7 November 2015

Ten BU papers on academic writing

BRIAN, international, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, open access, Publishing, Research themes, Training, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Last night I received an email from an academic based in South Africa who asked me if I could facilitate a two-day writing workshop in an other sub-Saharan African country later this month. He had found a copy of our paper ‘Writing an academic paper for publication’ on the web.[1] This is, of course, a good advert for Open Access Publishing. I had the pleasure of being able to tell my African colleague that most of our published papers on various aspects of academic writing are Open Access.[1-10] Hence most are freely available to scholars like him in low-income countries.

Unfortunately, this particular request was for a workshop later this month, which is far too short notice. Especially since my co-author and BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada (Liverpool John Moores University) and I will be running a one-day writing workshop in Liverpool the day before the proposed dates of the African workshop.

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References

van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2002) Getting your paper to the right journal: a case study of an academic paper, Journal of Advanced Nursing 37(6): 506-511.
van Teijlingen, E. (2004), Why I can’t get any academic writing done, Medical Sociology News 30 (3): 62-63. http://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/26334/MSN_Nov_2004.pdf
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, B.D. (2013) Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference, Kathmandu University Medical Journal 11(3): 262-265. http://www.kumj.com.np/issue/43/262-265.pdf
Pitchforth, E., Porter, M., van Teijlingen, E.R., Forrest Keenan, K. (2005) Writing up and presenting qualitative research in family planning and reproductive health care, Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care 31 (2): 132-135. http://jfprhc.bmj.com/content/31/2/132.full.pdf+html
van Teijlingen, E., P.P., Simkhada, B., Ireland, J. (2012) The long & winding road to publication, Nepal Journal Epidemiology 2(4): 213-215 http://nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/7093/6388
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2013) Writing an academic paper for publication, Health Renaissance 11(1): 1-5. healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Pp_1_5_Guest_Editorial.pdf
Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2013) Academic authorship: who, why and in what order? Health Renaissance 11(2): 98-101. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/HREN/article/view/8214/6679
van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Bick, D. (2014) Who should be an author on your academic paper? Midwifery 30: 385-386. healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Download/vol-11-2/Page_99_101_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 Journal of Epidemiology 4(1): 344-347. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/10138/8265
Hall, J., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E. (2015) The journal editor: friend or foe? Women & Birth 28(2): e26-e29.

5 November 2015

Congratulations new publication Dr. Pramod Regmi in FHSS

Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health published an editorial with Dr. Pramod Regmi as its first author. The editorial ‘Importance of Health and Social Care Research into Gender and Sexual Minority Populations in Nepal.’ The authors argue that despite progressive legislative developments and increased visibility of sexual and gender minority populations in the general population, mass media often report that this population face a wide range of discrimination and inequalities. LGBT (lesbian, gay, and bisexual, and transgender) populations have not been considered as priority research populations in Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Regmi, R.R., van Teijlingen, E. Importance of Health and Social Care Research into Gender and Sexual Minority Populations in Nepal

Asia Pac J Public Health 2015 27: 806–808,

4 November 2015

New CMMPH paper published from COST collaboration

open access, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week saw publication of a new CMMPH paper in BMC Health Services Research. This methodological paper ‘Assessing the performance of maternity care in Europe: a critical exploration of tools and indicators‘ is a collaboration between several European maternity-care researchers based in Spain (Ramón Escuriet, Fatima Leon-Larios), Belgium (Katrien Beeckman), Northern Ireland (Marlene Sinclair), the UK (Lucy Firth, Edwin van Teijlingen), Switzerland ( Christine Loytved, Ans Luyben) and Portugal (Joanna White). Dr. Ans Luyben is also Visiting Faculty in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences at Bournemouth University. The underlying work was supported by the European Union through a COST Action called Childbirth Cultures, Concerns, and Consequences headed by Prof. Soo Downe at the University of Central Lancashire. COST is seen by the EU as an important tool in building and supporting the European Research Area (ERA).

This paper critically reviews published tools and indicators currently used to measure maternity care performance within Europe, focusing particularly on whether and how current approaches enable systematic appraisal of processes of minimal (or non-) intervention in support of physiological or “normal birth”.

The authors conclude: “The review identified an emphasis on technical aspects of maternity, particularly intrapartum care in Europe, rather than a consideration of the systematic or comprehensive measurement of care processes contributing to non-intervention and physiological (normal) birth. It was also found that the links between care processes and outcomes related to a normal mode of birth are not being measured.”

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

28 October 2015

Fear in childbirth: is the media responsible?

Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

The media are often blamed for influencing society’s attitudes and views. In this month’s Café Scientific we will debate the impact of the mass media on women’s views of childbirth. The motion is: “Fear in childbirth: is the media responsible?”

Café Scientific is being hosted at Café Boscanova in Bournemouth on November 3rd at 19.30. The debate is open to the general public. It will be chaired by Prof. Vanora Hundley, Professor of Midwifery and the two proponents on either side of the debate are Dr. Ann Luce and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. Ann Luce is a well recognised media researcher and a Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Communication. Edwin van Teijlingen is a medical sociologist and Professor of Reproductive Health Research.

The debate will touch upon social perceptions and beliefs about childbirth can increase women’s requests for interventions, such as caesarean section, with long-term health implications for mothers and babies. This month’s Café Scientific will explore the role of the mass media in shaping these beliefs and identify whether media portrayals are responsible for rising rates of intervention.

Join us for an interactive debate on the impact of the mass media on women’s views of childbirth. The audience will be given the opportunity to vote on the motion before and after the debate.

These academics have written a paper on the topic of debate, a copy of which can be found here!

23 October 2015

Open Access publishing does not have to be expensive!

BRIAN, open access, Publishing, Research Ethics, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

As it is Open Access Week I would like to clarify one of the Open Access publishing myths. One of the common replies I receive from academics colleagues when raising Open Access publishing is that it is (too) expensive. This is, of course, true for many academic journals, but not all are expensive. Some don’t even charge a processing fee at all. Infamously, The Lancet Global Health charges an article processing fee of US $4750 upon acceptance of submitted research articles. More moderately priced scientific journals still charge anything up to about £1,500 per article.

Academic publishing has been big business for decades, and Open Access has rapidly become part of that business. While traditional book and magazine publishers struggle to stay afloat, research publishing houses have typical profit margins of nearly 40%, according CBCNEWS who quote Vincent Larivière from the University of Montreal’s School of Library & Information Science.

At the same time we see a sharp increase in so-called Predatory Publishers who have set up business for the sole reason to make money from Open Access publishing. They have not established or taken over academic journal for the greater good of the discipline or the dissemination of research findings to the widest possible audience. Unscrupulous publishers jump on the Open-Access bandwagon BU librarian Jean Harris recently shared an interesting article about Predatory Publishers (click here to read this!).

However, there are other format of Open Access. One of our more recent papers on research ethics was published in the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology which is an online Open Access journal that does not charge authors for publishing! Also the Journal of Asian Midwives, where FHSS PhD student Preeti Mahato recently had her article accepted, is hosted in Pakistan by Aga Khan University through its institutional repository eCommons. Publishing in this Open Access online journal is also free of charge. In other words, Open Access publishing does not have to be expensive!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

17 October 2015

ESRC Social Sciences at BU

Fusion, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Get some of these interesting presentations in your diary now ‘Enhancing social life through global social research’:The social sciences at BU. For details click here!

Three sessions:

Part 1. Young people and development

Part 2. Ethnographies of religion & cultures

Part 3. Social science research in diverse communities

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

13 October 2015

Management of male obesity: The qualitative evidence (BMJ Open)

open access, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday BMJ Open published our latest article on the weight management in obese men, under the title A qualitative evidence synthesis on the management of male obesity.[1] To the best of our knowledge, this is the first synthesis of qualitative studies investigating men’s perceptions and experiences of weight management services. The interdisciplinary study was conducted between the three research centres at the University of Aberdeen, namely the Health Services Research Unit (HSRU), the Health Economics Research Unit (HERU) and the Rowett Institute of Health & Nutrition, the University of Stirling’s NMAHP Research Unit, the University of Edinburgh’s Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research & Policy (SCPHRP) and Bournemouth University.

Studies published between 1990 and 2012 reporting qualitative research with obese men, or obese men in contrast to obese women and lifestyle or drug weight management were included. The studies included men aged 16 years or over, with no upper age limit, with a mean or median body mass index of 30 kg/m2 in all settings. In total 22 studies were identified.

Health concerns and the perception that certain programmes had ‘worked’ for other men were the key factors that motivated men to engage with weight management programmes. Barriers to engagement and adherence with programmes included: men not problematizing their weight until labelled ‘obese’; a lack of support for new food choices by friends and family, and reluctance to undertake extreme dieting. Retaining some autonomy over what is eaten; flexibility about treats and alcohol, and a focus on physical activity were attractive features of programmes. Group interventions, humour and social support facilitated attendance and adherence. Men were motivated to attend programmes in settings that were convenient, non-threatening and congruent with their masculine identities, but men were seldom involved in programme design.

The paper concluded that men’s perspectives and preferences within the wider context of family, work and pleasure should be sought when designing weight management services. Qualitative research is needed with men to inform all aspects of intervention design, including the setting, optimal recruitment processes and strategies to minimise attrition. This paper grew out of the larger ROMEO study which was published in our full HTA (Health Technology Assessment) report, which is also freely available on line, click here! [2]

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., Stewart, F., Robertson, C., Boyers, D., Avenell, A. (2015) A qualitative evidence synthesis on the management of male obesity. BMJ Open 5: e008372. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008372 http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/10/e008372.full.pdf+html
Robertson, C., Archibald, D., Avenell, A., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., Boyers, D., Stewart, F., Boachie, C., Fioratou, E., Wilkins, D., Street, T., Carroll, P., Fowler, C. (2014) Systematic reviews of & integrated report on the quantitative, qualitative & economic evidence base for the management of obesity in men. Health Technology Assessment 18(35): 1-424. http://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/118180/FullReport-hta18350.pdf

13 October 2015

BU professor invited to give key note at 2016 Dutch Midwifery Conference

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen (CMMPH) has been invited to present a key note speech at the Kennispoort Verloskunde conference in Utrecht, the Netherlands in January 2016. He will be speaking about ‘Dealing with risk in maternity care: the social versus medical model’. The presentation is based on a number of publications around the sociological topic of the medical/social model of childbirth. [1-3]

One of the ways sociologists analyse health and health care is in terms of a ‘medical’ versus a ‘social’ model, or in this field, a midwifery model. As pregnancy and birth are biological and physiological events which are very much embedded in a social and cultural setting, these are good examples to highlight the use and misuse of the medical and social model. Modern Western society has a slightly paradoxical view of pregnancy. On the one hand, the average woman in childbirth is not ill because pregnancy is not an illness. On the other hand, pregnant women are deemed to need a lot of health care throughout pregnancy and childbirth. Making the distinction between a medical and a social model of a social phenomenon is not exclusive to midwifery. Over the past decades researchers have pointed to the existence of a medical and social model in alcohol misuse, obesity, sex, eating disorders, infertility treatment, to name but a few phenomena.

References:

van Teijlingen, E. (2005) A critical analysis of the medical model as used in the study of pregnancy and childbirth, Sociological Research Online, 10 (2) Web address: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/10/2/teijlingen.html.
MacKenzie Bryers H., van Teijlingen, E. (2010) Risk, Theory, Social & Medical Models: critical analysis of the concept of risk in maternity care, Midwifery 26(5): 488-496.
van Teijlingen, E. (2015) Sociology of Midwifery. In: Sociology for Midwives Deery, R., Denny, E. & Letherby, G. (eds.) Cambridge: Polity Press, 22-37.

9 October 2015

BU very well represented in this year’s ERCS Festival!

Awarded & submitted bids, Festival of Learning, Fusion, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, PG research, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

The ESRC website lists its Festival events for 2015 and amongst the interetsing events is a record number of BU events! The full list can be found on the ESRC webpages, click here!

Pathways to impact: part deux!

7 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

This event aims to engage participants who attended a previous one-day ESRC Festival of Science event which took place in 2012 entitled, “Pathways to Impact: ageing, diversity, connectivity and community”.

Creatively mapping the coast

9 November 2015 | Bournemouth| Event

Children will have the chance to take part in a creative mapping exercise using coastal artefacts and pictures to create their own sensory and emotional maps of the topic, starting with the question of ‘how does it make me feel to be here?’

Safeguarding vulnerable adults from financial scamming

10 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Older people are increasingly at risk of falling victim to financial scams that target vulnerable people, including mass marketing fraud via post, telephone or email and doorstep fraud.

This event will give practitioners, agencies and members of the public, the opportunity to come together to learn more about the threats posed.

Church as place: ethnography

11 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

This event asked the question:

what meanings of place and space are constructed by secular or non-specifically religious and religious visiting of church buildings?

Creativity and dementia: making a connection

11 November 2015 | Poole | Event

Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) will bring dementia awareness to life through running creative activities including a performance from the BUDI Orchestra – made up of people affected by dementia and musicians – poetry and technology such as IPads and Nintendo Wii.

Child deaths and poverty: disadvantaged British children!

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Are British children disadvantaged compared to children in other Western countries? An analysis of data from global sources compares the standards of mortality, poverty and health funding for children and adults in Britain vs. those in 20 other Western countries.

Copyright reform: the implications one year on

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

One year ago, in October 2014, the UK Government introduced major changes to the Copyright Law with the aim of promoting innovation and creativity. These included a range of exceptions and limitations benefiting users as well as educational and cultural institutions.

Enhancing social life through global social research – event 1

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

These exhibitions run over the course of three days presenting a showcase of Bournemouth University research projects demonstrating our research impacts on social and community wellbeing and our concern for diverse groups and work with a wide variety of stakeholders.

Fused all ways: transdisciplinary insider research

12 November 2015 | Poole | Event

A group of researchers from Bournemouth University are researching the lived experience of students entering higher education from and in ‘non traditional’ contexts. By bringing together research, educational practice and students as research co-creators, a unique lens is created through which to observe the question.

Increasing fruit and vegetable intakes: Why? How? – Event 3

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

The 5-a-day campaign went global after a recommendation from the World Health Organisation that we should all be eating a least 400g of fruit and vegetables per day. Variations on this message are repeated in countries all across the world. But does the message cause more confusion than good?

Enhancing social life through global social research – event 2

13 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

These exhibitions run over the course of three days presenting a showcase of Bournemouth University research projects demonstrating our research impacts on social and community wellbeing and our concern for diverse groups and work with a wide variety of stakeholders.

Enhancing social life through global social research – event 3

14 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

These exhibitions run over the course of three days presenting a showcase of Bournemouth University research projects demonstrating our research impacts on social and community wellbeing and our concern for diverse groups and work with a wide variety of stakeholders.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

6 October 2015

CMMPH editorial in today’s Nepal Journal of Epidemiology

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, open access, Post-award, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

The current issue of the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology published today carries an editorial by a BU-led team of researchers and development workers. The editorial Mental health issues in pregnant women in Nepal highlights the intervention funded by THET which aims to improve the knowledge and attitude of maternity care workers in a rural district in the south of Nepal. The BU authors include Visiting Faculty: Padam Simkhada, Samridhi Pradham, Jillian Ireland and Bibha Simkhada, the other co-authors are affiliated with the charity we work with in Nepal (Ram Chandra Silwal), the Buddhist charity based in London Green Tara Trust (Padmadharini Fanning), and our Tribhuvan University based colleagues (Lokendra Sherchan, Shyam K Maharjan, and Ram K Maharjan.

This THET-funded project will involve over 15 UK short-term volunteers. It is important to bring UK volunteers, who as health professionals will bring their experience of, and training in, the provision of mental health and maternity/midwifery services including the area of mental ill health prevention and health promotion. These experienced health workers (such as midwives, family doctors, mental health nurses, health visitors, psychiatrists) from the UK are invited to volunteer for two to three weeks at a time to design and deliver training. The mixture of training staff abroad (= Education) by UK professionals (=Practice) through an intervention which is properly evaluated (=Research) is a perfect example of BU’s FUSION in action.

This project is supported by the Tropical Health & Education Trust (THET) as part of the Health Partnership Scheme, which is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and runs from this year May 1st until the autumn of 2016. The paper is freely available on line, click here!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Refererence:

van Teijlingen E, Simkhada P, Devkota B, Fanning P, Ireland J, Simkhada B, Sherchan L, Silwal CR, Pradhan S, Maharjan KS, Maharjan KS. Mental health issues in pregnant women in Nepal. Nepal J Epidemiol. 2015;5(3); 499-501.

1 October 2015

Paper ahead of its time?

Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Sometimes my co-authors and I wonder why a particular paper get more cited after a few years of publication. Is is because the paper and the research were are ahead of their time? Or is there simply a lag time between publication and other researchers publishing in the field finding your paper (or stumbling upon it perhaps)?

Take for example the following paper published in 2006 when I was still based in the Department of Public Health at the University of Aberdeen: Promoting physical activity in primary care settings: Health visitors’ and practice nurses’ views and experiences in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.[1]

Published in 2006 our paper was first cited in Scopus in 2007 (just once),three time in the following year (2008), five times in 2009 and then just a few times per year until this year. In 2015 we have six citations already and the year is not even finished.

We really wonder what lies behind that increased popularity of this 2006 paper.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Douglas, F., van Teijlingen E.R., Torrance, N., Fearn, P., Kerr, A., Meloni, S. (2006) Promoting physical activity in primary care settings: Health visitors’ and practice nurses’ views and experiences Journal of Advanced Nursing, 55(2): 159-168.

1 October 2015

Bournemouth University listed in top 800 global universities

REF Subjects, Research assessment Edwin van Teijlingen

Bournemouth University ranked just over the half way line in the top 800 universities in the world. Bournemouth University is in good company in the bracket (401-500) with other well-known universities such as the University of Cagliari (Italy), Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic), Curtin University (Australia), University of Waikato (New Zealand), Louisiana State University (USA) or the University of Tampere (Finland) to name but a few.

The full list of 800 universities is available here!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

30 September 2015

Manuscript accepted from Dr. Regmi (FHSS)

Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to BU’s Dr. Pramod Regmi on the acceptance of the manuscript: “Importance of health and social care research into gender and sexual minority populations in Nepal” by the Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health.

Dr. Pramod Regmi is originally from Nepal and currently a post-doc researcher in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

28 September 2015

Congratulations to Jib Acharya on his latest Ph.D. paper

PG research, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to FHSS Ph.D. student Jib Acharya on the publication of his latest paper on childhood nutrition in Nepal.[1] Mr. Acharya’s study included a cross-sectional, community-based survey of 524 mothers in one district of Nepal. These were mothers of young children aged 36-60 months who are no longer breastfed at the time. The questionnaire survey included: socio-demographic measurements, knowledge, beliefs and attitudes about nutritious food, as well as child feeding patterns, food recommendation, major barriers, food insecurity and health-seeking behaviours. Jib’s mixed-methods Ph.D. work is supervised by Dr. Jane Murphy, Dr. Martin Hind and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

The study found that both urban and rural mothers lacked knowledge of what food is nutritious. Moreover, their attitudes and views appeared often ill informed. This study suggests that a different approach was needed because the public health problems are associated with behaviour. Thus, more attention should be paid to appropriate intervention of under-nutrition in poor communities like this one studied in Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Acharya, J., van Teijlingen, E., Murphy, J., Hind, M. (2015) Assessment of knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards healthy diet among mothers in Kaski, Nepal, Participation 17 (16): 61-72.

25 September 2015

Sustainable Development Goals summit today in New York

Edwin van Teijlingen

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) summit is being held today in New York. As part of this summit the pope will address the United Nations in NY as will Bill and Melinda Gates who run the largest private philantropic organisation in the world. The key underlying principles of the SDGs are: (a) reducing (or eradicating) poverty eradication; (b) changing unsustainable and promoting sustainable patterns of consumption and production; and (c) protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development. The seventeen SDGs are outlined in Table 1.

Table 1 Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 1	End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2	End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3	Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4	Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 5	Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6	Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7	Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 8	Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Goal 9	Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10	Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11	Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12	Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13	Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
Goal 14	Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Goal 15	Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16	Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17	Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

The SDGs replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) formally from today onwards. Key questions to be asked by researchers (and policy makers) include: (a) how are these SDGs different from the MDGs in their effect on international development?; (b) How successful will the SDGs be?, including the question: What do we define as success?; and (c) How useful were the MDGs, in which countries and for whom? These are ‘big’ system level questions, for those of use working in the field of maternity care more specific questions to address would be around priority settting. As reducing maternal mortality was one of the eight MDGs, i.e. recognised as an individual goal or target, but in the SDGs maternal health will fall under the overarching heading of Goals 3 ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’. As health is only one of 17 SDGs and maternal health fits in with all other aspects of the lifespan does this mean maternal health has become less of a priority? Of course only time and plenty of good research will tell.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

17 September 2015

Joint project with Tribhuvan University

Awarded & submitted bids, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Today I attended a contract-signing meeting at the Department of Health, Physical and Population Education at Nepal’s oldest university, Tribhuvan University (TU).

BU, TU and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) have been awarded a Tropical Health & Education Trust (THET) grant for health partnerships to carry out training and capacity-building projects in low-income countries, such as Nepal.

The new BU-led THET project will bring highly experienced UK volunteers to train some 100 maternity care providers, such as Auxiliary Health Workers (AHWs) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) about the key mental health issues in pregnancy and in the months after birth. A local charity Green Tara Nepal (GTN) will support the work through some of the curriculum design, sensitising UK volunteers to live in rural Nepal, assisting in translating, as well as helping to recruit the local health workers. The two UK universities have a long history of working with GTN as well as its sister organisation Green Tara Trust (GTT), a Buddhist charity based in London. The new project will be based in Nawalparasi in the sub-tropical part of the country bordering India. The target population consists of grassroot health care practitioners since there are no doctors in these rural villages.

The pictures accompanying this post illustrate the inequalities and the mix of modern and traditional in Kathmandu today. The city crowded with motorbikes and then occasionnally one sees a couple cows been driven through these busy streets. The green house is in the street in front of where I am staying and the shanty town building are the backdoor neighbours. The picture with text is the price-list ourside the main infectious diseases hospital informing patients about the costs of certain treatments, tests and drugs. A reminder that health care might be free in name for the poorest people, there are still many costs involved in gettiong treated in hospital!

This project is supported by the Tropical Health & Education Trust (THET) as part of the Health Partnership Scheme, which is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The following people make up the international project team: Edwin van Teijlingen, Padam Simkhada, Bhimsen Devkota, Padmadharini Fanning, Jillian Ireland, Bibha Simkhada, Lokendra Sherchan, Ram Chandra Silwal, Samridhi Pradhan, Shyam K. Maharjan, Ram K. Maharjan

9 September 2015

Your most popular paper this week was ….

BRIAN, Publishing, Research themes, Training Edwin van Teijlingen

Every week I receive an email telling me what my most accessed paper is on Academia.edu. As a research-active academic I would like this ‘top paper’ to be one of my research papers based on primary research or perhaps a systematic review. My second preference is that I would like it to be one of my few more theoretical papers and, if not that, then at least one of many methods papers I have published with colleagues over the past decade. But no, every single week a fairly basic ‘how-to-do’ paper is my most accessed paper. This week’s message is typical: “Your most popular paper for the week was Writing an academic paper for publication, which had 142 views.”

This how-to-write-an-academic editorial has been my most read paper for months now. It is a paper Prof. Vanora Hundley, Prof. Padam Simkhada (Liverpool John Moores University & BU Visiting Faculty) and I wrote in an attempt to help budding academics and postgraduate students in a low-income country to think about the process of drafting and writing a scientific paper.

Perhaps this paper is popular because there is a global need for it (Academia.edu also gives break down from where in the world the paper has been accessed). It is also possible that it is on course reading list or perhaps it is recommended on webpage somewhere. The paper is,of course, Open-Access which helps in terms of providing more people across the globe easy and free access!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2013) Writing an academic paper for publication, Health Renaissance 11(1): 1-5. healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Pp_1_5_Guest_Editorial.pdf

23 August 2015

BU PhD student publishes in Huffington Post

PG research, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

From Aspirations to Reality: How to Effectively Measure the Sustainable Development Goals

PhD student Ms. Sheetal Sharma in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) published an article in online newspaper The Huffington Post this week. In the article argues in order that the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are achieved in 2030 we set out clear he measurable guidelines and targets as well as mechanisms to facilitate that measurement. The measuring progress in itself is important as transparent measurement stimulates a culture of accountability.

With co-authors Prof. Zoë Matthews and Dr. Sylvia Szabo both from the University of Southampton, Sheetal argues that we need a Call to Action. Now is not the time for weakness, neither in the implementation nor in tracking technical progress. They state: “We cannot be conservative in our measurement of progress in the post-2015 agenda. The measurement framework must empower the implementation of the SDGs and improve equity, welfare and environment for all for greatest and most inclusive developmental impact.”

The proposed two-track SDG indicator framework for 2030:
• Track 1 could monitor political goals (about 30 impact indicators) to assess overall progress regionally and globally.
• Track 2 could include a larger number of technical indicators to measure the means of implementation or processes towards each goal (300 indicators, or more).

Sheetal Sharma is currently writing up her PhD thesis on issues around evaluation of a maternity care intervention in Nepal. She has submitted several papers based on her PhD work for publications. Her PhD supervisory team comprises professors Vanora Hundley, Padam Simkhada (BU Visiting Faculty) & Edwin van Teijlingen and doctors Catherine Angell & Elisa Sicuri (BU Visiting Faculty).

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Twitter: @EvanTeijlingen

Follow Sheetal Sharma on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sheetale

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From Aspirations to Reality: How to Effectively Measure the Sustainable Development Goals

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