BU Research Blog | social sciences | Bournemouth University

March 4, 2017

New book review published by Dr. Pramod Regmi on research ethics

international, Publishing, Research Ethics, student research, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week saw the publication of the latest issue of the internet-based journal Sociological Research Online. In this issue Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen published a book review of Balanced Ethics Review: A Guide for Institutional Review Board Members written by the American academic Simon Whitney. [1] In doing so they continue the tradition of FHSS scholars contributing to the research ethics debate. For example, Regmi and colleagues recently had a paper accepted on their insights into research in low-income countries in the journal Developing World Bioethics.[2] Whilst a 2012 FHSS-led paper stressed that researchers conducting research in low-income countries need to apply for research ethics approval to the relevant local authority, if national legislation requires one to do so.[3]

Looking better a little further back, Professor Emerita Immy Holloway wrote about the researcher who may have (potentially) conflicting roles namely those of researcher and health care professional.[4] Whilst a combination of midwifery researchers in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) highlighted the problems faced by practitioners doing research in their field of practice with perhaps the risk of blurring professional and research ethics, as balancing competing ethical concerns between protecting research participants and over-managing the ethical process can be problematic.[5-6] The latter issue of management and regulation of research ethics has recognised as getting more and more cumbersome and bureaucratic.[7-8]

Two further publications by Prof. Ashencaen Crabtree have added to the pool of FHSS publication on research ethics.[9-10] The first one, a book, addressed the problematic issue of gate-keepers in research together with the ethics of critical observation of abuse (potential or actual), as well as the ethics of advocating on behalf of research participants.[9] The second paper covered issues around working with research participants who are regarded as ‘vulnerable’ in a study into the context of care and patient/service user experiences.[10]

Whilst Prof. Parker has highlighted the benefits and dangers of using email and the Internet for social and health research.[11] An even newer research approach is the use of discussion boards as sources of data, which brings its own ethical dilemmas.[12]

In 2010-11 Prof. Parker and colleagues explored in two separate papers the contested meanings and difficulties associated with informed consent, highlighting challenges raised by an almost unquestioned acceptance of biomedical research ethics in social research and questioning whether potential ‘harm’ is different in this context.[13-14]

Prof. Hundley and colleagues discussed the ethical challenges involved in conducting a cluster randomised controlled trial, where getting informed consent can be complication.[15] Whilst it is worth reminding researchers that in issues of informed consent during pregnancy and childbirth one has to consider the potential for harm to two participants.[16]

References

Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) ‘Balanced Ethics Review: A Guide for Institutional Review Board Members’ by Whitney, Simon N., Springer, (2015) ISBN: 9783319207056 (pb) (book review), Sociological Research Online 22(1) http://www.socresonline.org.uk/22/1/reviews/3.html
Regmi, PR., Aryal, N., Kurmi, O., Pant, PR., van Teijlingen, E., Wasti, P.P. (forthcoming Informed consent in health research: challenges and barriers in low-and middle-income countries with specific reference to Nepal, Developing World Bioethics.
van Teijlingen E.R., Simkhada, P.P. (2012) Ethical approval in developing countries is not optional, Journal of Medical Ethics 38:428-430.
Holloway, I., Wheeler, S. (1995) Ethical Issues in Qualitative Nursing Research, Nursing Ethics 2: 223-232. http://nej.sagepub.com/content/2/3/223.full.pdf+html
Ryan, K., Brown, B., Wilkins, C., Taylor, A., Arnold, R., Angell, C., van Teijlingen, E. (2011) Which hat am I wearing today? Practicing midwives doing research, Evidence-Based Midwifery 9(1): 4-8.
van Teijlingen, E.R., Cheyne, H.L. (2004) Ethics in midwifery research, RCM Midwives Journal 7 (5): 208-10.
van Teijlingen, E. (2006) Reply to Robert Dingwall’s Plenary ‘Confronting the Anti-Democrats: The unethical Nature of Ethical Regulation in Social Science, MSo (Medical Sociology online) 1: 59-60 www.medicalsociologyonline.org/archives/issue1/pdf/reply_rob.pdf
van Teijlingen, E., Douglas, F., Torrance, N. (2008) Clinical governance and research ethics as barriers to UK low-risk population-based health research? BMC Public Health 8(396) www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-8-396.pdf
Ashencaen Crabtree, S. (2012) Rainforest Asylum: The enduring legacy of colonial psychiatric care in Malaysia, London: Whiting & Birch.
Ashencaen Crabtree, S. (2013) Research ethics approval processes and the moral enterprise of ethnography. Ethics & Social Welfare. Advance Access: DOI:10.1080/17496535.2012.703683
Bond, C.S, Ahmed, O.H., Hind, M., Thomas, B., Hewitt-Taylor, J. (2013) The Conceptual and Practical Ethical Dilemmas of Using Health Discussion Board Posts as Research Data, Journal of Medical Internet Research 15(6):e112) Web address: http://www.jmir.org/2013/6/e112/
Parker, J. (2008) Email, ethics and data collection in social work research: some reflections from a research project, Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate & Practice, 4(1): 75-83.
Hundley, V., Cheyne, H.C., Bland, J.M., Styles, M., Barnett, C.A. (2010) So you want to conduct a cluster randomised controlled trial? Lessons from a national cluster trial of early labour, Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 16: 632-638
Helmreich, R.J., Hundley, V., Norman, A., Ighedosa, J., Chow, E. (2007) Research in pregnant women: the challenges of informed consent, Nursing for Women’s Health 11(6): 576-585.
Parker, J., Penhale, B., Stanley, D., (2010). Problem or safeguard? Research ethics review in social care research and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Social Care & Neurodisability, 1(2): 22-32.
Parker, J., Penhale, B., Stanley, D. (2011) Research ethics review: social care and social science research and the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Ethics & Social Welfare, 5(4): 380-400.

February 27, 2017

The Value of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Jo Garrad

The British Academy is launching an exciting new project which aims to articulate, for the first time, the skills that are inherent to the study of arts, humanities and social sciences (AHSS), their value to the individual, and the contribution they do make and could make in future to society.

Click on the link above to find out what the British Academy Flagship Skills Project is; why they’re doing it; and how you can contribute to the call for evidence (closing date 15 March 2017).

February 5, 2017

CPD study findings presented in Kathmandu

Centre for Excellence in Learning, Fusion, international, Public engagement, Training Edwin van Teijlingen

Today we offered preliminary feedback to key stakeholders in Kathmandu as part of our research into CPD (Continuous Professional Development) for nurses in Nepal. Today’s presentation is party funded by LJMU (Liverpool John Moores University) and partly funded by BU’s Centre for Excellence in Learning (CEL). Late 2016 CEL funded the qualitative part of our research project. In this CPD project we work with representatives of the Ministry of Health , the Ministry of Education, the Nepal Nursing Association and the Nursing Council, and providers of Nursing Education (both Government-run universities and private colleges).

Today key presenter was BU Visiting Faculty Dr. Bibha Simkhada (based at LJMU). The event was opened by Associate Professor Chandra Kala Sharma, who is also the president of the Nepal Nursing Association (lighting the traditional lamp in photo right).

Our BU contributors, Dr. Catherine Angell and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, are both based in the Centre for Midwifery and Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH). We are grateful to our collaborators in Nepal, especially Dr. Sujan Marahatta at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, for organising this event in our absence. The CPD research project is truly a FUSION project in the field of nursing & midwifery since it links Research in the field of Education to help improve Practice in Nepal. Further information can be found on a previous blog post, click here!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

January 28, 2017

New paper CMMPH PhD student Sheetal Sharma

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

Focus groups in open air in rural Nepal, (c) Sheetal Sharma

Congratulations to Sheetal Sharma, postgraduate student in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) whose latest paper on the process of the research in her PhD fieldwork was accepted today by the Journal of Asian Midwives [1]. Sheetal used an innovative mixed-methods evaluation which was applied to a long-running maternity intervention in rural Nepal. The intervention has been supported for nearly seven years by Green Tara Trust, a Buddhist charity based in London. Sheetal’s supervisors are supervisors are Prof. Vanora Hundley, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Dr. Catherine Angell (all in CMMPH) and Prof. Padam Simkhada, who is Visiting Faculty in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences and based at Liverpool John Moores University.

This paper is part of a larger body of health research work conducted by CMMPH in Nepal.

Reference:

Sharma, S., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Stephens J, Hundley, V., Angell, C. (2017) Evaluation of Maternity Care Intervention in Rural Nepal: Lessons learnt, Journal of Asian Midwives (accepted Jan. 2017).

January 21, 2017

Scottish Government publishes Maternity Review

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday the Scottish Government has published its national maternity review ‘The Best Start – A Five Year Forward Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care in Scotland’. The report has been widely welcomed and gained, among others, the full support from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM). Mary Ross-Davie, RCM Director for Scotland noted: “This is a defining moment for maternity services in Scotland and will be a seismic shift for our maternity services. The plan has the potential to revolutionise maternity care, to deliver safer and better services for women, babies and their families, and to improve the health of our population.”

The Best Start recognises that maternity and neonatal services matter to the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s people. The report’s underpinning is more of a social model of childbirth as it observes that “The health, development, social, and economic consequences of childbirth and the early weeks of life are profound, and the impact, both positive and negative, is felt by individual families and communities as well as across the whole of society.”

Having lived for 25 years in Scotland I am happy to have made a small contribution to this import report.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

January 17, 2017

It’s a girl, and then there is silence…..

international, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement, Training Edwin van Teijlingen

The second day of THET training showed again that gender is a critical issue in Nawalparasi, southern Nepal. We asked the ANMs about things they had changed in their own practice. Several ANMs said that they had changed the way they worked. Now they see that having a baby girl can be a significant mental health issue as it causes the women a lot of stress. Interestingly, it also caused them as health workers considerable stress The ANMs said that they had started to counsel families of girl children. They say they emphasise that it is okay to have girls.

This ties in with feedback comments from yesterday in a different group of trainees. In Sunday’s training, one ANM answered when asked about stress at work, that she finds it stressful that a room falls silent when a baby girl is born. She commented that this happens when the family is obviously hoping for a boy. She added that at the very moment a baby girl is born, the family immediately falls silent. She said that this is a great source of stress to her as a health worker.

Coincidently next door to the training venue in Nawalparasi a Hindu wedding has been taking place today. This colourful spectacle represents different roles and expectations of men and women, the bride and the groom, but also the other guests here in Nepal. Weddings everywhere are ceremonies that reflect society. Seeing the wedding from close by and listening to the ANMs over these last two days, we reflected at the end of today that these ANMs are acting bravely in raising such a culturally sensitive issue in their practice, in this largely patriarchal rural society.

Flora Douglas & Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

January 16, 2017

Nuffield Research Placements: A ‘win-win’

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement Francesco Ferraro

Every year the Nuffield Research Placements provides to over 1,000 students the opportunity to work alongside professional scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians. As a PGR student in FHSS, I want to share my experience of being involved in the scheme last summer, and hopefully, to inspire you to consider doing likewise in 2017.

The Nuffield-funded scheme encourages and supports school students to undertake work placements in universities, with the purpose of inspiring the future generation of researchers.

The placements are a unique opportunity to give a 17 year-old the chance to discover what a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths) might be like, which is particularly valuable for those with no family history of attending university or working in a STEM environment.

Personally, I believe that the choices we make in life are strongly related with the people we meet, and the placements are an opportunity to share your enthusiasm for your research with impressionable minds.

Cast your own mind back to when you were 17 what did you know about research as a career? Did anyone motivate and inspired you? How did you get where you are today?

I was involved in hosting two Nuffield Research Placements students last summer. Under the guidance and support of Professors Alison McConnell, Professor Tom Wainwright, Dr James Gavin and Rachel Delourme (STEM Advisor & Sustainability Co-ordinator at Cornwall Council), I took responsibility for coordinating the placement projects of Jamie Singleton and Freddie Corrie-Deane.

I found the experience really motivating and far from distracting me from my work routine, the placement made a valuable contribution. The students’ work helped me in defining my project and refining the research processes associated with my first study of my PhD. In this regard, I would highly recommend the value of the placements, which helped me practically, and also helped to develop my skills as a mentor.

The placements were also very valuable to the students, and below are a few thoughts in Freddie and Jamie’s own words:

Freddie:

“Joining a research study, I knew I was in for a hefty chunk of reading, and with a pessimistic outlook I thought it would all be dry and bland, and that it would be the source of countless days of boredom. Thankfully I was wrong, and while I did have to spend an obligatory day or two reading background information, studies and manuals; the rest of this placement has been involved with the workings of brand-new machinery in the Orthopaedic Research Institute and going out into the local community to talk with people, both of which have been challenging and engaging in all of the right ways to make this experience an enjoyable one.

Our engagement in the community started very early into the placement, on the second day in fact, when we tagged along with Francesco (Our PhD Student overseer/mentor) to an area of sheltered housing to help him give a talk on his study, it was some really good hands on experience (it didn’t hurt that we were offered a biscuit or two). Following this line of talking to people, Jamie and I have spent the last couple of days walking around the gardens by the seaside talking to people and filling out surveys.

We have also spent a day or two engrossed in the outstanding labs in the Orthopedic Research Institute, equipped with an amazing range of equipment from a pair of surgery VR simulators that bring in experts and surgeons from all over Europe, to the intricate and ever useful Primus Machine which has more potential and customisable positions than there are hours in the day and so understandably has just as many uses.”

Jamie:

“During the past two weeks at Bournemouth University, we have had lots of hands on experience and witnessed the fun sides of research and also, the not-quite side. The latter, quite funnily enough, involved vast amounts of background reading and studying of protocols. The more enjoyable hands on experience however, consisted of being introduced to and working in the Orthopedic Research Institute Labs testing out protocols. Much to our disappointment… we had to use numerous fun and expensive pieces of equipment, it was at this point we knew this was the right place to be.

Amongst playing around with expensive machinery such as the PrimusRS and the Virtual Reality machines, we got to do some real work. This work was tough yet enriching and consisted of explaining what the research was about and why it is essential to a sheltered community, and of course when asked, accepting the offer for tea and biscuits. Visiting the shelter did give me an insight into the recruitment process for research projects, and I was quite surprised of how laid back it was.

Next, this time for real we did have work to do such as reading protocols, resources, and informative documents needed to produce our review which was not the most exciting experience however, it was made up for by the interesting walks we went on, through the Lower Gardens, in order to gather vital information that we needed for our project analysis of the PASE questionnaire.”

In conclusion, the placement are a ‘win win’ and a a great opportunity for all PGRs, not simply to share your knowledge, but also to inspire young scientists and to help them to make the first step on a career in science. Wouldn’t it be great to think that you might be one of those inspiration people who make a difference to a young person’s aspirations?

If you want to know more about the placement,please contact:

Rachel Delourme at rdelourme@cornwall.gov.uk

January 15, 2017

Training preparation in rural Nepal

international Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday we come down from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, to our THET training area in Nawalparasi. Today we are starting our sixth and last training session on the Mental health training for community-based maternity care providers. Interesting we are starting training on a Sunday as Nepal is largely a Hindu country and most workers have only a one-day weekend (which is the Saturday). This BU-led project is a collaboration between the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH), Tribhuvan University (Nepal’s oldest university) and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). The project receives funding from DFID, and is managed through THET and supported locally in Nepal by a charity Green Tara Nepal.

The landscape in the photo gives an idea of how rural this part of Nepal is. Nawalparasi is situated in the south of Nepal the India border. It is also largely very flat, not like the Nepal most people envisage namely that of the Himalayans and of Mount Everest. The flatness makes a Dutchman feel at home though.

The project depends on volunteers who work in the health sector in the UK to come out and spend their time and energy preparing and delivering the training. Our project also could not work without the logistical support from Green Tara Nepal and our academic colleagues at Tribhuvan University. The last photo shows one of the UK volunteers Dr. Flora Douglas with the translator Shiwani Manandhar on the way to the training venue.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (from Nepal)

CMMPH

January 7, 2017

Research collaboration meeting with Pourakhi in Kathmandu

international, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday we meet in Kathmandu with colleagues working for Pourakhi. Pourakhi is a charity, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), that helps to advocate for the rights of women who returned to Nepal after migrating for employment. The name Pourakhi, which means self-reliant in Nepali, represents the idea that the organisation is largely run and supported by Nepali women who had migrated abroad for employment.

Globalization and trade liberation have opened up opportunities in the international labour market for women in Nepal. Lack of job opportunity in Nepal and poverty have put a growing demand on women to economically support their family. This means many Nepali women are leaving the country to work abroad. In doing so they contribute to the economic prosperity of their families and also in the poverty alleviation of their country through remittances. However, working abroad comes at a cost, as it is not always easy, especially for women.

The Faculty of Health & Social Sciences at Bournemouth University (Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen) and Liverpool John Moores University (Prof. Padam Simkhada, who is also Visiting Faculty at FHSS) have been working with Pourakhi over the past years and half. The main aim of this collaboration is to set up a proper database of women who return to Nepal, based on paper records collected by Pourakhi and use this data to publish academic papers and reports on the issue. The first academic paper based on data collected up to 2014 has already been submitted.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

January 4, 2017

Media coverage in Nepal

international, Knowledge Transfer, PG research, Public engagement, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday’s health promotion dissemination meeting in Kathmandu has been widely reported in the national media in Nepal. Some of the national media focused largely (but not solely) on the words of the Minister of Health Mr Thapa, whilst the television news reports included the organisers and presenters at the event. The Green Tara Nepal Health Promotion Dissemination conference in Kathmandu was supported by the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health at BU and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Green Tara Trust UK (a Buddhist charity based in London). BU has been working with Green Tara Nepal for the past eight years on a number of maternal health promotion projects in rural Nepal. Overall the media in Nepal had difficulty understanding the notion of ‘health promotion’, therefore many journalists focused on health services as this was mentioned by the Minister of Health.

The event was also attended by BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at LJMU), CMMPH PhD student Preeti Mahato and FHSS Post-Doc. Dr. Pramod Regmi.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

January 3, 2017

Health Promotion feedback meeting in Kathmandu

conferences, international, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Today the charity Green Tara Nepal (GTN) in collaboration with two UK universities, BU and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) presented the findings of its long-term maternal project plus a review of health promotion in (a) government policies and strategies and (b) the curricula of university-based health courses in Nepal. The event in Hotel Yellow Pagoda was attended by the Nepal’s Minister of Health Mr. Gagan Kumar Thapa. We presented some of the key research findings of the GTN maternity project which have shown that interventions based on health promotion principles using women’s groups can be effective in the community.

Bournemouth University was represented by Dr. Pramod Regmi (FHSS), Mrs. Preeti Mahato, PhD student in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health (CMMPH) and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. One of the strengths of Green Tara’s approach is its collaboration with UK universities for its research. Several excellent MSc and PhD students have been, and some, such as CMMPH’s PhD students Sheetal Sharma and Preeti Mataho, still are, contributing to the health promotion evidence base.

The workshop was attended by a range of directors of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations), INGOs (International Non-Governmental Organisations), academics, the Government of Nepal, and many other stakeholders including the media. The GTN Chair Krishna Lamsal commented: “This dissemination workshop follows on from the First National Health Promotion Conference in Nepal in which Bournemouth University was also a joint organiser. The 2003 conference brought together nearly 300 people for the first time to discuss key issues in health promotion.”

December 31, 2016

Two FHSS conference presentations in Nepal

international, Public engagement, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen from BU’s Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) spoke at the 9th Conference and Seminar on Adolescent’s Health Promotion in Kathmandu. This event was organised by the Health Education Association of Nepal (HEAN). The first keynote speech ‘Adolescent’s Health Promotion: Global Perspectives‘ was presented by BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at Liverpool John Moores University) on behalf of his BU co-authors Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. The second keynote speech ‘Global Health Promotion Approach‘ was presented jointly by Prof. van Teijlingen and Green Tara Nepal country director Mr. Ram Chandra Silwal on behalf of their collaborators Prof. Simkhada and Green Tara Trust, UK (Dr. Jane Stephens and Ms. Colette Fanning).

Both presentations were well received and generated considerable discussion amongst an audience of health educationalists, public health teachers and health promotion experts. Several of the active members of HEAN and conference organisers are collaborators with BU on our THET project on training community-based maternity care providers in rural Nawalparasi, southern Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

December 30, 2016

Congratulations to Dr. Sarah Collard on new publication

international, open access, Publishing, Training, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today saw the publication of a new methods paper by Dr. Sarah Collard, post-doctoral researcher in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the academic journal Health Prospect. This new paper addressed some of the key methodological issues associated with Internet-based Focus Groups (FGs) or the so-called Online Focus Group Discussions [1]. Traditional face-to-face FG discussions are a popular qualitative research method used a wide-range of areas, such as political sciences, marketing, health service research and sociology to name but a few disciplines. More recently, internet-based FGs have grown in popularity due to the growth of: (a) the internet, both in terms of technical capacity and number of users; and (b) the improved quality of communication software (e.g. Skype). This paper highlights some of the strengths and weaknesses of conducting FGs online. Building on our experience of conducting traditional and internet-based FGs.

Dr. Sarah Collard is affiliated with BU’s Centre for Qualitative Research (CQR). Health Prospect is an Open Access journal therefore this article is freely available to any reader across the globe.

Reference:

Collard, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2016) Online focus group: New approaches to an ‘old’ research method, Health Prospect 15(3):4-7.

December 29, 2016

New paper CMMPH

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

At the very end of December, one more academic paper on maternity care in Nepal from the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Neonatal Health (CMMPH). Our latest paper ‘The uptake of skilled birth attendants’ services in rural Nepal: A qualitative study’ was published today in the Journal of Asian Midwives [1]. The paper is co-authored with colleagues from London Metropolitan University, and is the third in a series based on the PhD project of the first author Dr. Yuba Raj Baral [1-3]. The Journal of Asian Midwives is an Open Access journal hence the paper is freely available across the globe.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Baral, YR., Lyons, K., van Teijlingen, ER., Skinner, J., (2016) The uptake of skilled birth attendants’ services in rural Nepal: A qualitative study, Journal of Asian Midwives 3(2): 7-25.
Baral, YR, Lyons, K., Skinner, J, van Teijlingen, ER (2012) Maternal health services utilisation in Nepal: Progress in the new millennium? Health Science Journal 6(4): 618-633. www.hsj.gr/volume6/issue4/644.pdf
Baral, Y.R, Lyons, K., Skinner, J, van Teijlingen, E. (2010) Determinants of skilled birth attendants for delivery in Nepal Kathmandu University Medical Journal 8(3): 325-332. http://www.kumj.com.np/issue/31/325-332.pdf

December 26, 2016

Call for Papers for 2017 Nepal Study Days at Bournemouth University

conferences, international, PG research Edwin van Teijlingen

Call for Papers for the 15^th Nepal Study Days

12-13 April 2017 hosted by Bournemouth University, UK

The Britain Nepal Academic Council (BNAC) invites scholars and practitioners from all disciplines to participate in the 15^th BNAC Nepal Study Days. All presentations should focus on Nepal, its diaspora and/or the Nepali cultural world. We invite presentations that share research findings, preferably of work that has reached an advanced stage or has been completed. The 2017 event will be held in Bournemouth House at Bournemouth University. Details of previous study days can be accessed online here! We also invite proposals for research posters.

If you are interested in participating, please send a 300-word abstract of your proposed presentation to bnacstudyday@gmail.com by 28^th February 2017. The Study Days organizing committee will review the proposals received on time and make a selection. Selected abstracts will be circulated to registered participants in advance and posted to the BNAC website.

Members of BNAC may attend the Nepal Study Days for free, though we will ask for a contribution towards the costs of the lunches. For non-members there will be a registration fee of £25, which will include lunch on both days.

We would like to encourage prospective participants to apply for or renew their membership for 2017 in time to be eligible for free registration. To download membership application form and for other details about BNAC membership, please visit www.bnac.ac.uk/membership/.

We hope to be in a position to offer small bursaries towards the travel costs of students from outside Bournemouth whose abstracts are accepted.

Deadline to submit abstracts: 28^th February 2016.

Deadline to register for those who are not presenting a paper but who wish to attend: 4^th April 2017.

For more information and registration, please contact the Nepal Study Days organizing team (Pramo Regmi, Jib Acharya, Preeti Mahato and Edwin van Teijlingen) at bnacstudyday@gmail.com.

The application form can be found here!

We suggest you book your accommodation in Bournemouth well in advance. To download the list of hotels close to the programme venue, click here.

For details about new membership application (and to download forms) or renewal, click here

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Dr. Pramod Regmi

Mr. Jib Acharya

Mrs. Preeti Mahato

December 23, 2016

Worldwide media coverage BU co-authored paper

international, PG research, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Many prestigious newspapers across the globe re-published a very interesting Associate Press article called ‘At soaring rate, Nepalis seeking jobs abroad come home dead’ on the plight of Nepali migrant workers in countries such as Malaysia, Korea, India and the Middle East. This article cited our co-author Nirmal Aryal who is a Nepali researcher based in New Zealand. This newspaper piece also quoted our recent paper ‘Injury and Mortality in Young Nepalese Migrant Workers: A Call for Public Health Action’, which was published earlier this year in the Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health [1]. This scientific journal has an Impact Factor of 1.72

We have received email message and tweets from colleagues and friends who spotted this article in newspapers in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand (NZ), Taiwan, Nepal, India and many more countries as well as on several news websites. The article was sighted in North American papers such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Billings Gazette, Dothan Eagle, The Daily Times, The Roanoke Times, Union Times, The Daily Courier, The Journal Times, Medicine Hat News. and many more. Whilst in Britain the article can be found on the webpages of the Mail Online. In the Philippines the piece is on Inquirer.net

Elsewhere we were alerted to The Hindustan Times in India, which is incidently one of the few papers that changed the original title of the Associated Press piece to ‘Mysterious deaths: Nepalis working abroad come back home in caskets’. Furthermore, as our colleague Nirmal Aryal is based in NZ it is not surprising that several newspaper there reported on the issue: The New Zealand Herald, The Dominion Post (NZ), and as expected several English-language daily newspaper in Nepal picked up the story, including The Himalayan Times, and The Kathmandu Post.

It’s a pity that the original Associated Press article only refers to the BU collaborators as ‘colleagues in the United Kingdom’. We have a long-standing interest in the health and well-being of Nepali migrant workers in various host countries. Dr. Pramod Regmi is post-doctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS). He is part of the BU India-HUB, which involves the study of Nepali migrant workers in India. Prof. Padam Simkhada from Liverpool John Moores University is also BU Visiting Faculty in FHSS. Dr. Pratik Adhikary is a recent BU PhD graduate who has published several articles on Nepalis migrant workers [2-3]. Finally, our work on Nepali migrants has also been submitted as a contribution to the BU’s Global Festival of Learning.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen & Dr. Pramod Regmi

Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

References:

Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P., Bhatta, Y.K.D., Mann, S. (2016) Injury and Mortality in Young Nepalese Migrant Workers: A Call for Public Health Action. Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health 28(8): 703-705. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1010539516668628
Adhikary, P., Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen E., Raja, AE. (2008) Health & Lifestyle of Nepalese Migrants in the UK BMC International Health & Human Rights 8(6). Web address: biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/8/6.
Adhikary P., Keen S., van Teijlingen, E (2011) Health Issues among Nepalese migrant workers in Middle East. Health Science Journal 5: 169-175. hsj.gr/volume5/issue3/532.pdf

December 19, 2016

New blog on Open Access publishing

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

Some months ago Andy Nobes asked my colleague Prof. Padam Simkhada and I if we could write a blog about why we had so many papers in freely available online journals in Nepal. Andy is the Programme Officer, Research Development & Support at INASP, which is an international development charity based in Oxford working with a global network of partners in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

We had a whole range of immediate answers to Andy’s question, including ones like: we both love Nepal; we are on the editorial board of a few journals that are part of the NepJOL group; and editors invite us to submit articles and/or editorials. Moreover, we feel reasons for Open Access publishing are very similar to our key reasons for working in a low-income country like Nepal. These principles are (a) conducting applied academic research in low-income countries for the greater good; (b) helping to build research-capacity; and (c) telling the world about our research through quality academic publications. This week saw the publication of our blog ‘Publishing in journals of the NepJOL family’ on the AuthorAid website, click here to read the post.

Edwin van Teijlingen, Professor of Reproductive Health Research at Bournemouth University and Padam Simkhada, Professor of International Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University and BU Visiting Faculty.

December 17, 2016

Top three most accessed 2016 paper BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth

international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

It is always nice to receive some good news just before Christmas. The journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth informed us that our paper ‘“Is it realistic?” the portrayal of pregnancy and childbirth in the media’ was in the top three most popular papers [1]. This interdisciplinary paper crosses the boundaries between the study of maternity care & midwifery, sociology of health & illness, and that of the media. With BU’s Dr. Ann Luce as first author, it is one of the top three accessed articles of nearly 400 articles published in 2016 (as of Dec 16^th).

Reference:

Luce, A., Cash, M., Hundley, V., Cheyne, H., van Teijlingen, E., Angell, C., (2016) “Is it realistic?” the portrayal of pregnancy and childbirth in the media BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 16: 40 http://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-016-0827-x

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