BU Research Blog

21 November 2025

BU academic publishes in online newspaper in Nepal

international, open access, Public engagement, Publishing, Women's Academic Network Edwin van Teijlingen

Last week the internet newspaper Online Khabar published ‘Celebrating Nepal Female Community Health Volunteers, but for how much longer?‘. This article is written by Sankalpa Bhattarai, a researcher based at Green Tara Nepal, and BU’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen about the future of Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) in Nepal. In the late 1980s the Government of Nepal introduced the FCHV programmea at a time, Nepal was one of only two countries in the world where the life expectancy for women was lower than that of men. These FCHVs were recruited locally in their own communities to help reduce infant and maternal mortality. They provided health education, immunisation, and information on family planning and hygiene, as well as offering basic first aid services and referring people in their communities to basic or advanced health services when needed.

The FCHV programme is one of the most successful parts of the country’s health system, and recognised worldwide for offering basic care in a system of harmony between local volunteers and the communites they live in, as such meaningful connections can have a profound impact on people’s well-being. There are FCHVs in most villages and the volunteer workforce comprises over fifty thousand women spread across the country. Th future of this FCHV programme is currently being discussed with four possible strategies emerging: (1) redefining FCHV roles; (2) modernization and skills upgrade; (3) establishing permanent support and incentives; and (4) formalizing their role in crisis response.

The online newspaper article is based on a paper we published last year as a Commentary in the Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences [1]. Our previous research work on FCHVs included a paper in PLOS Global Public Health [2], as well as two further papers based on the Ph.D. study by Dr. Sarita Panday [3-4].

We like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Pramod Regmi, Principal Academic in International Health in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Science, for connecting us to the editor of Online Khabal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

References

Bhattarai, S., & van Teijlingen, E. (2024). Nepal Needs A Two-Pronged Approach to Secure Future of Its Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs). Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 9(1), 43–48. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v9i1.68640
Panday, S., Barnes, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2024) Exploring the motivations of female community health volunteers in primary healthcare provision in rural Nepal: a qualitative study, PLOS Global Public Health Aug 1;4(8):e0003428. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0003428.
Panday, S., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2017) The contribution of female community health volunteers (FCHVs) to maternity care in Nepal: a qualitative study, BMC Health Services Research 17:623 be/vz9C
Panday, S., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2019) Perceived barriers to accessing female community health volunteers’ services amongst ethnic minority women in Nepal: a qualitative study, PLoS ONE 14(6): e0217070 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217070

1 April 2025

Prof. Jonathan Parker on social welfare

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Bournemouth University Professor Emeritus Jonathan Parker who published a TransformingSociety blog yesterday (31 March 2025). His blog ‘Sacrificing the poor for the rich: ‘Piacular’ austerity and the need for welfare reform‘ was partly a promotion for his new book Analysing the History of British Social Welfare, which was published by Policy Press in 2024.

Prof. Parker has also been invited to speak at the Bournemouth William Temple Association at their meeting at the Marsham Court Hotel on Monday 7th April. His speech, titled “Sacrificing the Poor on Behalf of the Rich? An Examination of the Rites of Social Welfare,” will explore the relationship between the “haves” and the “have-nots” and it was advertised in the Bournemouth Echo recently.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

12 January 2025

Federalisation & health research presented in Nepal

BU Challenges, international, Knowledge Exchange, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Last month we reported on this Bournemouth University Research Blog (click here!) that Ms. Amshu Dhakal, presented findings from our Nepal Federal Health System Project in Nepal. Amshu’s presentation at the Nepal Health Conclave 2024, organised by the Ministry of Health and Population and supported by WHO (World Health Organization) Nepal and UNFPA, resulted in an online article in Nepal. This article in Nepali in Swasthya Khabar Patrika features lessons learnt and evidence from our research project “The Impact of Federalisation on the Health System of Nepal.”

Our project ran from 2020 to 2024, and it was 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. This joint project was led by the University of Sheffield in collaboration with Bournemouth University, the University of Huddersfield, Canter Bury Christ Church University and two institutions in Nepal, namely Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences and PHASE Nepal. In 2023 further funding was awarded by the Medical Research Foundation to Prof. Julie Balen, from Canterbury Christ Church University, to disseminate the findings in Nepal. Furthermore, to date we have published eight papers from this interdisciplinary project [1-8].

This is one of several news articles from this project which have appeared in both English and Nepali in national media in Nepal. In early 2024 two daily English-language media outlets: The Annapurna Express and Gazzabkoo Magazine published articles covering our project. The latter used the title ‘Strengthening Health Systems for Better Health‘ and the former opted for the headline ‘Forum on health system strengthening’.

In the same month last year three UK professors: Julie Balen (Canterbury Christ Church University), Simon Rushton (the University of Sheffield) and Edwin van Teijlingen (Bournemouth University) were interviewed (see interview here) about the study.

Our interdisciplinary research project ‘The impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system: a longitudinal analysis’ was also previously reported in several national media in Nepal in the spring of 2023.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre of Midwifery & Women’s Health.

References:

Koirala, B., Rushton, S., Adhikary, P., Balen, J., et al. (2024) COVID-19 as a challenge to Nepal’s newly federalised health system: capacities, responsibilities, and mindsets, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health (online first) https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539524125012.
Sapkota, S., Rushton, S., van Teijlingen, E., et al. (2024) Participatory policy analysis in health policy and systems research: reflections from a study in Nepal. Health Research & Policy Systems, 22 (No.7) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01092-5 .
Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., et al. (2023) Selection of Study Sites and Participants for Research into Nepal’s Federal Health System, WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health 12(2):116-119.
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

15 January 2024

TV interview in Nepal

international, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Two days ago Professor Edwin van Teijlingen from BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences was interviewed by the national television channel News24 in Kathmandu, Nepal. His interview covered some more personal questions, including the question how Edwin became involved in research in Nepal two decades ago, followed questions about recent research projects. The latter involved questions about the nearly completed project “The Impact of Federalisation on Nepal’s Health System: A longitudinal Analysis’. This project, launched in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, is led by the University of Sheffield, in collaboration with BU, the University of Huddersfield, Canterbury Christ Church University, PHASE Nepal and MMIHS (Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences). This nearly four-year project is UK-funded by the MRC (Medical Research Council), the Wellcome Trust and DFID (now called the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office [FCDO]) under the Health Systems Research Initiative.

There were also questions about the health and well-being of Nepal’s migrant workers, partly related to a recently finished study on kidney health of migrant workers funded by The Colt Foundation and a new project led by La Isla Network in the United States of America (USA). La Isla Network, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (in the USA) , Nepal Development Society and Bournemouth University are leading the first-ever international effort to research and address trafficking among Nepalese labour migrants. The work is funded by a $4 million cooperative agreement awarded by the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, International Programs.

The television company has already put the half-hour interview on YouTube, to watch it click here!

10 January 2024

Newspaper coverage in Nepal

international, Public engagement, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

One print daily English-language newspaper The Annapurna Express and one online newspaper Gazzabkoo Magazine published articles this week on our project on strengthening the health system in Nepal. The latter used the title ‘Strengthening Health Systems for Better Health‘ and the former opted for the headline ‘Forum on health system strengthening’.

Our interdisciplinary study ‘The impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system: a longitudinal analysis’ is funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative [Grant ref. MR/T023554/1]. In this Nepal Federal Health System Project we study the consequences for the health system of Nepal’s move in 2015 from a centralised political system to a more federal structure of government . This joint project is led by the University of Sheffield in collaboration with Bournemouth University, the University of Huddersfield, Canterbury Christ Church University and two institutions in Nepal, namely MMIHS (Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences) and PHASE Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH (Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health)

18 April 2023

Training opportunity: Engaging with the media for impact – Wednesday 26 April

ematthews

Explore how working with the media can help to raise the profile of your research and lead to impact in our upcoming workshop – Engaging with the Media for Impact.

This in-person workshop will take place on Talbot Campus from 2pm – 3.30pm on Wednesday 26 April.

Engaging with the media can be a great way to raise your profile and share your research with different audiences, which can increase the reach and potential impact of your work.

Take away practical tips on talking to journalists, tracking the impact of media coverage and finding the best ways to reach your target audiences.

This session is open to all academic staff who are interested in engaging with the media – no previous experience is necessary.

This workshop is taking place as part of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Framework (RKEDF) and will be facilitated by Nathaniel Hobby (Senior Communications Manager, M&C) and Emma Matthews (Research Communications Adviser, RDS)

Book your place

24 August 2022

Media coverage of BU workshops in Nepal

Awarded & submitted bids, international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Earlier this week the Chitwan Post Daily in southern Nepal reported on our Writing Workshops conducted in Pokhara and Kathmandu. The headline photo of this newspaper article focuses on the keynote speech delivered by Prof Dr Prem Narayan Aryal, Vice Chancellor of Pokhara University. He highlighted many key issues around gender and development in Nepal and the importance of academic writing and publishing. This British Academy funded series of BU workshops is is led by Dr. Shovita Dhakal Adhikari (Dept of Sociology & Social Work), Dr. Pramod Regmi (Department of Nursing Sciences) and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences), Dr. Emma Pitchforth from the University of Exeter UK, and Dr. Rashmee Rajkarnikar from the Central Department of Economics at Tribhuvan University (Nepal’s oldest and largest university) with the support of local partners in Nepal, namely Social Science Baha and Green Tara Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

25 November 2021

Health & well-being of Nepal’s migrant workers

conferences, international Edwin van Teijlingen

Dr. Pramod Regmi, Senior Lecturer in International Health in the Department of Nursing Science, has been invited to speak at the forthcoming NIRI Webinar on this Saturday (27th November 2021). He will be jointly presenting with Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Visiting Faculty at the Department of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS). Pramod and Nirmal will be speaking on ‘The hidden health costs of Nepali labour migrants’, following the coverage of Bournemouth University’s research on this topic in The Sunday Times the weekend before last.

NIRI (Nexus Institute of Research and Innovation) is a not-for-profit-sharing institution established by Nepalese scientists, academics, and social workers with a common goal of fostering research and innovation in Nepal. The session will be presented ‘live’ on Facebook.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

12 January 2019

Migration research dissemination in Kathmandu

conferences, international, PG research Edwin van Teijlingen

Last week we presented key findings from our various research projects on health and migration in Nepal. The research meeting was held in a hotel in central Kathmandu. More than seventy people turned up, in fact more people than had registered so the kitchen had to add to the lunch buffet at short notice. The chief guest was the Deputy Speaker of the Nepal’s Federal Parliament, Shivamaya Tumbahangphe. Dr. Tumbahangphe was the first female MP in Nepal with a PhD (in Political Sciences). She is speaking on the photo right, standing next to BU’s Dr. Bibha Simkhada.
The event was organised jointly with Liverpool John Moores University, Green Tara Nepal, and POURAKHI Nepal. the latter is an organisation of women migrant workers established in 2003. It aims to ensure the rights of women migrant workers and their families in the entire process of migration. The organisation focuses its work on women migrant worker’s concerns regarding issues that arise at the different stages of migration, namely pre-employment, pre-departure, employment and post-arrival periods through support programmes.

Nearly one-seventh of the world’s population is now living in a location different from the one in which they were born. Some 3.5 million Nepali are working as migrant workers in the Gulf countries, Malaysia, and India, contributing nearly one-third of the Nepal’s gross domestic product. Despite Nepal’s long history of work-related migration, the national dialogue has only recently become more prominent. Migration has become a political as well as a social issues, for example, we see migration mentioned in the national media on a daily basis. Our meeting was reported on TV and in an English-language newspaper The Himalayan Times on January 6th (to read article click here!).

The BU team comprises: Dr Pramod Regmi (FHSS Lecturer in International Health), Dr. Nirmal Aryal (Post-doctoral Research Fellow), Dr. Bibha Simkhada (FHSS Lecturer in Nursing), and in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) Dr. Catherine Angell and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. The team is complemented by Liverpool John Moores University’s Prof. Padam Simkhada (who is also Visiting Professor at BU), Dr. Pratik Adhikary (BU graduate based at Green Tara Nepal) and colleagues at Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, India.

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