December 28, 2022

Remember South-Asian migrant workers in the Middle East

international, Public engagement, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

The precarious situation of migrant workers engaged in building the football stadiums in Qatar has been well documented. It was brought to the fore during the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup. Their working conditions as well as their living conditions are often very poor. During the games the Qatar World Cup’s chief executive, Nasser al-Khater reportedly made the rather flippant comment: “Death is a natural part of life, whether it’s at work, whether it’s in your sleep.” Begum and Worden see this as part of Qatar’s shameful government attitude towards the often preventable deaths of migrant workers, which in their view is reflected in the authorities’ failure to investigate the thousands of migrant worker deaths since 2010. [1]

Today Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, and BU Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada published ‘Excessive Mortalities among Migrant Workers: the Case of the 2022 FIFA World Cup’ appeared in print [12]. At the time of submission to the Europasian Journal of Medical Science we wrote “The men’s FIFA Football World Cup 2022 is in full flow in Qatar” [2], but, of course, it has finished with a very exciting final between Argentina and France. Even with a fast review and acceptance process there was no chance that our ‘Brief Communication’ was going to be published during the World Cup. The delay, however, gives us the opportunity today to remind our readers of the need to keep the plight of migrant workers in the Middle East on the world’s agenda.

The FIFA World Cup brought these poor conditions and exploitation of foreign workers in the Middle East to the world’s attention. However, there is a great risk that the attention of the world, including that of campaigners, pressure groups, the media, politicians, and so on moves on to the next ‘hot’ topic. [3]

References:

Begum, R., Worden, M. (2022) Qatar and FIFA’s Callous Response to a Migrant Worker’s Death. Migrant Workers, Their Families Should be Compensated for Abuses, Human Rights Watch News, December 8, 2022 7:26PM EST
Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., Aryal, N., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Excessive mortalities among migrant workers: the case of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences, 4:31-32. https://doi.org/10.46405/ejms.v4i0.455
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P.R. (2022). Migrant Workers in Qatar: Not just an important topic during the FIFA World Cup 2022. Health Prospect, 21(3):1-2. https://doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v21i3.49835

December 22, 2022

Agile Learning Environments amid Disruption

Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dawn Morley and Debbie Holley

Dr. Dawn Morley and Prof. Debbie Holley, both in the Department of Nursing Sciences, published a chapter in the book: Evaluating Academic Innovations in Higher Education during COVID-19. Their chapter Agile Learning Environments amid Disruption (pp 19–34) appeared just before Christmas in this edited collection.

The book addresses the need of evaluating innovative or non-traditional academic schemes for understanding their feasibility in extraordinary educational environments. The individual chapters are enriched with robust appraisals of policies and practices linked to academic innovations in higher education during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. The case studies report wide-ranging teaching, learning and academic support practices within online, open, blended and distance learning models. The findings supply two domains of scholarship: evidence-based scenarios through real-world case studies, and a critical evaluation of educational quality through research-informed argument. The evidence gathered from countries, such as Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the UK show empowering and deterring elements of academic innovation amid disruptions. Although this book highlights academic innovations in disruptive situations, they emerge as powerful tools and approaches to be considered in traditional face to face learning.

‘Agile Learning Environments amid Disruption: Evaluating Academic Innovations in Higher Education during COVID-19’ is now available online!! Please check the publisher’s website access is free: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-92979-4

December 20, 2022

Journals, editors and censorship

BU Challenges, international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

On the day that The Sun took down an column in which Jeremy Clarkson spat vitriol at Meghan Markle, it seems odd to question what the role is of an editor in preventing material from being published. Especially since Ipso (the independent press standards organisation) received more complaints (17,500+) about the column published on Friday 16th December than the total it received in the whole of 2021. Not publishing an article is of course censorship. Many will be calling for the column to be withdrawn and questioning why the editor accepted it in the first place. Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of a book, article, film, blog, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

But what if you are not a Mr. Clarkson, but you are a conscientious academic, doing proper research and drafting an evidence-based paper and the editor of an academic journal refuses to publish your article, not because of academic quality, but because the “…manuscript is likely to create disharmony in society”. With the additional detail, that according to the “National Ethical Guidelines for Health Research in Nepal, 2022, section 3, article 2.2 and section 3, article 3.1, this manuscript can’t be accepted for publication.” We (Nirmal Aryal, Pramod Regmi, Shovita Dhakal Adhikari, Shreeman Sharma & Edwin van Teijlingen) had submitted a paper with the title ‘Moral panic, fear, stigma, and discrimination against returnee migrants and Muslim populations in Nepal: analyses of COVID-19 media content’ to a health journal. We don’t think the title of the journal is relevant at this stage.

In the first round of reviewing one of the reviewers questioned our focus on the Muslim population. In our resubmission we stressed that we focused on two separate population groups because the media in Nepal did. In other words, we had noticed discriminatory media coverage towards returnee migrants (particularly those from India) and Muslim populations living in Nepal. These are key populations which experienced stigmatising and ostracising behaviour and media coverage further instigated moral panic and fear. We also conducted interviews with returnee migrants, Muslims in Nepal and key stakeholders, including agencies working with these sub-populations, and these findings have already been published. [1] Image how we felt being censored or in other words ‘cancelled’.

Our paper addressed issues, explanations and allegations related to COVID-19 as portrayed in the media in Nepal, indeed some discriminatory and many very unfair. However, as researchers we were merely the ‘messenger of bad news’. If Mr. Clarkson had not been headline news we would probably have called this blog ‘Don’t shoot the messenger!”.

References:

Regmi, P.R., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, N., Wasti, S.P. and 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, 19 (15). Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9331294/

December 16, 2022

Fifty citations announced: Great timing

international, PG research, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week the network ResearchGate alerted us that our paper ‘Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: a review of the literature’ has been quoted fifty times. An interesting achievement, but not particularly special, where it not for the FIFA men’s football World Cup. With the final weekend starting tomorrow and the winner being decided on Sunday in the match between Argentina and France, the timing of this announcement is impeccable. Since the health and well-being of many Nepalese migrant workers is determined by their working and living conditions in the Middle East, including Qatar.

All four authors of this review published five years ago are associated with BU, Dr. Pramod Regmi is Senior Lecturer in International Health, Dr. Nirmal Aryal recently returned to BU as researcher on a study into kidney disease among Nepalese migrant workers (funded by the Colt Foundation), and Prof. Padam Simkhada from the University of Huddersfield, who is also Visiting Professor in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS). In addition, further research on Nepalese migrant workers is conducted in FHSS by BU PhD student Yagya Adhikari, whose thesis addresses the question of the forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepalese migrant workers.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

December 9, 2022

Migrant labour, the not so nice side of the FIFA World Cup

international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Football has been referred to as ‘the beautiful game’. And to be fair, there has been some brilliant football at the men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Qatar’s records on human rights have been widely criticised in the run up to this global event. The global media have spent a lot of time on commenting on several social and economic issues in Qatar, such as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights, the role and status of women, and the exploitation of migrant workers. Migrant workers from South Asia, including those from Nepal, have helped build the stadiums and roads leading up to it, provide the security at venues, take the suitcases of the conveyor belts at the airport, and serve fans and visitors food and drink at the venues. Many of these migrant workers are exploited not just by employers in Qatar, but also by labour agencies in their home countries. The risks are high, especially for those migrant workers who do the dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs (i.e. the 3Ds).

As researchers conducting research in the area of migration and health, we are worried that when the world cup finishes next weekend the world’s media will move on from Qatar and the attention will disappear from the exploitation of migrant workers in the Middle East (and elsewhere). We all know that the media’s focus will shift to on another global event, next week or next month. We want to make sure that spotlight stays on this global problem.

Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Nirmal Aryal & Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

December 2, 2022

New paper FHSS Visiting Faculty

NHS, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

The latest issue of the journal Performing Ethos: An International Journal of Ethics in Theatre & Performance includes the paper ‘The birth of a lullaby and these COVID years’ by Jillian Ireland, who is BU Visiting Faculty. Jillian is Visiting Faculty in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) and Professional Midwifery Advocate in Poole Maternity Hospital, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (UHD).

Her new paper describes the birth (an appropriate verb to be used by a midwife) of a lullaby. This particular lullaby grew from a community-based maternity care intervention. This project was funded by the Burdett Fund for Nurses, supported by the Foundation of Nursing Studies, and co-created by local women and staff from maternity, health visiting and the Children’s Centre in the community. The beautiful illustrations in this paper are by two local artists: Alan Mercel-Sanca and Allison Churchill.

Reference:

Ireland, J. (2022) The birth of a lullaby and these COVID years, Performing Ethos: An International Journal of Ethics in Theatre & Performance, 12: 39–52, https://doi.org/10.1386/peet_00045_1

December 1, 2022

Congratulations to Dr. Daisy Wiggins

Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Midwifery Lecturer Daisy Wiggins on the publication of her paper ‘Could a decision support tool be the key to supporting choice for women regarding place of birth?’ and her co-author Prof. Vanora Hundley. This paper, based on her Ph.D. studies, has been accepted by the international journal Midwifery (academic publisher = Elsevier).

October 25, 2022

New BU midwifery paper published this week

NHS, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Prof. Vanora Hundley in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal &Perinatal Health (CMMPH) who published the paper ‘Effective communication: core to promoting respectful maternity care for disabled women’ in the international journal Midwifery. This paper is co-authored with BU Visiting Faculty Jillian Ireland who is Professional Midwifery Advocate at Poole Maternity Hospital, University Hospital Dorset (UHD), and two former BU staff members: Dr. Bethan Collins & Dr. Jenny Hall.

Congratulations,

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Reference:

Collins, C., Hall, J., Hundley, V., Ireland, J. (2022) Effective communication: core to promoting respectful maternity care for disabled women’, Midwifery. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2022.103525

October 24, 2022

New Public Health publication on Nepal

international, open access, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Over the weekend the Journal of the Nepal Public Health Association published our latest paper on the federalisation and health in Nepal research project [1]. The paper addresses some of the key Public Health approaches around the ongoing federalisation of the state of Nepal and the associated decentralisation processes in its health system. The article outlines the main roles of the discipline of Public Health and the contribution it can make to the reform process. Then the next section introduces our on-going study into the effects of the establishment of the Federal Republic of Nepal on the organisation and running of the country’s health system. To capture the Public Health benefits of decentralisation, the process should not be only ‘top-down’, directed by policy elites. Although in theory Nepal’s health system has undergone a process of decentralisation, in practice policy and planning is often still being led by the Federal government, despite the clear roles and responsibilities of the three tiers of government in health service delivery. To improve policy and planning in the newly decentralised health system structure, there needs to be meaningful incorporation of the views of stakeholders at all levels (even the very lowest levels). Our project aims to play a part in addressing this by capturing a wide variety of experiences of the decentralisation process.

The interdisciplinary and international research team has published two earlier articles on this on-going study [2-3]. This week is Open Access week, so it is worth noting that all three paper are freely available through Open Access.

Edwin van Teijlingen

Sapkota, S., Panday, S., Wasti, S.P., Lee, A., Balen, J., van Teijlingen, E., Rushton, S., Subedi, M., Gautam, S., Karki., J., Adhikary, P., Marahatta, S., Simkhada, P., for the Nepal Federal Health System Team (2022) Health System Strengthening: The Role of Public Health in Federal Nepal, Journal of the Nepal Public Health Association 7(1):36-42.
Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Gautam, S., Ghimire, S., Karki, J., Lee, A.C.K., Marahatta, S.B., Panday, S., Pohl, G., Rushton, S., Sapkota, S., Simkhada, P.P., Subedi, M., van Teijlingen, E. for the Nepal Federal Health System team (2020) The COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Emerging evidence on the effectiveness of action by, and cooperation between, different levels of government in a federal system, Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences 3 (3): 1-11.
Rushton, S., Pandey, S., van Teijlingen, E., Subedi, M., Balen, J., Karki, J., Simkhada, P. on behalf of the Nepal Federal Health System Team (2021) An Investigation into the Impact of Decentralization on the Health System of Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 7(1): 3–14. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v7i1.43146

October 20, 2022

Congratulations to Dr. Tsofliou & Prof. Appleton on latest interdisciplinary paper

international, open access, PG research, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to BU’s interdisciplinary nutrition-behavioural sciences team that published the recent review “Barriers and Facilitators Associated with the Adoption of and Adherence to a Mediterranean Style Diet in Adults: A Systematic Review of Published Observational and Qualitative Studies” [1] in the journal Nutrients. The academics are based in two different faculties, namely the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science & Technology, represented by Dr. Fotini Tsofliou and Prof Katherine Appleton respectively. Two BU students (recently graduated) are also two co-authors: Dimitrios Vlachos (who completed the MRes) and Christina Hughes (MSc Nutrition & Behaviour).

This review which is Open Access includes all studies investigating barriers or facilitators to adopting or adhering to a Mediterranean style diet in adults aged 18 years old and over. The paper identified financial, cognitive, socio-cultural, motivational, lifestyle, accessibility & availability, sensory and hedonic and demographic factors. Similar barriers and facilitators are often reported in relation to healthy eating or the consumption of specific healthy foods, with a few exceptions. These exceptions detailed concerns with specific components of the MedDiet; considerations due to culture and traditions, and concerns over a cooler climate. Suggestions for overcoming these barriers and facilitators specific to adoption and adherence to the Mediterranean diet are offered.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Tsofliou F, Vlachos D, Hughes C, Appleton KM. Barriers and Facilitators Associated with the Adoption of and Adherence to a Mediterranean Style Diet in Adults: A Systematic Review of Published Observational and Qualitative Studies. Nutrients. 2022; 14(20):4314. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14204314

September 28, 2022

Two little mishaps in a row

international, PG research, Research Integritiy, 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

international, open access, Publishing, 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

international, open accecss, Publishing 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, international, 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

August 20, 2022

Pokhara workshop on academic writing 2022

international, Publishing, 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.

July 20, 2022

New paper on COVID-19 rumours in Nepal

Awarded & submitted bids, international, open access, Publishing, 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 2, 2022

Celebrating FHSS Visiting Faculty’s contribution

international, NHS, open access, Publishing, 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

international, open access, Publishing, 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

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