On World Refugee Day 2025, Friday 20 June, the new Maternal and Infant Health Equity Research Centre (MIHERC) website was launched. MIHERC is a hub for research, collaboration and action on maternal and infant health equity. MIHERC) is a collaborative effort between Sheffield Hallam University, Bournemouth University and City of Doncaster Council working to reduce health inequalities for mothers and babies. This year’s World Refugee Day’s theme, hashtag Solidarity, reflects MIHERC’s mission to stand with all mothers and babies – especially those facing health and social inequalities or barriers to care.
Tagged / Prof. Vanora Hundley
BU seeking input from ethnic minority and migrant communities
Bournemouth University has received funding from the NIHR to support an internship for a Social Work student to seek views and perception of women from ethnic minority and migrant communities. Therefor, we are seeking volunteers to take part in a small group on-line workshop to hear from women from ethnic minority and migrant communities. They are invited to share their thoughts, insights and experiences of engaging in health research so that we can better understand what would work when conducting research with this population. This work sits within a larger NIHR-funded project that aims to reduce health inequalities for marginalised mothers and babies. BU Profs Huseyin Dogan and Professor Vanora Hundley are leading workstreams within this prestigious NIHR Maternity Disparities project over the next five years (more information about the bigger project can be found here!).
We would like to hear from women from ethnic minority and migrant communities, also referred as women from the global majority. You do not need to be pregnant or have had a baby to participate in the workshop. If you are a woman from an ethnic minority and migrant community in the UK and you would like to take part please apply here! The event will be online on Tuesday 8th July from 11.00-12.30. No specific experience of involvement in research is required.
Dr. Orlanda Harvey and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

Pioneering Research to Tackle Maternity Disparities: BU Academics Lead Major NIHR Initiative
This vital initiative aims to make a tangible difference in the lives of mothers and babies by tackling the complex factors that contribute to disparities in maternity care and outcomes.
MIHERC is already actively engaged in shaping the discourse around these critical issues. The team has commenced the organisation and chairing of impactful events, including the upcoming Artificial Intelligence for Maternity and Women’s Health and Wellbeing session at the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (AIiH 2025). Further details about this exciting session can be found here: https://aiih.cc/maternity-and-women-health-wellbeing/.

The whole team at Bournemouth University 08.01.25
Building Research Capacity: The key role of PhD students
Postgraduate students, especially PhD students dramatically expand a university’s research capacity. They contribute significantly to data collection, analysis, the day-to-day management of research projects, and publications that might otherwise be impossible to sustain. Postgraduate students are central to progressive research-active communities. PhD student also frequently serve as mentors to undergraduate researchers or Masters’ students, creating a cascade of learning that benefits all participants.
Beyond individual projects, postgraduate students help build research infrastructure through their contributions to lab management, protocol development, the exchange of innovative ideas, and so on. These contributions create lasting benefits to staff as well as higher education institutions. Academic communities with PhD students often promote collaboration, provide emotional and intellectual support, and create spaces where ideas can be tested and analyses refined before wider dissemination.
This expanded capacity allows universities to pursue more ambitious research agendas and respond to complex challenges requiring multidisciplinary approaches. The postgraduate journey requires carefully planned mentorship, giving students increasing autonomy, and ownership of their scholarly contribution. This apprenticeship model has proven remarkably effective in preparing the next generation of academics for centuries.
This blog was created as part of the Professional Discourse in the Age of AI: an interactive writing workshop facilitated by Prof. Debbie Holley and Prof. Carol Clark in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences at Bournemouth University. Since last week’s workshop was on the topic, we have used the help of AI in the writing of this BU Research Blog!
Dr. Kathryn Collins, Prof. Vanora Hundley & Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Bournemouth University eHealth paper cited 40 times!
Yesterday, ResearchGate alerted us that the paper ‘Midwives’ views towards women using mHealth and eHealth to self-monitor their pregnancy: A systematic review of the literature’ [1] had reached 40 citations! This paper has four Bournemouth University (BU) authors and one author, Prof. Gary Smith, who was FHSS Visiting Professor at the time of publication. This literature review, published in 2020, sought midwives’ perspectives on women self-monitoring their pregnancy using eHealth and mHealth.
The paper fund that midwives generally held ambivalent views towards the use of eHealth and mHealth technologies in antenatal care. They acknowledged the potential benefits of such technologies, such as their ability to modernise antenatal care and to help women make more informed decisions about their pregnancy. However, midwives were quick to point out the risks and limitations of these, such as the accuracy of conveyed information, and negative impacts on the patient-professional relationship.
This paper will contribute to our recently awarded NIHR funding to tackle inequalities in UK maternal healthcare as part of the NIHR Challenge Call: Maternity Disparities Consortium. Profs Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen from the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health, and Prof. Huseyin Dogan and Dr. Deniz Cetinkaya from the Department of Computing and Informatics collaborate in MIHERC (Maternal & Infant Health Equity Research Centre). MIHERC is led by Prof. Hora Soltani at Sheffield Hallam University, and it is a partnership with Bournemouth University, the City of Doncaster Council and South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub as well as several charities and voluntary organisations. Prof. Dogan has recently been appointed the co-lead for the “Digital, data, monitoring, evaluation and implementation science” work stream of the NIHR Maternity Disparities consortium.

Reference:
- Vickery, M., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Smith, G. B., Way, S., Westwood, G. (2020). Midwives’ views towards women using mHealth and eHealth to self-monitor their pregnancy: A systematic review of the literature. European Journal of Midwifery, 4(Sept.), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/126625
Nepal Family Cohort Study meeting in Bournemouth


The Nepal Family Cohort Study (NeFCoS) is a multidisciplinary cohort study into the prevalence, incidence, and determinants of various diseases from childhood to adulthood in children and their parents [1]. NeFCoS has just started to collect date for the first round of follow-up.
Today’s meeting was organised by Dr. Neal and supported by BU’s QR funds.
- Kurmi, O.P., Chaudhary, N., Delanerolle, G., Bolton, C.E., Pant, P.R., Regmi, P., Gautam, S., Satia, I., Simkhada, P., Kyrou, I., Sigdel, T.K., Hundley, V., Dali, P.R., Lokke, A., Hubert Lam, K.B., Bennett, D., Custovic, A., van Teijlingen, E., Gill, P. Randeva, H., O’Byrne, P.M., and Nepal Family Cohort Collaborators Group, Nepal Family Cohort Study: A Study Protocol, BMJ Open 14:e088896. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2024-088896
New Midwifery Publication
Congratulations to Joanne Rack, who is currently undertaking Bournemouth University’s four-year clinical doctorate, on the publication is week in the Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice. The latest paper “Mapping the Landscape of Canadian Midwifery Research” is Open Access and freely available online. The paper reports on a nation-wide study led by an inspiring team of midwifery researchers exploring the current landscape of midwifery research in Canada—identifying both its strengths and urgent gaps. With insights from over 200 stakeholders, this research calls for enhanced funding, mentorship, and research capacity to advance midwife-led, person-centered care.
Profs. Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health
Reference:
- Rack, J., Ruby, E., Brunton, G., Al Balkhi, S., Banfield, L., Grenier, L.N., Hutton, E.K, Darling, E.K., Mattison, C., Kaufman, K., Murray-Davis, B. (2025) Mapping the Landscape of Canadian Midwifery Research Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice, 24 (1).
CMWH academics promoting women’s health in Dorset


Prof. Vanora Hundley and Carol Clark from the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health and colleagues from the Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health have been central to the development of the website. There is an opportunity to hear about how we have been involved on Thursday 24th April 2025, where Bournemouth University’s academics Linda Agyemang and Sarah Hillier will present.
If your are interested, you can registered to attend the event here.
Unique PhD processes – why they are important.………..
Most people only really think about the processes involved doing a PhD study when they are doing their own unique research project at one specific university. It is often only when talking to other PhD students at a conference or listening to their supervisors reminiscing about doing theirs at a different university and in a different time, that they realise there are important differences in processes between universities, and even across disciplines within universities. This is true both nationally and globally. These differences can exist at many different stages of the PhD and Bournemouth University academics have written about several of these differences within a national context (1-6).
PhD aspects can differ from the start, e.g. the expected format of a PhD proposal (5) to the very end, e.g. possible outcomes of a viva (4), or whether the PhD includes clinical or practice components to help bridge the gap between academia and practice (2). Variations across universities also occur in the expected layout and format of the theses (1), or the way supervisors are expected to supervise by different universities (3), or the format or timing of transfer or progress viva(6).
You might ask why this uniqueness of the postgraduate research journey matters? We argue that academics need to celebrate the diversity of the PhD process and of our postgraduate research students and recognise that excellent research can be achieved in different ways. A personalised process can ensure that postgraduate students are successful in achieving their goals.
Dr. Orlanda Harvey, Prof. Vanora Hundley, Dr. Vincent Marmion, Dr. Pramod Regmi, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

References:
- van Teijlingen E (2007) PhD theses: the pros and cons (letter), Times Higher Education Suppl. Issue 1808 (August 24th): 15.
- Way S, Hundley V, van Teijlingen E, Walton G, and Westwood G. (2016) Dr Know. RCM Midwives Spring 64-65.
- 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
- 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 12(2),61-74. https://doi.org/10.51474/jer.v12i2.624
- Wasti, S.P. Regmi, P.R., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2022) Writing a PhD Proposal, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 176-183.
- van Teijlingen, A., Marmion, V., Harvey, O., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2024) PhD Progress and Transfer Vivas at Universities in the United Kingdom, Journal of Education and Research, 14(1): 104-116, https://doi.org/10.51474/jer/16196
Nepal Family Cohort Study dissemination event



- Kurmi, O.P., Chaudhary, N., Delanerolle, G., Bolton, C.E., Pant, P.R., Regmi, P., Gautam, S., Satia, I., Simkhada, P., Kyrou, I., Sigdel, T.K., Hundley, V., Dali, P.R., Lokke, A., Hubert Lam, K.B., Bennett, D., Custovic, A., van Teijlingen, E., Gill, P. Randeva, H., O’Byrne, P.M., and Nepal Family Cohort Collaborators Group, Nepal Family Cohort Study: A Study Protocol, BMJ Open 14:e088896. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2024-088896
Pilot studies methods paper cited 500 times
This morning ResearchGate alerted us that our paper ‘The importance of pilot studies’ [1] had reached 500 citations. Profs. Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen, both in BU’s Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) have published several methods papers [1-6] on the importance of (a) conducting pilot studies, but also (b) reporting on their outcomes and lessons learnt. It started more than two decades ago with lessons learnt from the Scottish Birth study [2]. Followed by a methods paper in a sociology journal [3], one in a midwifery journal [4] and one in a family planning journal [5]. The icing on the pudding was an encyclopedia entry in 2003 [6].

References:
- van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2002) ‘The importance of pilot studies’ Nursing Standard 16(40): 33-36. Web: nursing-standard.co.uk/archives/vol16-40/pdfs/vol16w40p3336.pdf
- van Teijlingen, E., Rennie, AM., Hundley, V., Graham, W. (2001) The importance of conducting & reporting pilot studies: example of Scottish Births Survey, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34: 289-95.
- van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2001) The importance of pilot studies, Social Research Update Issue 35, (Editor N. Gilbert), Guildford: University of Surrey. Web: http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/SRU35.html
- Hundley, V., van Teijlingen E. (2002) The role of pilot studies in midwifery research RCM Midwives Journal 5(11): 372-74.
- van Teijlingen, E, Hundley, V. (2005) Pilot studies in family planning & reproductive health care, Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care 31(3): 219-21.
- van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2003) Pilot study, In: Encyclopaedia of Social Science Research Methods, Vol. 2, Lewis-Beck, M., Bryman, A. & Liao, T. (eds.), Orego, Sage: 823-24.
Congratulations on new paper by BU PhD graduate
Congratulations to Dr. Karim Khaled on the latest paper from his BU Ph.D. research. This article ‘Ethical Issues and Challenges Regarding the Use of Mental Health Questionnaires in Public Health Nutrition Research‘ [1] was published earlier this month in the international journal Nutrients.
Karim is currently based at Birmingham City University, and the paper is co-authored with his Ph.D. supervisors Dr. Fotini Tsofliou and Prof. Vanora Hundley in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. This paper addresses the potential burden of completing mental health questionnaires on (a) participants and (b) researchers. This examines ethical issues and challenges of using such scales and questionnaires, providing a real-life case study where the Beck’s Depression Inventory-II was used.
The ethical considerations raised by using mental health questionnaires in epidemiological research include incorrectly identifying participants as depressed or non-depressed; inability to identify participants for referral procedures due to the anonymous nature of some research studies; an increased burden on participants through depression and suicidal questions; and the high expectation of participants towards the researcher. Preventative measures to reduce these challenges include choosing appropriate cut-off scores for correctly identifying participants; highlighting whether mental health questionnaires used may elicit negative emotional or psychological reactions related to suicide ideation; specifying the criteria for referral to clinical services; detailing the intended referral processes; including approaches where the researcher directly connects participants with a psychological service provider; and including a passive referral method such as contact details for participants to initiate their own referrals to clinical care. The authors offer a guide for researchers aiming to collect data on mental health through questionnaires, and they conclude that ethical challenges should be considered and reviewed at all stages of the research project.
Well done!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Reference:
- Khaled, K., Tsofliou, F., Hundley, V. (2025). Ethical Issues and Challenges Regarding the Use of Mental Health Questionnaires in Public Health Nutrition Research Nutrients 17 (4): 715. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17040715
New BU midwifery publication by Joanne Rack
This week the international scientific journal Midwifery published Ms. Joanne Rack’s second paper from her PhD research. This latest paper ‘The Pregnant Pause: Engaging and Involving Public Contributors in Maternal Health Research‘ [1] appeared online two days ago. This paper focuses on Joanne’s PPI (Patient Public Involvement) in prepartion for her PhD research. The public contributors of PPI groups can include an extensive range of people, including patients, family members or carers, people from allied organisations, service users, and members of the general public who have an interest in research for other reasons. Participants bring their unique perspectives and experiences that can help to shape and inform the research process. This type of involvement ensures that maternal health research is grounded in the needs and preferences of those it aims to serve and grows a sense of ownership and investment among those who use the services but also those who provide them. Joanne stresses that PPI is an essential element for all maternal health endeavours.
Joanne is doing a Clinical Doctorate in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) specialising in personalised care for women of advanced maternal age. This PhD study is matched-funded by University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) NHS Foundation Trust and Bournemouth University. Her PhD is supervised and supported by Profs. Vanora Hundley, Ann Luce and Edwin van Teijlingen at BU and Dr. Latha Vinayakarao in Poole Maternity Hospital. The first PhD paper with Joanne as lead author was her research protocol ‘Understanding perceptions and communication of risk in advanced maternal age: a scoping review (protocol) on women’s engagement with health care services’ published int he summer of 2024 [2].
References:
- Rack, J., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E., Luce, A. (2025)The Pregnant Pause: Engaging and Involving Public Contributors in Maternal Health Research, Midwifery (online first)
- Rack, J., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E., Luce, A., Vinayakarao. L. (2024) Understanding perceptions and communication of risk in advanced maternal age: a scoping review (protocol) on women’s engagement with health care services, MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, 34(3): 201-204.
Meeting at BU to address maternal inequalities
Today and yesterday (January 7-8) academics involved in MIHERC (Maternal and Infant Health Equity Research Centre), the successful interdisciplinary collaboration to address challenges in maternity care, met in Bournemouth. MIHERC is led by Sheffield Hallam University, along with Bournemouth University, South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub (SYDHH) and the Health Determinant Research Collaboration, Doncaster. In addition, a range of local and national partners are recognised. MIHERC is one of the nine groups of UK universities making up the new NIHR Challenge Maternity Disparities Consortium. This NIHR Consortium aims of tackling inequalities in maternity outcomes, focusing on inequalities before, during and after pregnancy.
Our second planning meeting highlighted our collective strengths including our expertise in community engagement and PPIE (Public & Patient Involvement & Engagement); intelligent digital solutions in maternity service delivery; research into under-served communities; and capacity building of both communities and maternity staff. The first planning meeting was held late last year at Sheffield Hallam University.
MIHERC is the only midwifery-led collaboration with a strong community engagement and digital inclusive research. MIHERC will work with various NHS Trusts as well as charities such as the Active Pregnancy Foundation, Active Dorset, and Maternal Mental Health Alliance.
Academic writing: Six encouragements
The Festive Season is a good time to clean up and clear out the pile of paper collected throughout the proceeding year. One the many pieces of potentially useful information I archived was a three-page article from the April edition of the monthly magazine Prima [1]. Most certainly not the most academic magazine, but useful all the same, as it was a piece encouraging readers to write their own book.
The six steps or recommendations in Prima were:
- Figure out what you want to write;
- Make time to write;
- Find your writing method;
- Forget about perfection;
- Keep going (even when the going gets though);
- Find writing buddies!
I found it interesting as these six steps in this piece overlap a lot with the advice we have been giving to budding academics for years [2].
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)
References:
- Gibson, F. (2024) How to write a novel and get published, Prima (April edition): 38-40.
- Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Hundley, V. with Shreesh, K. (2022) Writing and Publishing Academic Work, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books
Two new BU midwifery publications
This past week, as part of her work with McMaster University in Canada, Bournemouth University’s (BU) Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) postgraduate PhD student Joanne Rack published a paper in BMJ Open. This Open Access paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of midwifery research in Canada [1]. Joanne is currently doing a Clinical Doctorate in the specialising in personalised care for women of advanced maternal age. This PhD study is matched-funded by University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust and Bournemouth University [BU].
Her PhD is supervised and supported by Professors Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen in CMWH, Prof. Ann Luce, deputy dean in BU’s Department of Communication & Journalism as well as Dr. Latha Vinayakarao in Poole Maternity Hospital.
The second midwifery paper ‘Importance of Expanding Midwifery-led Units and Midwifery Care in Reducing Maternal Deaths in Nepal‘, which is also Open Access, has a different international focus, this time on Nepal [2]. The paper is co-authored by Dr. Preeti Mahato and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. Dr. Preeti Mahato, formerly in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, is currently based at Royal Holloway, University of London.
References:
- Ruby, E., Brunton, G., Rack, J., et al. (2024). Exploring the landscape of Canadian midwifery research: strengths, gaps and priorities – results of a scoping review. BMJ Open 14:e087698. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-087698
- Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2024). Importance of Expanding Midwifery-led Units and Midwifery Care in Reducing Maternal Deaths in Nepal. Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences 6(1). https://doi.org/10.46405/ejms.v6i1.537
BU Professors appointed to REF People, Culture and Environment (PCE) pilot panels
Professor Kate Welham and Professor Vanora Hundley have been appointed as members of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) People, Culture and Environment (PCE) pilot panels.
The next REF exercise, due to take place in 2029, will deliver an expanded definition of research excellence – recognising the wide range of research, roles, and people that are essential to the UK’s research system.
A key part of this is the development of the PCE element – assessing the research culture and environment of institutions and how research and researchers are supported.
The PCE pilot panels will explore the practicality of submission and assessment of the various elements of PCE.
Professor of Midwifery Vanora Hundley, who will sit on the UoA 3 (Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy) panel, said: “People, the research culture and the environment in which researchers work are vital to supporting excellent research.
“I am delighted that REF have made People, Culture and Environment (PCE) a focus for REF2029 and I look forward to working with the panel to develop robust processes to support the PCE element.”
Professor of Archaeological Sciences Kate Welham, who will sit on the pilot panel for UoA11 (Computer Science and Informatics) said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the development of fair and transparent approaches that recognise how quality research is created across the UK. I am really looking forward to working with everyone taking part in the exercise.”
The experience and feedback of the panels will be included in the final pilot report, which will inform the REF 2029 guidance on PCE.
To find out more about the PCE pilot and REF 2029, please visit the REF website
Congratulations to Dr. Karim Khaled and colleagues

- Khaled, K., Hundley, V., Bassil, M., Bazzi, M., Tsofliou, F. (2024) The Association between Psychological Stress and Dietary Quality and Patterns among Women of Childbearing Age in Lebanon. Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 8(9): 8-20.
Explore our work, meet our partners, and find out how you can collaborate with us by clicking here! MIHERC is led by Sheffield Hallam University, with Bournemouth University as a key partner and the important funding coming from NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Maternity Challenge Initiative. The BU key academics are: Huseyin Dogan, Vanora Hundley, Edwin van Teijlingen, and Deniz Çetinkaya. Please share with all who may be interested.