Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
Today, Sunday 9th June, our paper ‘Health and well-being of Nepalese migrant workers abroad was highlighted by ResearchGate as being widely read. 
This scientific paper which was part of Dr. Pratik Adhikary’s PhD study in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences has been read 1,000 times.
Rejection is a key part of an academic’s life. Typically, your scientific paper gets rejected at least one before getting accepted for publication. Whilst it is common knowledge among academics is that your average grant application has a chance of about one in eight, and Innovate UK Smart grants have a “public” success rate of just 5%. As academics we all have to learn to live with ‘failure’ . However, when we received a rejection this week to be part of the ESRC (Economic & Social Research Council) Festival of Social Science 2024 for our research project Preventing drowning of children under two in Bangladesh: An interdisciplinary approach, it was a first!
We thought we had a decent chance as (1) our interdisciplinary team includes an anthropologist, an economist and a sociologist. (2) This year the call for Festival of Social Science was for a joint Bournemouth University and the University of Southampton programme, and our NIHR (National Institute for Health Research)-funded Sonamoni project is an international joint project between Bournemouth University and the University of Southampton, working with the University of the West of England, the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institute), CIPRB in Bangladesh and Design Without Borders in Uganda. (3) We had included an element of Virtual reality as this year’s festival theme will be ‘Our Digital Lives’. Finally, (4) I have been successful before in the past applying for inclusion into the ESRC Festival of Learning, for example highlight our research in Nepal and India in 2018 
or our Breastfeeding Debate in the 2017 Festival of Learning. Obviously past success is no guarantee for future success! Hopefully, we have better luck next year when we have more results to present in a knowledge exchange event like this.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)
Earlier this week ResearchGate alerted us that the paper ‘The Growing Importance of Mixed-Methods Research in Health‘ has been read 900 times on that platform [1]. This methods paper focuses on the growing importance of mixed-methods research to a wide range of health disciplines ranging from nursing to epidemiology.
Mixed-methods approaches requires not only the skills of the individual quantitative and qualitative methods but also a skill set to bring two methods/datasets/findings together in the most appropriate way. Health researchers need to pay careful attention to the ‘best’ approach to designing, implementing, analysing, integrating both quantitative (number) and qualitative (word) information and writing this up in a way that enhances its applicability and broadens the evidence-based practice. This paper highlights the strengths and weaknesses of mixed-methods approaches as well as some of the common mistakes made by researchers applying mixed-methods for the first time.
Our team in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) has written several other methods papers on the importance of mixed-methods research in community-based health studies [2-5]. We have, of course, conducted and published many mixed-methods studies over the past two decades [see for example 6-10].
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
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The fourth International Conference on Medical and Health Sciences in September 2024 aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from around the world to discuss the latest advancements, challenges, and innovations in the field of medical and health sciences. Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen co-director of the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health (CMWH) has been invited as a keynote speaker. He will be addressing the issue of being a interdisciplinary researcher in a larger research team.
Last week we found out that the paper ‘Moral panic, fear, stigma, and discrimination against returnee migrants and Muslim populations in Nepal: analyses of COVID-19 media content’ was published by the Journal of Media Studies [1]. This latest paper is co-authored by Dr. Nirmal Aryal and Dr. Pramod Regmi in the Department of Nursing Sciences, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH), as well as former BU employee Dr. Shovita Dhakal Adhokari. The published paper addresses the effects of COVID-19 stereotyping and so-called ‘othering’ on migrant workers returning home to Nepal is the latest article in a long line of publications by Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHSS) academics.
This BU team (including former and current PhD students) has published over thirty papers on a wide range of aspects related to migrant and their work, health and well-being [2-31].
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Today ResearchGate informed us that the academic paper `Whose Shoes?` Can an educational board game engage Ugandan men in pregnancy and childbirth? published in 2018 by former Ph.D. student Dr. Alice Ladur has been read 600 times. The paper appeared in the Open Access journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth. Alice was based in the Centre for Midwifery and Women Health (CMWH) and supervised by professors Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen.
Men can play a significant role in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality in low-income countries such as Uganda. Maternal health programmes are increasingly looking for innovative interventions to engage men to help improve health outcomes for pregnant women. Educational board games offer a unique approach to present health information where learning is reinforced through group discussions supporting peer-to-peer interactions. Alice conducted interviews with men from Uganda currently living in the UK on their views of an educational board game. Men were asked their perceptions on whether a board game was relevant as a health promotional tool in maternal health prior to implementation in Uganda.
The results of the pilot study were promising; participants reported the use of visual aids and messages were easy to understand and enhanced change in perspective. Men in this study were receptive on the use of board games as a health promotional tool and recommended its use in rural Uganda. The paper concluded that key messages from the focus group appeared to be that the board game is more than acceptable to fathers and that it needs to be adapted to the local context to make it suitable for men in rural Uganda
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
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Research.com, a leading academic platform for researchers, has just released its 2024 Edition of the Ranking of Best Scientists in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities. BU is listed as 509th globally.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH), is the BU social scientist listed in this year’s ranking. The full UK ranking is available here: research.com/scientists-rankings/social-sciences-and-humanities/gb and the full world ranking is available here: research.com/scientists-rankings/social-sciences-and-humanities
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.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
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Tomorrow (Monday 13th May) and Tuesday BNAC (Britain-Nepal Academic Council) will held its annual conference. The conference is called the 21st BNAC Nepal Study Days, which will be in Edinburgh this year. Bournemouth University academics will be involved in several presentations and panel discussions. Drs. Pramod Regmi and Nirmal Aryal and prof. Edwin van Teijlingen will be part of the panel discussion ‘Navigating Health Challenges: The Well-being of Nepalese Migrant Workers’. All three academics were part of the recently completed study on kidney disease in Nepalese Migrant workers, a project lead by Bournemouth University and funded by The Colt Foundation. 
All three researchers are also involved in the latest international research funded by a $4 million cooperative agreement awarded by the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, International Programs. USA.
Furthermore, there will also be a presentation on another recently completed study on the impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system. The paper ‘Studying The Effects Of Federalisation On Nepal’s Health System: From Participatory Action Research To Producing Policy Briefs’ will be presented by Dr. Sharada P. Wasti (University of Greenwich), Prof. Padam Simkhada (University of Huddersfield & Visiting Professor at BU), and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. This interdisciplinary study was funded by the Health Systems Research Initiative (MRC/FCDO/Wellcome Trust/ESRC).
Occasionally we have the pleasure to announce that one of our papers has been read 300 times or 2,000 times or has been cited 40 times. However, some papers are in a different category. Today ResearchGate informed us that our 2002 paper ‘The Importance of Pilot Studies’ [1] has been read 160,000 times. This paper was written over two decades ago and submitted to the Nursing Standard when we were both still at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
Profs. Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)
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Now accepting research students in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)
A Master’s by Research (M.Res.) is a great introduction to the research process, enabling the student to explore a specific area under the supervision of experienced researchers. It contains little or no formal taught component. This type of study gives you the chance to explore a research topic over a shorter time than a more in-depth Ph.D. M.Res. students can undertake a one year full-time or two years part-time Master’s degree. For more details see here.
CMWH is currently accepting MRes (and PhD) applications in the following areas:
Early / latent phase labour (Prof. Vanora Hundley)
Infant feeding (Asso. Prof. Catherine Angell)
Pain management, pain education, musculoskeletal and pelvic pain, pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, women’s health (Prof. Carol Clark)
Women’s health in a changing global climate (Dr. Becky Neall)
Drowning prevention in low-and-middle-income countries (Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen)
Cardiometabolic health during pre-conception and pregnancy (Dr. Sumanto Haldar)
Exercise and pregnancy (Dr. Malika Felton)
Chronic musculoskeletal pain, lifestyle factors, human metabolism, and the use of data science in the pain field (Dr. Omer Elma)
Women’s alcohol consumption and nutritional status (Dr. Chloe Casey)
Nutrition in women’s health (including LGBT+ populations) (Dr. Sarah Hillier)
Fifteen years ago I started as a professor in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. I have had three different job titles without moving jobs, starting in 2009 with ‘Professor of Maternal & Perinatal Health Research’, which, after a few years, changed to ‘Professor of Reproductive Health Research,’ and again then a few years later dropping the ‘Research’ to my current title of ‘Professor of Reproductive Health’. During these 15 years there have been major changes especially in terms of research in our Faculty. There has been a growth in quantity as well as quality as reflected in our REF scores in 2014 and 2021! We also have a much higher proportion of staff with a PhD then when I started. Currently, I am the Research Culture Champion for our Faculty, tasked with a small team to strengthen our research culture and profile even further.
At a personal level, I have supervised 17 PhD students to completion at BU in the past 15 years, plus an additional nine students registered elsewhere. The latter were mainly PhD students from the University of Aberdeen whom I continued to supervise. Interestingly, two of these Aberdeen PhD students ended up working for BU. I counted 42 PhD viva as external examiner in this period as well as five as internal BU examiner. Some of my experiences at BU were captured last year when I was interviewed by the editors of a sociology journal based in Nepal. [1]
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMWH (Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health)
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Two weeks ago our eBook Evidence-based approaches in aging and public health was published online by Frontiers Media [1]. This ebook is co-edited by BU Visiting Faculty Dr. Brijesh Sathian (based in Qatar), Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at the University of Huddersfield) and Prof. Edwin van Teijingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) as well as Drs. Russell Kabir and Hanadi Al Hamad. This eBook started life as a Special Issue for the journal Frontiers in Public Health. We wrote the accompanying editorial for 15 selected articles in this Special Issue [2]. This publication raises the interesting question when does a Special Issue become an eBook.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMWH
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In March of this year I had the pleasure of announcing in a BU Research Blog the publication of Dr. Rachel Arnold’s contribution to the book Appreciating Health and Care: A Practical Appreciative Inquiry Resource for the Health & Social Care Sector [1]. There is also a supplementary eBook, called Appreciating Health and Care: AI in practice [2], which introduces more professional experiences of using AI (not Artificial Intelligence, but Appreciative Inquiry) in the health and care sector. Rachel is the lead author of the contribution ‘Let’s get messy! Where to start with using Appreciative Inquiry’ and her co-authors are Dr. Jo Hartley, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and Dr. Preeti Mahato. ‘Let’s get messy! Where to start with using Appreciative Inquiry’ is a case study which reflects on our experiences of using Appreciative Inquiry to explore staff well-being in an NHS maternity service during the COVID-19 pandemic. We explain how we adapted and overcame some of the challenges, strategies that worked, and practical ideas for anyone interested in using Appreciative Inquiry in health or social care. 
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Yesterday our latest methodological paper ‘Methods or Methodology: Terms That Are Too Often Confused’ appeared online. [1] We recently published a methods paper outlining the difference between Methods and Methodology as so many postgraduate students manage to get it wrong or don’t understand the distinction between the two. There is a distinct difference between methodology and methods in research. However, too many students, researchers, and authors of academic papers do not seem to pay attention to the crucial difference. This is true not only in education research but also in many other academic disciplines. In simple terms, the term methods refers to the research tools and techniques; for example, in the qualitative field, interviews are a tool to collect data, and in the quantitative field, a questionnaire-based survey is an example of a data collection tool. Methodology is a broader concept as it refers to the overall approach to the research, includes a justification for this approach, and links to research philosophy, i.e., how we produce knowledge. This methodological note aims to explain the confusion, drawing on examples from the published literature in education research and beyond. It also considers the complexities and crossovers. The final section ends with key advice to researchers and authors on key mistakes to avoid regarding the difference between methods and methodology, including covering this in early supervision discussions.
Our interdisciplinary team, based in the UK and Nepal, comprises Dr. Orlanda Harvey in BU’s Department of Sociology & Social Work, Dr. Pramod Regmi in BU’s Department of Nursing Science, Dr. Preeti Mahato from Royal Holloway, University of London, Dr. Shovita Dhakal Adhikari, London Metropolitan University, Dr. Rolina Dhital, based at Health Action & Research in Nepal and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in BU’s Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences. In addition it is worth mentioning that both Preeti and Shovita are both former member of staff in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) at BU. Finally, although the official publication date is Sept 2023, it only appeared online yesterday. This new methods paper is part of growing series of methods papers by members of this team of academics [2-12].
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Bournemouth University of part of a research consortium that has recently been awarded a Dissemination Award from the Medical Research Foundation (MRF). 
Last week the MRF announced that it has granted £30,294 for a project to ‘Strengthening Nepal’s health systems’. This Dissemination Award has been offered to expand the reach and impact of our recently completed study which was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative [Grant ref. MR/T023554/1]. In this larger Nepal Federal Health System Project we studied the effects on the health system of Nepal’s move from a centralised political system to a more federal government structure in 2015. This interdisciplinary project was led by the University of Sheffield in collaboration with Bournemouth University, the University of Huddersfield, Canterbury Christ Church University and two institutions in Nepal: MMIHS (Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences) and PHASE Nepal.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMWH
This week the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health (APJPH) accepted our latest paper from our research on the impact of the federalisation of the health care system in Nepal. This paper ‘COVID-19 as a challenge to Nepal’s newly federalised health system: capacities, responsibilities, and mindsets’ has Bikesh Koirala as first author [1].
This recently completed study was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative [Grant ref. MR/T023554/1]. In this larger Nepal Federal Health System Project we studied the effects on the health system of Nepal’s move from a centralised political system to a more federal government structure in 2015. This joint project was led by the University of Sheffield in collaboration with Bournemouth University, the University of Huddersfield, Canterbury Christ Church University and two higher education institutions in Nepal: MMIHS (Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences) and PHASE Nepal.
This is the seventh paper from our collaboration. Previous papers focused on a wide range of aspects of this interdisciplinary study, including on its methods, participatory policy analysis, the WHO (World Health Organization) health systems building blocks, and public health [2-7].
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMWH (Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health)
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Congratulation to Dr. Orlanda Harvey (Social Work), Dr. Terri Cole (Psychology) and Dr. Jane Healy (Criminology) who in collaboration with Jade Levell, a colleague at the University of Bristol, had their article ‘Explorations of attitudes towards accessibility and accessing domestic violence and abuse (DVA) perpetrator support programmes by victim-survivors and perpetrators across five European countries’ accepted by the journal Abuse: An International Impact Journal [1]. This paper reports on an international mixed-methods study exploring victim-survivors and perpetrators’ attitudes towards perpetrator support programmes. The study includes a questionnaire survey of victim-survivors and interviews with male perpetrators conducted in five European countries.
Results showed that of the 93 victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse, half stated they would have stayed in their relationship with perpetrators if the abuse had stopped, and a similar number reported that they believed their relationships would have been different had there been help for the perpetrator. Analysis of perpetrator interviews showed that they faced barriers to obtaining support, such as being labelled a ‘perpetrator’ which, had they been addressed, may have enhanced their engagement with services. Whilst acknowledging the need for safeguarding and justice, this paper demonstrates the importance of reflecting both victim-survivor and perpetrator needs in order for perpetrators to fully engage with support services. Moreover, it highlighted the need to address the underlying societal issues related to hegemonic masculinity, which can lead to the abuse of women being normalised and the vulnerability of men being stigmatised, through education for young people around healthy relationships.
Congratulations
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health
Reference:
Harvey H., Cole T., Levell, J., Healy J. (2024) ‘Explorations of attitudes towards accessibility and accessing domestic violence and abuse (DVA) perpetrator support programmes by victim-survivors and perpetrators across five European countries’, Abuse: An International Impact Journal 5(1): 26-45 https://doi.org/10.37576/abuse.2024.055
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