunch time in the appropriately named ‘Bourne Lecture Theatre’ at Royal Holloway. Prof. van Teijlingen, together with several Bournemouth University (BU) colleagues, has published a text book [1], several book chapters [2-18] and a large number of papers [19-38] about a wide-range of aspects of academic writing and publishing. One of former BU academics, who co-authored a book chapter [10], and two papers [21, 25], is Dr. Preeti Mahato. She is Lecturer in Global Health at Royal Holloway as well as Visiting Faculty in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.

References:

Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Hundley, V. with Shreesh, K. (2022) Writing and Publishing Academic Work, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books
van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P.P., Wasti, S.P. (2022) Introduction, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 1-4.
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Swoveet, P. (2022) Writing an Academic Paper, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 6-14.
Hundley, V., Luce, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Collaborative Writing for Publication, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 15-19.
van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Shanker, S. (2022) Selecting an Appropriate Journal and Submitting your Paper, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 20-31.
van Teijlingen, E., Thapa, D., Marahatta, S.B., Sapkota, J.L., Regmi, P. Sathian, B. (2022) Editors and Reviewers: Roles and Responsibilities, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 32-37.
van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Hundley, V, Dhakal Rai, S., Simkhada, P., Sathian, B. (2022) Identifying an appropriate Title, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 39-47.
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, B, Acharya D.R. (2022) Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 48-56.
Subedi, M., van Teijlingen, E., Baniya J., Sijapati, B. (2022) Writing the Introduction and Background, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 57-67.
van Teijlingen, E., Pitchforth, E., Keenan Forrest, K., Mahato, P. (2022) Writing a Qualitative Paper, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 88-97.
Wasti, S.P, Devkota, B., Bhatta, D.N., Pitchforth, E., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Writing the Introduction and Background, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 112-120.
Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2022) Writing up the Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 121-129
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Simkhada, B., Subedi, M., van Teijlingen, E., Wasti, S.P., Hundley, V, Khatri, R. (2022) Being Ethical in Writing and Publishing, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 153-161.
van Teijlingen, E., Venter, K. (2022) Writing a Book Review, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 162-167.
Devkota, B., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V, Wasti, S.P. (2022) Writing a Research Proposal, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 168-175.
Wasti, S.P. Regmi, P.R., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2022) Writing a PhD Proposal, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 176-183.
Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Converting your Master’s or Doctoral Thesis into an Academic Paper for Publication, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 184-189.
van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Acharya, J., Silwal, R.C., Wasti, S.P. (2022) Academic Writing: Final Thoughts, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 201-20.
Harvey, O., Taylor, A., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Struggling to reply to reviewers: Some advice for novice researchers. Health Prospect, 21(2):19-22.
Sathian B, van Teijlingen E, Banerjee I, Kabir R. (2022) Guidance to applying for health research grants in the UK. Nepal J Epidemiol 12(4):1231-1234.
Arnold, R., Ireland, J., Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Writing and publishing a reflective paper: Three case studies, Welhams Acad J 1(1): 4-11.
van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V, Sathian, B., Simkhada, P., Robinson, J., Banerjee, I. (2022) The Art of the Editorial Nepal J Epidemiol, 12(1): 1135–38.
Harvey, O., van Teijlingen, A., Regmi, P.R., Ireland, J., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Co-authors, colleagues, and contributors: Complexities in collaboration and sharing lessons on academic writing Health Prospect 21(1):1-3.
van Teijlingen, E.R., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, A., Aryal, N., Panday, S. (2021). Publishing, identifiers & metrics: Playing the numbers game. Health Prospect, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v20i1.37391
Adhikari, S. D., van Teijlingen, E. R., Regmi, P. R., Mahato, P., Simkhada, B., & Simkhada, P. P. (2020). The Presentation of Academic Self in The Digital Age: The Role of Electronic Databases. Int J Soc Sci Management, 7(1), 38-41. https://doi.org/10.3126/ijssm.v7i1.27405
van Teijlingen, E, Simkhada, PP, Rizyal A (2012) Submitting a paper to an academic peer-reviewed journal, where to start? (Guest Editorial) Health Renaissance 10(1): 1-4.
van Teijlingen, E, Simkhada. PP, Simkhada, B, Ireland J. (2012) The long & winding road to publication, Nepal J Epidemiol 2(4): 213-215 http://nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/7093/6388
Hundley, V, van Teijlingen, E, Simkhada, P (2013) Academic authorship: who, why and in what order? Health Renaissance 11(2):98-101 www.healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Download/vol-11-2/Page_99_101_Editorial.pdf
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, BD. (2013) Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference, Kathmandu Univ Med J 11(3): 262-65. http://www.kumj.com.np/issue/43/262-265.pdf
Simkhada P, van Teijlingen E, Hundley V. (2013) Writing an academic paper for publication, Health Renaissance 11(1):1-5. www.healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Pp_1_5_Guest_Editorial.pdf
van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Sathian, B. (2014) Finding the right title for your article: Advice for academic authors, Nepal J Epidemiol 4(1): 344-347.
van Teijlingen E., Hundley, V., Bick, D. (2014) Who should be an author on your academic paper? Midwifery 30: 385-386.
Hall, J., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E. (2015) The journal editor: friend or foe? Women & Birth 28(2): e26-e29.
Sathian, B., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Roy, B, Banerjee, I. (2016) Grant writing for innovative medical research: Time to rethink. Med Sci 4(3):332-33.
Pradhan, AK, van Teijlingen, ER. (2017) Predatory publishing: a great concern for authors, Med Sci 5(4): 43.
van Teijlingen, E, Hundley, V. (2002) Getting your paper to the right journal: a case study of an academic paper, J Advanced Nurs 37(6): 506-11.
Pitchforth, E, Porter M, Teijlingen van E, Keenan Forrest, K. (2005) Writing up & presenting qualitative research in family planning & reproductive health care, J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 31(2): 132-135.
van Teijlingen, E (2004), Why I can’t get any academic writing done, Medical Sociol News 30(3): 62-63. britsoc.co.uk/media/26334/MSN_Nov_2004.pdf

2 November 2023

New publication on positionality

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

Today the journal Health Prospect published Raksha Thapa’s paper ‘Researching Dalits and health care: Considering positionality’ [1]. This methodological paper is based on Dr. Raksha Thapa’s recently completed BU project on caste-based inequity in health care utilization in Nepal, particularly focusing on people at the bottom of the caste hierarchy, commonly known as Dalit communities. Her PhD study was supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi, Principal Academic in the Department of Nursing Sciences, Prof. Vanessa Heaslip Professor of Nursing and Healthcare Equity at the University of Salford and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health. This is the third paper from her PhD work; the first one was published in the Journal of B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences [2] and the second one in the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health [3].

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen & Dr. Pramod Regmi

FHSS

References:

Thapa, R., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Heaslip, V. (2023) Researching Dalits and health care: Considering positionality, Health Prospect 21(1): 6-8.
Thapa, R., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Heaslip, V. (2018) Uptake of Health Services by People from the Dalit Community, Journal of B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences 1(2): 1-6.
Thapa, R., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Heaslip, V. (2021) Caste Exclusion and Health Discrimination in South Asia: A Systematic Review, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health 33(8):828-838.

17 October 2023

BU MSc Student, Sarah Clark, gives a presentation at EDS ECHO Fatigue Summit 0n 21st October

s5329575

Sarah is giving a Community Voice presentation at the EDS ECHO Summit Series: Fatigue – Causes and Management at 4.32pm UK time in the “Exercise, Pacing and Diet” section, sharing some of her own tips and tricks for life managing several complex chronic health conditions. This will be followed by participation in the live online Q&A session at approx 4.45 pm UK time.

Sarah, who has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, is a Masters student at BU studying Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology. Sarah sits as a patient expert in the EDS International Consortium, Psychiatric and Psychological Aspects Working Group.

Sarah presented her BMJ paper “Help me trust you after my misdiagnosis” at The EDS Global Learning Conference in Dublin in August.

Sarah was diagnosed in May 2022 with Autism spectrum condition, a realisation she only made thanks to attending the autism lectures on her MSc course here at BU! She recently completed her qualitative MSc Research Project, supervised by Dr Emily Arden-Close, on “What are the daily experiences of autistic people living with hEDS?” and has just started working on writing her dissertation up for submission to a journal.

Sarah is studying part-time at BU due to the time-consuming nature of managing several complex conditions. But alongside managing her wellbeing, Sarah regularly engages in public awareness work, volunteering and charity fundraising work. She is also a keen photographer, writer and yogi and was featured in Hotpod Yoga’s Move with Purpose Campaign recently where she talked about her late-autism diagnosis: https://hotpodyoga.com/move-with-purpose/

Sarah is hugely grateful to the BU Community for the support and encouragement she’s had over the past few years which has allowed her to make great leaps in improving her own health and wellbeing, as well as giving others hope. You can read more about Sarah’s inspirational journey on her website.

6 October 2023

Training on federalisation in Nepal

international, Public engagement, Training Edwin van Teijlingen

Today our collaborators Drs Sujata Sapkota and Sujan Gautam from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) organised and ran another training and orientation session for Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) in a hotel in Kathmandu. The discussions in Nepali in today’s session are very lively with great participation from guest trainers as well as from the FCHVs. Many FCHVs are worried about their changing roles, and even the potential disappearance of the role.

The sessions with FCHVs are crucial capacity building as part of our interdisciplinary study ‘The impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system: a longitudinal analysis’. I had the pleasure of saying a few words about our international project which started in 2020 and will run to 2024. It is funded by the Health System Research Initiative, a UK collaboration between three funders: the MRC (Medical research Council), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and the Welcome Trust. The research team includes researchers from MMIHS (Kathmandu), and PHASE Nepal (Bhaktapur), the University of Sheffield, Bournemouth University, and the University of Huddersfield (the three original UK co-applicants), and researchers now based at the University of Greenwich, the University of Essex and Canterbury Christ Church University.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

5 October 2023

Non-code sharing: Academic travel

Edwin van Teijlingen

Selective Travel offers interesting combinations of airlines to fly to far away destinations. This is great as it offers staff the opportunity to seek out the cheapest flight combination or the one with the shortest stop-over time, especially when traveling on research project funded by charities. What is not always clear is that these airlines in in your deal don’t share codes, as I found out at Heathrow two yesterday when I checked in for a my flight to Nepal. This trip to Nepal is part of The Colt Foundation study into the risk of kidney disease in Nepalese migrant workers. The first leg was with British Airways (BA) to Delhi and the onward flight was with Air India to Kathmandu. I could not check in online nor on one of the machines at Heathrow as BA treated this as a flight to India and I have no visa for India. I needed to queue thrice to speak to BA staff member who could check me in to Delhi, she also informed me that Air India and British Airways don’t code share, and I should get my onward ticket in Delhi. However, she could check in my luggage and send it on to Kathmandu! Arriving in Delhi I was told at the transfer desk for Air India that my ticket was not ready yet, as my luggage had to be located. after I told the guy my BA story. Luckily I had a stop-over of five hours, because after an hour or so there was still no sign of y ticket. It finally arrived a little later, and luckily I have traveled often enough in South Asia not to be worried by delays in paperwork, bureaucratic procedures, and the simple statement; “You have to wait, Sir”.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

4 October 2023

SWAD to present at Community Voices webinar Wednesday October 11th 12-1pm

Public engagement kjupp

October’s Community Voices webinar welcomes Lorraine Stanley Founder and CEO of SWAD – where disability and sex come together.

As a newly disabled woman in 2007 Lorraine, unable to find accessible support and guidance about sex and disability decided to be pro-active and held disability discussion groups. Feedback from the groups, and further research highlighted that health and social care professional had a lack of understanding of the obstacles faced by people with disabilities to having a fulfilling intimate and sexual life. SWAD grew out of the need to meet the gap between the requirements of the disabled community and what was being offered by service providers. SWAD believes that sex is something that can be openly discussed and should not be swept under the carpet.

Community voices is a collaboration between BU PIER partnership and Centre for Seldom Heard Voices to provide a platform and a voice to local community activists.

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22 September 2023

After predatory journals & conferences, now predatory academic prizes

Guidance, international, PG research, Publishing, Research Integritiy, student research, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

After many emails about predatory journals and conferences, today I received an email about a predatory academic prize. Over the years there have been many BU Research Blogs warning readers about predatory journals, for example in 2014, 2015, 2018, and in 2019, and also about fake conferences (e.g. in 2017). It was inevitable that fake academic prizes would be the next trick. The email announces that for US$ 225 the prize is mine! This development fits in with the many messages I have received about having ‘won’ prizes on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Today’s predatory prize announcement is still very much in its infancy as scammers from the ‘Asia International Research Award 2023’ did not pick the greatest paper written in 2020 by the first author Dr Preeti Mahato, formerly in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, and now Lecturer in Global Health at Royal Holloway , University of London. If they had wanted to make the award scam more believable they would have chosen the PloS one paper from her BU PhD work in Nepal [1]. Instead the announcement list a paper with much older data based on secondary analysis [2], not a bad paper, but not a winner either.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

References

Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Angell, C., & Hundley, V. (2020). Evaluation of a health promotion intervention associated with birthing centres in rural Nepal. PloS one, 15(5), e0233607.
Mahato, P. K., Sheppard, Z. A., van Teijlingen, E., & De Souza, N. (2020). Factors associated with contraceptive use in rural Nepal: Gender and decision-making. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 24, 100507.

8 September 2023

Emerging Leaders in Drowning Prevention: BU PhD student Shafkat Hossain

Awarded & submitted bids, conferences, international, PG research, Training Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to BU’s PhD student Mr. Md. Shafkat Hossain who has been selected by Bloomberg Philanthropies as one of the Emerging Leaders in Drowning Prevention programme. This programme has been designed to create a cohort of younger leaders to join national and international efforts to raise awareness and strengthen solutions and political commitment towards drowning. This programme is hosted by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator and provides a unique opportunity for people like Shafkat to develop leadership skills in drowning prevention, and be a part of a global community working to reduce drowning deaths. This first group of Emerging Leaders includes people from Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Uganda, United States and Vietnam. Each Emerging Leader will be expected to participate in monthly sessions, both online and in person. The programme includes funding for Shafkat to attend the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Perth, Australia in December 2023 (wcdp2023.com/) and the World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion in Delhi, India in September 2024 (worldsafety2024.com/).

Shafkat’s PhD research focuses on aspects of the Human-Centred-Design element of the Sonamoni project. Bournemouth University and the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) jointly lead research into the prevention of children drowning deaths in Bangladesh. The project, called ‘Sonamoni’, is being coordinated by BU in collaboration with the University of the West of England, Bristol, the University of Southampton, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). We are working with CIPRB to reduce drownings among newly-mobile children, generally under two years old. This £1.6m 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.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

6 September 2023

Introduction to Patient and Public Involvement

Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics, Training Suzy Wignall

This half day course is an introduction to PPI and will:
1. Define PPI and why it matters
2. Explore the links between PPI and health equity
3. Explain how to deliver PPI and support those involved

It will be an interactive session, including input from someone with lived experience, talking about their involvement in research.

It will be delivered by Sue Bickler from the Involving People team at Help and Care, an organisation that ‘helps people and communities live the lives they choose’.

Sue has worked in the voluntary sector, local authorities, and health, and has substantial experience engaging with people and communities to ensure that services meet their needs. Her current role brings together the four Healthwatch in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (HIOW), ensuring that patient voice is central to decision making in the HIOW Integrated Care System and that people are equipped to support effective Patient and Public Involvement (PPI).

The session is funded by Clinical Research Network Wessex and is open to all health and care researchers working in Wessex including public contributors and community organisations.

Book your place here. A link to the online training will then be sent to you.

5 September 2023

Improving information for people taking part in clinical research

Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics Suzy Wignall

The Health Research Authority (HRA) has launched new Quality Standards to improve information given to people who are invited to take part in research. The Quality Standards have been launched alongside Design and Review Principles, which show researchers and Research Ethics Committees (REC) what the important ethical considerations are for participant information.

The new HRA Participant Information Quality Standards will help research organisations to understand what good participant information looks like, and will make clear to researchers what the Research Ethics Committees will consider as part of the ethics review, including the review of participant information. The REC will support researchers to create information that meets the Quality Standards.

The aim of the Quality Standards and Design and Review Principles is to make participant information better, and to make the way that RECs review that information more consistent. The documents set out the basic criteria that all participant information must meet, and covers language, accessibility, and mandatory content.

Next steps

The Quality Standards and Design and Review Principles will be phased in from autumn 2023. As study materials are prepared in advance, REC reviews of participant information will initially be presented to research organisations as recommendations as opposed to actions required for approval.

From December 2023, the Quality Standards and Design and Review principles will become mandatory and will be applied to all research applications submitted for review.

Changes to participant information are currently the most likely reason for ethics committees to give a provisional opinion. Using this guidance will increase the possibility of receiving a favourable opinion.

Available templates

Remember that BU has Participant Information Sheet templates that provide much of the required wording to ensure your participants are making a fully informed decision before agreeing to participate.

It is vital that when compiling your information sheets that you remember to include the HRA GDPR transparency wording.

Questions or concerns?

If you have any questions regarding these new standards or about clinical research in general, please email Suzy Wignall, Clinical Governance Advisor – swignall@bournemouth.ac.uk or clinicalresearch@bournemouth.ac.uk

5 September 2023

NIHR Be Part of Research platform

Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics Suzy Wignall

The NIHR Be Part of Research platform is an online service that makes it easy for research participants to find and take part in health and social care research. Participants may search for trials and studies taking place looking at certain health conditions and in locations accessible to them.

Clinical researchers may also make use of the service to extend their recruitment and widen their recruitment methods, as the platform has been designed to make it easier for researchers and potential study participants to find each other.

Using Be Part of Research to recruit participants

To use the service for your recruitment, the study must meet the following requirements:

Be funded or supported by the NIHR. This includes studies on the NIHR Clinical Research Network Portfolio.
Have Research Ethics Committee approval to use the service as a recruitment tool.
Have a dedicated point of contact such as a pre-screener or website for interested volunteers to engage with your research team.

Getting your study onto the Be Part of Research platform

Once your study has been registered on either ISRCTN, ClinicalTrials.gov, or on the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS), your project will then appear on Be Part of Research. Given those visiting the site are mostly patients and members of the public, medical and scientific terminology should be omitted when writing your study summary, with plain English used to ensure the information is accessible to a broad audience. In order to do this, you should:

Keep it short – but don’t oversimplify it. The reader must understand what the study is trying to achieve.
Imagine you are talking to the reader.
Take out any jargon.
Make sure you cover the what, why, when, where and how so they have the basics of your study.

Additionally, to make sure that participants contact the appropriate person, the contact details provided on ISRCTN or ClinicalTrials.gov should be up to date and accurate. In general, the registry record should be monitored continuously so that any changes are reflected on Be Part of Research as soon as possible.

Further support/contact

If you have any questions regarding the platform or regarding clinical research in general, please email Suzy Wignall, Clinical Governance Advisor: swignall@bournemouth.ac.uk or clinicalresearch@bournemouth.ac.uk

1 September 2023

New paper on academic-industry research partnerships

Industry collaboration, international, open access, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology published our editorial on ‘Strengthening Healthcare through Academic and Industry Partnership Research’ [1]. The editors put the editorial on the cover of the latest issue of the journal. Academic and Industry Partnership Research can drive medical innovation, strengthen patient-centred research, and close the gap between theoretical understanding and real-world implementations. The UK’s dedication to developing long-term alliances based on mutual respect and open dialogue can facilitate an environment where ground-breaking research can flourish and be transformed into affordable health and social care solutions.

Half of the authors are associated with Bournemouth University, two are Visiting Faculty (Prof. Dr. Padam Simkhada and Dr. Brijesh Sathian) and the third one is Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH). The Nepal Journal of Epidemiology is an Open Access journal and therefore the paper is freely available to read to anyone across the globe.

References:

Sathian, B., van Teijlingen, E. ., Simkhada, P., Banerjee, I., Manikyam, H. K., & Kabir, R. (2023). Strengthening Healthcare through Academic and Industry Partnership Research. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 13(2), 1264–1267. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v13i2.58243

Tagged / Health

Partnership planning meeting in Kathmandu

BU MSc Student, Sarah Clark, gives a presentation at EDS ECHO Fatigue Summit 0n 21st October

SWAD to present at Community Voices webinar Wednesday October 11th 12-1pm

Introduction to Patient and Public Involvement