

Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
Today the Open Access journal Health Prospect published our paper ‘ChatGPT: Challenges to editors and examiners’ [1]. The past year saw an exponential growth in the use of machine learning using AI (artificial intelligence) and particularly Generative AI (GenAI) such as ChatGPT. The latter has seen a spectacular rise in the public debate and in the mass media. Those not involved in the development of AI were amazed by the capabilities of ChatGPT to produce text equal to the average human produced texts. There is no doubt that the adoption of AI is advancing rapidly.
To test the ability of ChatGPT in its free version, we posed simple questions about migrant workers in Nepal, a topic we have published about widely. After reading the short essay produced by ChatGPT on that question, we repeated the question whilst asking for references to be included. We were surprised by the quality of this very general piece of work. In many UK universities, including at Bournemouth University, there is a debate about students’ use of ChatGPT. We all recognise how difficult it is to distinguish between work produced by the average student and that produced by AI. There is a similar problem for editors and reviewers of academic journals. It really boils down to the question: ‘How can you be certain the submitted manuscript came from a human source?’ However, we feel the progress of AI is not all doom and gloom. The paper also outlines some of the key problems around AI and academic publishing, but also opportunities arising from the use of AI in this area.
The authors of this paper are based at Bournemouth University, the University of Strathclyde, and the University of Huddersfield.
Reference:
New paper on migrant workers from Nepal was published this week in KMC Journal. The paper ‘Risk Perception and Protective Health Measure Regarding COVID-19 among Nepali Labour Migrants’ Returnee from India’ has Shanti Khanal as lead author [1]. The journal is Open Access, hence freely available online across the globe. The paper examines the association between risk perception and protective behaviour regarding COVID-19 in returnee migrant workers. A total of 384 returnee migrants, based in a quarantine centre on return from India, participated in the study. Using the health belief model (HBM) as a theoretical framework, a structured interview questionnaire was designed and administered. A further three health workers were interviewed face-to-face.
The study showed that the perceived risk of COVID-19 among participants was medium to low. Participants perceived few barriers and had low self-efficacy levels compared to other constructs. This study further showed that participants were more likely to follow a range of protective health behaviours, but not found all. The study revealed a significant association between all risk perception constructs and protective behaviours (p=< 0.05). This study accordingly highlighted a significant relationship between the respondents’ risk perception level and protective health behaviours. The study envisaged that public awareness of risk to the people who returned from India is essential to increase risk perception during the outbreak.
The study works towards fulfilling SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), especially ‘Good health and well-being’ (SDG 3) and Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8).
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)
Reference:
This morning the journal Discover Social Science & Health informed us that Abier Hamidi’s latest paper ‘Islamic Perspectives on HIV: A Scoping Review’ has been accepted for publication [1]. Discover Social Science & Health is an Open Access journal publishing research across the full range of disciplines at the intersection of health, social and biomedical sciences. This latest review is part of Abier’s PhD research project and it follows several earlier related publications [2-7].
Abier is supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi, Principal Academic-International Health and the Global Engagement Lead in the Department of Nursing Sciences, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH).
Congratulations!
References:
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:
One of the first message I received this morning was that our editorial ‘Addressing the inequalities in global genetic studies for the advancement of Genetic Epidemiology’ [1] had been published yesterday. If I had know this in time it would have been the proper last Bournemouth University Research Blog of 2023 published yesterday. Interestingly, we only submitted the draft editorial on Christmas Day, got it back for revisions on Boxing Day and resubmitted it and had it accepted on December 28th. It dis, of course, help that both editors-in-chief of the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology are co-authors on this editorial!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)
Reference:
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:
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:
Today we were informed by Razi International Medical Journal that the paper ‘Management capacity in the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) Afghanistan: Political and socio-cultural issues’ [1] is finally out in print (i.e. online). I wrote a BU Research Blog (see copy of this here!) on May 1st to announce that this paper had accepted by the editors in late April. It has taken another four months at the editorial office to sort the publication details.
The lead author is Dr. Shaqaieq Ashrafi Dost, and this interesting paper is part of the dissemination of her Bournemouth University PhD research. The paper is in an Open Access journal and hence freely available online to read.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)
References:
Ashrafi Dost, S., Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E. (2023). Management capacity in theAfghan Ministry of Public Health pre-Taliban: A mixed-methods study of political and socio-cultural issues. Razi International Medical Journal, 3(1): 9-18. DOI:10.56101/rimj.v3i1.67
In the latest issue of the Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences appeared two articles focusing on the ERASMUS+ programme. This new issue of the journal was published earlier this month, it is an Open Access journal hence its articles can be read free of charged. Unfortunately, due the UK leaving the European Union (EU), ERASMUS+ has just come to an end this summer for universities in the UK.
The first article is an editorial that outlines the benefits of the staff and student exchange between Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Nepal and Bournemouth University [1]. The paper concludes that the world is rapidly becoming a smaller place with globalisation occurring everywhere. The process of internationalising higher education institutions through partnerships like ours, brings benefits to both MMIHS and BU and to both staff and students. For the latter, it offers new ideas, alternative ways of thinking, insights in the other people’s value systems and cultures, etc. It equips students and staff with knowledge, skills and dispositions to work in culturally diverse and international contexts, providing them with a wider diversity of knowledge and greater understanding of global issues and challenges. In short, the partnership offers many opportunities to gain new experiences, explore new sources and perspectives, and improve their cross-cultural capabilities and, ultimately, their employability.
Secondly, there is an article co-authored by the seven MMIHS students, who came to BU in late 2022-early 2023, highlighting what they had learnt from one of the modules they attended [2]. This paper has as it central feature involving patients and the general public in all aspects of research, which was very much a new idea for these seven MSc students from Nepal.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)
References:
In May I wrote a BU Research Blog under the title ‘New ways of publishing?’ on the first time we published an academic paper in the post-review journal Qeios. The paper in question ‘The paper ‘Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review‘ [1] is part of Shraddha Manandhar’s Ph.D. study at the University of Huddersfield. Shraddha is supervised by the University of Huddersfield’s Prof. Philip Brown and Prof. Padam Simkhada and Bournemouth University’ Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. Today’s blog is an update on that novel publishing journey.
The first point to make is that our paper received twenty-two reviews, not two or three, but 22 different people read and commented on this paper. Sure, some reviews were better than others, some were more insightful, others were more generic, some seem to miss out points, or perhaps skimming the surface a little, but still twenty-two reviews! Secondly, by the nature of post-publication review we have taken the reviews to heart and submitted the second improved version of the paper [2]. The new reference for the paper is very similar to the first one, apart from the new submission data and the indication in the https that we are now on the second version [2]. Thirdly, each of the 22 reviews has its own DOI, and hence can easily be quoted. In the second version of the paper we have cited several of the online reviews [e.g. 3-6]. Last, but not least, Qeois offers Open Access and publishing is free of charge.
The great unknown for us how the academic world is going to view post-publication way of peer-reviewing. We realize that we have been lucky in getting 22 reviews for this paper. As part of learning about Qeios I read a 2022 paper in one of my areas of interest and submitted my own review [7]; this review was only the fifth for the paper.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health
References:
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Last we took a new step into the academic publishing by submitting a paper to Qeios. This Open Access journal publishes papers for free, more or less immediately and after the paper has appeared online peer-reviewers are being invited. The paper ‘Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review‘ [1] is part of Shraddha Manandhar’s Ph.D. study at the University of Huddersfield. Her supervisors are Huddersfield’s Prof. Philip Brown and Prof. Padam Simkhada and Bournemouth University’ Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. This journal uses AI to find and invite reviewers, and these reviews will the be are published alongside our article. Should we advised by reviewers to make changes, edits or improvements the next version of the paper will be published online alongside the original submission and the reviews.
We have had some previous experience with the process of post-publication review, in 2017 BU’s Dr. Sarah Collard and Prof. van Teijlingen wrote a referee report for F1000Research after it published a methods paper on online focus groups [2]. More recently we published a COVID-19 paper in a so-called pre-print journal SSRN [3], but this was later in published in a traditional peer-reviewed journal called Scientific Reports [4], part of the Nature publishing family.
References
Today one of my co-editors of the Journal of Asian Midwives emailed me to announce that our journal has been accepted for inclusion by Scopus.
Scopus, which is owned by the publishing house Elsevier, is the world’s largest electronic database of peer-reviewed literature. The Scopus assessors of our application made some very nice comments about the Journal of Asian Midwives, for example that it:
“consistently includes articles that are academically sound and relevant to an international academic or professional audience in the field. The journal has scholarly relevance as evidenced by citations in other journals currently covered by Scopus… The journal has clear aims and scope/journal policies that are consistent with the journal’s content. Although the scope of this journal is narrow, it addresses the need of an important niche audience.”
We are very proud of this achievement and we, as editors (Prof. Rafat Jan, Ms. Kiran Mubeen, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, with editorial assistant Ms. Abeer Musaddique), thank all our supporters, especially the library staff at The Aga Khan University in Pakistan, our reviewers, our authors and of course, you, our readers! I personally like to thank our former CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health) PhD student Dr. Sheetal Sharma for suggesting many years ago that I might like to help this, at the time, new journal. It is a proper well-run peer-reviewed journal, and I know that from personal experience, as a few years ago one of the papers on which I am a co-author was rejected after peer review by ‘my’ journal!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)
Co-editor Journal of Asian Midwives
Congratulations to Abier Hamidi on the acceptance of her Ph.D. paper ‘Facilitators and barriers to condom use in Middle East and North Africa: a systematic review’. [1] This review has been registered on PROSPERO. [2] The Journal of Public Health is part of BU’s publishing deal with Springer, hence it will free open access when published.
Abier is supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi, Senior Lecturer in International Health and the Global Engagement Lead in the Department of Nursing Sciences, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH). Earlier Abier published ‘HIV epidemic in Libya: Identifying gaps’ in 2021. [3]
References:
BU authors can now publish OA for free in select journals with American Psychological Association. Read on to find out more!
Authors affiliated with UK institutions participating in APA’s Jisc agreement may publish open access in hybrid journals published by APA at no cost to the author, provided that:
All articles under this agreement will be published under the CC-BY copyright license. Upon publication, articles will be made immediately open access.
You can find further information on how to submit an article for consideration and other key information, such as maximum number of articles, here.
As a reminder, BU holds a number of agreements with key publishers, many of which allow you to publish open access for free. You can read more about them here.
If you have any queries, please contact the Open Access team.
There are many types of outputs that use evidence synthesis, such as policy briefs, systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines and so on. Finally, establishing a National Evidence Synthesis Centre would be very timely to help develop mechanisms of evidence synthesis as well as improve research communication. The first step could be the planning of a national workshop to identifying evidence gaps, next independent research teams can be formed for evidence synthesis while experts from institutions in the global north can provide mentoring support for capacity building and help ensure the centre’s sustainability.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen is currently in Kathmandu as through Bournemouth University’s Erasmus+ exchange with Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Nepal. As part of his teaching commitments at MMIHS he will conducted workshop sessions on academic writing and publishing based on the textbook Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences [2], which was published by Social Science Baha in Kathmandu in 2022.
References:
A recent study of 43 journals in the global health field found that PLOS Global Public Health has the joint highest diversity index, whilst also recording the maximum geographic diversity score! [1] The paper by a team from Pakistan and Canada addressed the question: “What is the current state of ethics of diversity and representation in global health publications?” In order to be able to answer this question they developed their own Journal Diversity Index (JDI) to measure three parameters of diversity and representation, namely gender, geographic & socioeconomic status.
The fact that PLOS Global Public Health came out top is good news for the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) as we published a paper in this journal last month. [2] Our qualitative paper ‘Perceptions around COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy: A qualitative study in Kaski district, Western Nepal’ comprises 19 interviews in the city of Pokhara and its surrounding rural areas.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
References: