BU Research Blog

September 28, 2022

Two little mishaps in a row

BU research, COVID-19, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, PG research, Postgraduate Research, Research Integritiy, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

All research has its costs, we spend a lot of time as academics planning for and budgeting our studies. This starts with considering how much time each academic spends on preparing the grant application and finished with cost of dissemination of findings after the data have been analysed. We do risk assessments the try to reduce risk and mitigate unforeseen circumstances. My last two trips to Nepal both suffered from such unexpected events.

In May I traveled to Nepal with Prof. Vanora Hundley from the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) as part of the ERASMUS+ exchange with Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) where we joined by Bournemouth University (BU) PhD student Sulochana Dhakal-Rai. Sulochana was in Nepal on the Turing Scheme, the UK government’s programme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world.

As part of this trip we had organised a one-day Systematic Review on Dementia Research Workshop on Sunday 29th May in at MMIHS in Kathmandu. This Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) funded workshop was highly successful, it attracted 75% more participants than budgeted for, namely 53 instead of 30. However, the extra cost this incurred in terms of workshop resources, refreshments and lunches was not a great issue compared to the fact that I had contracted COVID-19 a few days before the workshop and had tested positive on a PCR test two days before. Thanks to the hard work of our colleagues at MMIHS, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Green Tara Nepal, and especially, Prof. Vanora Hundley, the workshop run very well. I even managed to make a guest appearance online from my hotel room 200 meters away from the workshop venue, albeit on a poorer quality internet connection than I would have had half way across the globe (at BU or at home).

This positive COVID-19 test also meant I could not travel on the India in early June due to COVID-19 travel restriction for entering India. There I had planned to meet Dr. Shanti Shanker from BU’s Psychology Department as part of our GCRF-funded project ‘Promoting dementia research in Nepal and India’. Again due to the presence of well organised colleagues the India part of the trip ran smoothly. Dr. Gayatri Kotbagi, who has works for us through the charity Sheetale Astitva, and Dr. Shanti Shanker managed to run the internal trip very well without me.

In August I traveled to Nepal again with two BU academics: Dr. Shovita Dhakal Adhikari, Lecturer in Criminology, Department of Sociology & Social Work, Dr. Pramod Regmi, Senior Lecturer in International Health (Department of Nursing Sciences) and a colleague from the University of Exeter Dr. Emma Pitchforth. The main purpose of this visit was to run two sets of three-day Academic Writing Workshop in two cities in Nepal, namely Kathmandu and Pokhara. These workshops were funded by the British Academy and supported by Dr. Rashmee Rajkarnikar from the Central Department of Economics at Tribhuvan University, Nepal’s oldest and largest university, the charity Green Tara Nepal and Social Science Baha. This time the trip itself went very well, both workshop were very well attended, and even made it into a newspaper in Nepal: The Rising Nepal.

The trouble started after we had left Nepal. Dr. Pitchforth and I helped both fell ill some five to eight days after returning to the UK. We both had flu-type symptoms, including sore joints, night sweats, feeling tired, coughing, etc., although these were not exactly the same, my symptoms were perhaps a bit more like COVID-19. Which is why I did three COVID-19 tests in one week (all negative). It was not until the blood test came back from the NHS lab last week that my family doctor could tell me that I had dengue fever. Dengue fever is on the rise in Nepal. The national English-language paper The Himalayan Times reported yesterday (27th Sept. 2022) that dengue fever “has afflicted almost 26,000 people in Nepal” In July in the capital Kathmandu “…35 people had contracted the mosquito-borne disease. The number increased to 727 in August and 8,132 in September.”

I’m looking forward to my next trip to Nepal, as we have loads of on-going project. I have been going there for nearly twenty years, and having two incidents in two decades is not a lot, pity these came in the same year and on subsequent trips.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

September 25, 2022

The difference between two editorials

BU research, COVID-19, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday the editors of the Journal of Asian Midwives published published a short editorial in the latest issue of this international journal. The editorial under the title ‘JAM – Summer 2022: One crisis after another….. ‘ introduces the four peer-reviewed research papers in the current issue [1]. The editorial is focused neatly on aspects of midwifery and maternity care and the Asian countries represented in the four articles: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan. Compare this to our editorial published a few weeks ago in Frontiers in Public Health [2]. The latter editorial again introduces four papers, this time papers included in a Special Issue of Frontiers in Public Health which focuses on ‘Integrated health service delivery and COVID-19’. One would expect an editorial in a Special Issue of a journal to be particularly focused. However, the four included papers on integrated care and COVID-19 are quite different from each other, making it harder for the guest editors to write a coherent editorial.

It is worth remembering that there is an art in writing an interesting editorial which motivates the reader to read further articles in the journal, and Prof. Vanora and I with four other colleagues discussed recently [3]. At the same time, the editors writing any editorial can only work with the material available to them at the time.

All three papers mentioned in this Bournemouth University Research Blog (and listed below) are Open Access, and hence all are freely available to any reader across the globe with internet access!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

References:

Jan, R., van Teijlingen, E., Mubeen, K. (2022) JAM – Summer 2022: One crisis after another….. Journal of Asian Midwives 9(1):1.
Sathian B., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2022) Editorial: Integrated health service delivery and COVID-19. Frontiers in Public Health 10:1008777. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1008777.
van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Sathian, B., Simkhada, P., Robinson, J., Banerjee, I. (2022). The Art of the Editorial. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 12(1):1135–38.

September 24, 2022

New paper Dr. Rachel Arnold

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open accecss, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Arnold on the publication of her fourth PhD paper. Today the Journal of Asian Midwives informed us that the paper ‘Hidden Relationships: Perspectives on Leadership and Management in Afghan Maternity Services – An Ethnographic Exploration‘ has been published today [1]. Earlier papers have been published in BJOG, Social Science & Medicine as well as BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth [2-4]. The paper discusses the improvement of the quality of healthcare, particularly in low-income countries, which often focuses on the performance of healthcare providers and the availability, acceptability, and uptake of services. The role that health service leaders play in facilitating effective care has received less attention in the literature. This ethnographic study explored the perspectives of Afghan maternity care providers, managers and other stakeholders on leadership and the provision of quality maternity care.
The results of this study involves 1. Healthcare providers who described their managers as both autocratic and weak. They explained that their managers failed to enforce standards or listen to their concerns. 2. Managers who felt powerless to improve
care because the government did not support their initiatives to reform the working environment or discipline staff members who were flouting the rules.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Arnold, R, vanTeijlingen, E, Ryan, K, & Holloway, I. (2022) Hidden Relationships: Perspectives on Leadership and Management in Afghan Maternity Services – An Ethnographic Exploration. Journal of Asian Midwives. 9(1):45–55.
Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K., Holloway, I. (2019) Villains or victims? An ethnography of Afghan maternity staff and the challenge of high quality respectful care, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 19 :307 https://rdcu.be/bPqlj
Arnold R., van Teijlingen E, Ryan K., Holloway I. (2015) Understanding Afghan health care providers: Qualitative study of culture of care in Kabul maternity hospital, BJOG 122: 260-267.
Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K., Holloway, I. (2018) Parallel worlds: an ethnography of care in an Afghan maternity hospital, Social Science & Medicine 126:33-40.

September 17, 2022

New BU PhD education paper

BRIAN, Centre for Excellence in Learning, Doctoral College, Featured academics, international, Research Supervision, Student Engagement, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week the editor of the journal Journal of Education & Research informed us that our paper ‘Reflections on variations in PhD viva regulations: “And the options are….”’ has been accepted for publication [1]. This paper grew out of a discussion between the six authors about the apparent differences between the outcomes of the PhD viva at different universities. We have all acted as internal or external examiners for a PhD viva and had noted inconsistencies between universities, either in the regulations or in the interpretation of their PhD regulations. The authors are based at three different universities, on two different continents and, between them, have examined PhD theses submitted to universities based in at least ten different countries. Three authors are based in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (Prof. Vanora Hundley, Dr. Pramod Regmi & Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen), two authors are based in the School of Human & Health Sciences at the University of Huddersfield (Prof. Padam Simkhada & Dr. Bibha Simkhada and both are Visiting Faculty at BU), and one author is based in the Institute for Global Health in the School of Public Health & Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA (Prof. Krishna C. Poudel).

This paper outlines the range of outcomes of a PhD examination. It also includes four short case studies, each reflecting on a particular aspect /differences we experienced as examinees or as examiners. The authors aim to alert PhD candidates and examiners to study the examination rules set by the awarding university, as the details of the PhD examination outcome, and hence the options available to both examiners and the students, may differ more than one might expect. This is the latest CMMPH education publication around aspects of the PhD [2-5].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

References:

van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, B., Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., Hundley, V., Poudel, K.C. (2022) Reflections on variations in PhD viva regulations: “And the options are….”, Journal of Education and Research (accepted).
Way, S, Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E, Walton, G., Westwood, G. (2016) Dr Know. Midwives 19: 66-7.
Wasti, S.P. Regmi, P.R., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2022) Writing a PhD Proposal, In: Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P.P., Hundely, V. & Shreeh, K. (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.
Regmi, P., Poobalan, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) PhD supervision in Public Health, Health Prospect: Journal of Public Health 20(1):1-4. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/HPROSPECT/article/view/32735/28111

September 4, 2022

Two BU professors speaking at Qatar Dementia Conference

Events, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, research methods, Training, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

At the end of the month (Friday 30th September) Professor Jane Murphy and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen are both speaking at the Advanced Dementia Research Conference (ADRC 2022). Their participation will be online thus helping to reduce BU’s carbon footprint. Prof. Murphy, Deputy Dean for Research in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) will be talking about ‘Nutritional interventions in ageing’, whilst Prof. van Teijlingen from the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) will be discussing ‘Qualitative Research in Dementia’. The one-day conference has two more BU connections and two further speakers ‘Dr. Brijesh Sathian and Prof. Padam Simkhada are both FHSS Visiting Faculty. The former will be speaking on ‘Complex Innovative trial designs and analyses for Dementia Research’, whilst the latter will be presenting on ‘Mixed-methods research in Dementia’.

August 24, 2022

Media coverage of BU workshops in Nepal

Awarded & submitted bids, Featured academics, international, Publishing, Uncategorized, 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)

August 20, 2022

Pokhara workshop on academic writing 2022

Featured academics, international, Publishing, Research news, Research Training, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week from Sunday till Tuesday (21-23 August) Hotel Mount Kailash Resort hosts a three-day writing and publishing workshop for academics and researchers. The workshop is led by Dr. Shovita Dhakal Adhikari, Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen all three from Bournemouth University in the south of England, Dr. Emma Pitchforth from the University of Exeter in the west of England, and Dr. Rashmee Rajkarnikar from the Central Department of Economics at Tribhuvan University. Shovita highlighted: “As sociologist and a female researcher I think it is very important to address gender issues in all part of society, including academic writing and publishing.”

This workshop targeting young academics in and around Pokhara and it is funded by The British Academy. The project builds research capacity of early career researchers researching gender in Nepal-based higher education institutions by improving their chances of getting published in international journals in English. In Nepal the workshop is further supported by Social Science Baha and Green Tara Nepal. The workshop centres around the 23 chapters of the textbook ‘Academic Writing and Publishing in Health and Social Sciences’ was published this year by Social Science Baha and Himal Books in Kathmandu.

August 18, 2022

British Academy Academic Writing Workshop well attended in Kathmandu

Awarded & submitted bids, Featured academics, international, Publishing, Student Engagement, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today was the second day of our three-day Writing Workshop organised in Kathmandu Nepal. The project builds research capacity of early career researchers researching gender in Nepal-based higher education institutions by improving their chances of getting published in international journals in English. The workshops is delivered by a team of UK-based academic led by BU’s Dr. Shovita Dhakal Adhikari. The team further includes BU’s Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Dr. Emma Pitchforth from the University of Exeter, and Dr. Rashmee Rajkarnikar from Nepal’s oldest university, Tribhuvan University. The workshop is run for a maximum of 30 participants over a three-day period. Tomorrow will be last day in Kathmandu, before we travel to Pokhara and repeat the three-day workshop there starting on Sunday.

Over the years our Bournemouth University team has build up capacity in academic writing and publishing in Nepal on a more ad hoc basis . This grant will allow us to offer a more systematic approach to academic writing capacity building in Nepal. It is building on a growing number of paper published by Faculty of Health & Social Sciences staff on various aspects of academic writing and publishing. [1-20] The project is funded by the British Academy and supported by the charity Green Tara Nepal and Social Science Baha.

References:

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.
Arnold, R., Ireland, J., Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Writing and publishing a reflective paper: Three case studies, Welhams College Journal (forthcoming).
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.
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.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. International J Soc Sci Management, 7(1), 38-41. https://doi.org/10.3126/ijssm.v7i1.27405
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, 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 (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.pd

August 11, 2022

Interested in health research in Nepal?

Events, Global engagement, international, Research communication, Research news, Research Training, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Today 11 August we are running a workshop at Talbot Campus (in person and online) facilitated by Prof. Sujam Marahatta on ‘Health Research in Nepal: Past and Present, Opportunities and Barriers’. The physical meeting will be in the Fusion Building room F111 starting at 14:00 and finishing at 16:00. Prof. Marahatta, is Professor of Public Health at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Kathmandu, Nepal. He is visiting Bournemouth University as part of the ERASMUS+ Key Action 107 which includes the exchange of academic staff and students between BU and MMIHS. Several of BU’s PhD students and staff have already been to MMIHS as part of this exchange. He hopes to stimulate debate and generate ideas that will help build health research capacity in Nepal.

In order to open the meeting to other researchers in the UK studying Nepal the meeting will be hybrid and also available via Teams.

Meeting ID: 399 955 418 574
Passcode: 6Uzh5k

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Prof. Vanora Hundley & Dr. Pramod Regmi

Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

August 11, 2022

Erasmus+ workshop at BU by Prof. Marahatta from Nepal

COVID-19, Events, Featured academics, international, Publishing, Research news, research staff, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday (10th August) Prof. Sujan Marahatta from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) gave an insightful talk under the title ‘Response to COVID-19 in Nepal’ to colleagues at Bournemouth University. Prof. Marahatta arrived in the UK yesterday morning and straight off the bus from Heathrow airport came to present in the Bournemouth Gateway Building. He is at Bournemouth University as part of the ERASMUS+ Key Action 107 which includes the exchange of academic staff and students between the UK and Nepal, between BU and MMIHS. His talk covered his role in writing the official report ‘Responding to COVID-19’.

He also spoke about the various joint studies conducted between MMIHS and academics in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. These collaborations include a range of BU academics, Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Catherine Angell, Dr. Preeti Mahato (who recently moved to Royal Holloway), Prof. Carol Clark, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Dr. Shanti Shanker, and Prof. Vanora Hundley.

Erasmus+ is the European Commission’s flagship for financial support of mobility for Higher Education students, teachers and institutions. The British Councill is the funding agency in the UK and coordinates the funding at a national level. BU is proud to be part of Erasmus+.

July 27, 2022

New paper by Dr. Orlanda Harvey

BU research, Featured academics, international, Publishing, student research, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Orlanda Harvey and Dr. Margarete Parrish both in the Department of Sociology and Social Work on the acceptance of their latest paper ‘Mixed-methods research on androgen abuse – a review’ by the journal Current Opinion in Endocrinology & Diabetes [1]. Orlanda was invited to write this review on the basis of her PhD research project. Her PhD used a mixed-methods approach with people using un-prescribe /recreational Anabolic Androgenic Steroid (AAS) in several high-income countries including the UK. Anabolic Androgenic Steroids are synthetic drugs mimicking male sex hormones, especially testosterone, and are often used for their anabolic effects, for example, increasing muscle and strength. This PhD study resulted in several high-quality academic publications [2-4] as well as a feature article in HED Matters under the title ‘ECR Spotlight: From Social Work to Studying Steroids’ [5].

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Harvey, O., van Teijlingen, E., Parrish, M. (2022) Mixed-methods research on androgen abuse – a review, Current Opinion in Endocrinology & Diabetes (accepted)
Harvey, O., Parrish, M., van Teijlingen, E, Trenoweth, S. (2021) Libido as a reason to use non-prescribed Anabolic Androgenic Steroids, Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy 29:3,276-288,DOI: 10.1080/09687637.2021.1882940
Harvey, O., Keen, S., Parrish, M., van Teijlingen, E. (2019) Support for people who use Anabolic Androgenic Steroids: A Systematic Literature Review into what they want and what they access. BMC Public Health 19: 1024 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7288-x https://rdcu.be/bMFon
Harvey, O., Parrish, M., van Teijlingen, E., Trenoweth, S. (2020) Support for non-prescribed Anabolic Androgenic Steroids users: A qualitative exploration of their needs Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy 27:5, 377-386. DOI 10.1080/09687637.2019.1705763
Harvey, O., (2019) ECR Spotlight: From Social Work to Studying Steroids, HED Matters 2(2):16-19.

July 21, 2022

Dealing with difficult reviewers

BU research, Featured academics, international, open access, Publishing, research methods, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week saw the publication of another Bournemouth University paper on academic writing and publishing. This latest paper ‘Struggling to reply to reviewers: Some advice for novice researchers‘ has been published in the scientific journal Health Prospect: Journal of Public Health. This journal is published in Nepal and it is Open Access, hence freely available across the globe.

Peer review is the process by which academic journals assess and regulate the quality of content they publish, by inviting academic experts to review your submitted manuscripts. It is a process of quality control. Once you have submitted your paper to a journal the editor will select potential peer reviewers within the field of research to peer-review your manuscript and make recommendations. In many case the peer review process can be a positive experience for you as it allows you to develop your skills and improve your written work. For example, good reviewers may notice potential imbalances, point out missing key references or highlight different potential perspectives, and thus help you to enhance the overall quality of the paper. On some occasions, however a reviewer can be a complete pain in the neck!

The paper is written by a multidisciplinary team based in the Department of Nursing Sciences (Dr. Regmi), the Department of Social Sciences and Social Work (Dr. Harvey), and the Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences (Dr. Taylor & Prof. van Teijlingen). The authors bring their combined expertise in midwifery, social work, health education, sociology and health services research to offers the readers advice how to deal with the more difficult reviewers.

Reference:

Harvey, O., Taylor, A., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Struggling to reply to reviewers: Some advice for novice researchers Health Prospect: Journal of Public Health 21(2):19-22

July 20, 2022

New paper on COVID-19 rumours in Nepal

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, COVID-19, Featured academics, international, open access, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health accepted the latest COVID-19 paper from an multidisciplinary team in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS). The paper ‘Fear, Stigma and Othering: The Impact of COVID-19 Rumours on Returnee Migrants and Muslim Populations of Nepal’ is based on research funded by British Academy Special Research Grants: COVID-19 Awards. This British Academy funded-study brought together social scientists and health researchers interested in social and media aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project is apart of the Health Research Network for Migrant Workers in Asia and it is led by Dr. Pramod Regmi (Department of Nursing Sciences), Dr. Shovita Dhakal-Adhikari (Department of Social Sciences and Social Work), Dr. Nirmal Aryal (formerly Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences and soon to be appointed in the Department of Nursing Sciences), external collaborator Dr. Sharada Prasad Wasti from the University of Huddersfield, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences).

Reference:

Regmi, P., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, N., Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Fear, Stigma and Othering: The Impact of COVID-19 Rumours on Returnee Migrants and Muslim Populations of Nepal, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Accepted

July 7, 2022

Can you help, sir?

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Working in South Asia over the past two decades I have learnt to expect emails asking for help. Often from people I have met perhaps just once or twice or who are my friends on Facebook or LinkedIn. I tried to help if I can, but often I can’t. My friends and colleagues in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India have a slightly different idea of how UK officialdom works. Perhaps they have a better and more realistic idea than I have, but that’s a different blog one day.

This week I wrote a reference for an employee of Green Tara Nepal, a charity we have been collaborating with for decades. This is someone I have had general dealing with, not someone who work on one of our projects. I have had interesting research discussions with her in Kathmandu, so I was happy to write her a reference. This morning I received a request via Facebook from someone from Nepal whom I have been advising on a number of job applications in Australia and the UK. On my advice, he had recently applied to a post at a university in London. Yesterday I asked me what to do as he had not heard from them. I advised him to email HR at that university and ask for an update. This morning his question was: “Can you ask them on my behalf, Sir”. I kindly replied: “Sorry, not my university”, not going into confidentiality issues, the data protection act, etc.

What I find fascinating as a sociologist is the ‘traditional society’ thinking behind these questions, which must be something along the lines of: “Edwin is in a senior position, he must be powerful, hence, he has influence in high places. I know him so he can help me achieve my goals.” The interesting other side of the coin is, of course, that if I do something, speak to someone on their behalf, write a reference or recommendation, etc. and the person is successful this success is (partly) attributed to me. And when I say that that’s not the way decision-making works in the UK, it is likely to be regarded as false modesty.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

July 2, 2022

Celebrating FHSS Visiting Faculty’s contribution

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, NHS, open access, Publishing, Research news, research staff, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Some people are unsure (or unaware) of the contribution of Bournemouth University’s Visiting Faculty. At many UK universities eminent scholars (researchers, teachers and/or professionals) are offered honorary unpaid appointments to enhance the skills and knowledge of that institution’s academic staff and/or students. Unusually, these Visiting Faculty members are hosted when there already exists a well-developed professional relationship between the Visiting Faculty and the university’s staff. The Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) has a number of Visiting Faculty members, including some local, national and international collaborators.

It just occurred to me this morning that my last two scientific publications, including the one highlighted yesterday on the BU Research Blog are co-authored with academics who are FHSS Visiting Faculty. Yesterday’s paper ‘‘A survey of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety and Depression among Flood Affected Populations in Kerala, India‘ [1], was co-authored by two of our Visiting Faculty: Prof. Padam Simkhada (in the School of Human & Health Sciences at the University of Huddersfield) and Dr. Brijesh Sathian (in the Geriatrics & Long-term Care Department at Rumailah Hospital, Qatar). Whilst last week’s publication ‘COVID-19 restrictions and psychological well-being of fathers with infants admitted to NICU (neonatal intensive care units)—an exploratory cross-sectional study‘ in the journal Acta Paediatrica [2] was co-authored by two Visiting Faculty members from University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust. The two clinicians, who co-authored this international paper, are both based at Poole Maternity Hospital: Prof. Minesh Khashu (Lead Consultant Neonatologist) and Ms. Jillian Ireland (Professional Midwifery Advocate).

Both papers are Open Access, and hence free to access for anybody across the globe.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

References:

Asim, M., Sathian, B., van Teijlingen, E., Mekkodathil, A. A., Babu, M. G. R., Rajesh, E., Kumar, R. N., Simkhada, P., & Banerjee, I. (2022). A survey of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety and Depression among Flood Affected Populations in Kerala, India . Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 12(2), 1203–1214. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v12i2.46334
Adama E.A., Koliouli F., Provenzi L., Feeley N., van Teijlingen E., Ireland J., Thomson-Salo F., Khashu M and FINESSE Group (2022) COVID-19 restrictions and psychological well-being of fathers with infants admitted to NICU—an exploratory cross-sectional study, Acta Paediatrica (forthcoming) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/apa.16455

July 1, 2022

New BU disaster publication

BU research, Global engagement, international, open access, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday the latest issue of the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology carried our paper ‘A survey of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety and Depression among Flood Affected Populations in Kerala, India‘ [1]. This paper was co-authored by two Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) Visiting Faculty, namely Prof. Padam Simkhada (in the School of Human & Health Sciences at the University of Huddersfield) and Dr. Brijesh Sathian (in the Geriatrics & Long-term Care Department at Rumailah Hospital, Qatar). This study is longer-term follow-up of the 2018 floods in Kerala. The authors conducted a cross-sectional household survey between November 2019 to January 2020 in one district of Kerala with adults who had been directly exposed to the 2018 flood. The paper concludes that the vast majority of respondents (92% of women & 87% of men) still showed sub-clinical psychiatric symptoms one year after the flood. An earlier paper had argues for further research in India to explore “the long-term sequelae of catastrophic floods on physical and mental trauma on disaster-affected populations” [2].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

References:

Asim, M., Sathian, B., van Teijlingen, E., Mekkodathil, A. A., Babu, M. G. R., Rajesh, E., Kumar, R. N., Simkhada, P., & Banerjee, I. (2022). A survey of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety and Depression among Flood Affected Populations in Kerala, India . Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 12(2), 1203–1214. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v12i2.46334
Asim, M., Mekkodathil, A., Sathian, B, Elayedath, R., Kumar N.R., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2019) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among the Flood Affected Population in Indian Subcontinent, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 9(1): 755-758. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/24003

June 26, 2022

Building International Partnerships

BU research, conferences, Events, Featured academics, Fusion themes, Global engagement, international, policy, Research news, research opportunities, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

On Monday 27th June Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen will be presenting at the ‘Global Partnership for International Research Meeting’ at the University of Huddersfield. The meeting is organised by Prof. Padam Simkhada, who is Associate Dean International and Professor of Global Health, as well as Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University. Edwin will be talking about his experience in building long-term sustainable and effective international partnerships, using examples from both the health and sociology field.

A current example he will highlight is one of Bournemouth University’s international research collaborations is the Nepal Federal Health System Project, led by the University of Sheffield. This three-year project (2020-2023) is funded by the Health Systems Research Initiative (incorporating the MRC, DFID, Wellcome Trust), it has partners in the UK and Nepal and bring together an interdisciplinary team of specialists in public health, sociology, health systems, social geography, health economic, political science, anthropology, medicine, emergency management, nursing & international development.

June 23, 2022

Sorry, the publication of your paper is being delayed because….

Featured academics, Global engagement, international, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday a colleague in Nepal notified me that the publication of our latest paper has been delayed. This paper ‘Writing and publishing a reflective paper: Three case studies’ [1] is another method-type paper on aspects of academic writing and publishing published by BU academics and FHSS Visiting Faculty. A delay in getting in print is not uncommon in academic publishing, but usually the justification is that reviewers are sitting on the manuscript and not returning their report, or the journal editor can’t find academics to volunteer as reviewers, or the editor is ill. Occasionally the journal has too few papers to publish the next issue yet with your accepted paper in it, but this time the excuse was ever rarer.

We had submitted our paper to a brand new journal. A research collaborator in Kathmandu had asked me to submit a paper for the journal’s inaugural issue, which we did as we saw this a part of our role in academic capacity building in Nepal. The delay in publishing this journal is the shortage of ISSN [International Standard Serial Number] numbers in Nepal. Every good academic journal across the globe will have registered for a unique ISSN number [2]. Apparently the office issuing ISSN numbers in Paris head office has not delivered ISSNs to Nepal, and according to my colleague “many journals are waiting for a number …It’s not good news for the academic writers and scholars but we’re really sorry for late due to the unavailability of ISSN.”

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health

References:

Arnold, R., Ireland, J., Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E., (2022) Writing and publishing a reflective paper: Three case studies, Welham College Journal (accepted for publication)
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).

Tagged / Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

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