BU Research Blog

September 8, 2024

Successful human-centred design workshop at Safety 2024 in India

BU research, Events, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, PG research, Public engagement, Research communication, Research news, Training, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Last week colleagues from our Sonamoni project co-hosted a workshop with TGI Australia (The George Institute for Global Health) at the 15th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion (Safety 2024) which was held in New Delhi (India). Focusing on the strengths of the Human-Centred Design (HCD) approach, this workshop first introduced the design principles to participants and demonstrated how they can be employed to reduce risks and prevent accidents. These design principles have been applied for many years in designing consumer products and, more recently, in the fields of health and social systems.

In this well-attended workshop researchers presented case studies from Bangladesh (including the Sonamoni project) and Tanzania to illustrate how the process is employed with communities to co-develop interventions aimed at reducing the risk of drowning among fishing folk and vulnerable children. The team proposed a framework which integrates HCD methodology and traditional research methodologies, creating a more user-centred and multidimensional approach to intervention design. Outputs of the process included user risk journeys, stakeholder mapping and systems diagrams that can be used with communities and wider stakeholders to visualise the problem and bring to life the environment in which interventions are to be designed. These outputs can also be support advocacy and donor engagement.

The proposed framework provides a mechanism for closer collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and communities to work together to co-design context-specific solutions that are culturally and environmentally appropriate. Workshop participants were asked for their expert opinion on the proposed framework, to help us refine the framework and inform future practice.

Our Sonamoni project recently had its own video recording on YouTube. Sonamoni is a public health project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through its Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme. For more information, visit the NIHR website. Sonamoni is coordinated by Bournemouth University in collaboration with Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), the University of the West of England, Bristol, the University of Southampton, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), and design Without Borders (DWB) Africa.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

August 18, 2024

New paper on female migrant workers from Nepal

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week the Global Health Journal accepted the latest article on female migrant workers from Nepal [1]. The paper is co-authored by Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health as well as by Faculty of Health & Social Sciences Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam, and other Nepalese co-authors are based in the UK and Nepal. Ms. Manju Gurung is co-founder & strategic advisor of POURAKHI Nepal, an Nepal-based organisation supporting ,migrant workers. Dr. Sharada P.Wasti, is based at the University of Greenwich, and he has collaborated with Bournemouth University academics on several previous academic papers on health, work-related migration and human trafficking [2-4].

The paper highlights the plight of women working abroad and the problems they encounter destination countries. This study reported in this paper was conducted among 1,889 women who were registered as migrant returnees at an organisation called POURAKHI Nepal. The study extracted and analysed data from this non-governmental organisation that
supports returning female migrant workers in Nepal.
Around half (43.1 %) of the women in the study were 35 or older, 30.9 % were illiterate, and 63.6 % were in their first overseas job. Over one-third (38.5 %) had experienced self-reported workplace harassment. Gender-based violence was a serious problem as physical violence was highly prevalent (68 %), followed by verbal abuse (37.5 %), mental stress (29.7 %), and sexual abuse (14.1 %).

Women who worked abroad with the following characteristics were at the greatest risk: those who were illiterate (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]1.25, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.01 to 1.55), unmarried (AOR 1.27, 95 % CI: 1.05 to 1.56), worked abroad twice or more years (AOR 1.35, 95 % CI: 1.10 to 1.66), changed their place of work (AOR 2.38, 95 % CI: 1.42 to 4.01), lived without documents (AOR 1.24, 95 % CI: 1.03 to 1.50), worked as domestics (AOR 3.56, 95 % CI: 2.03 to 6.23), worked in other than Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (AOR 1.45, 95 % CI: 1.06 to 1.99), women who did not have a fixed salary (AOR 1.64, 95 % CI: 1.28 to 2.10) and did not receive salary (AOR 3.71, 95 % CI: 2.88 to 4.77) were more likely to be harassed at work.
The authors recommend that the host governments should introduce and enforce policies protecting women in the workplace. Moreover, migrant women should be provided with better information about health risks and hazards as well as how to improve preventive measures in destination countries to reduce workplace harassment.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

References:

Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen, E., Gurung, M., Bhujel, S., Wasti, S.P. (2024) Workplace harassment faced by female Nepalese migrants working aboard, Global Health Journal (accepted)
Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen, E.R., Gurung, M., Wasti, S. (2018) A survey of health problems of Nepalese female migrants workers in the Middle-East & Malaysia, BMC International Health & Human Rights 18(4): 1-7. http://rdcu.be/E3Ro.
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Sharma, A., Bissell, P., Poobalan, A., Wasti, S.P. (2018) Health consequences of sex trafficking: A systematic review, Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 4(1): 130-49.
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 & Public Health 19(15), 8986; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19158986

July 22, 2024

New Bournemouth University public health paper

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, PG research, research staff, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

The journal PLOS Global Public Health informed us that our paper ‘Exploring the motivations of female community health volunteers in primary healthcare provision in rural Nepal: a qualitative study’ [1] has been formally accepted in the Open Access journal. Dr. Sarita Panday is based at the Univeristy of Essex and Dr. Amy Barnes is based at the University of York. This paper is part of the first author’s Ph.D. project at the University of Sheffield, and it is the third second paper from her Ph.D. thesis as previous academic articles have appeared in BMC Health Services Research [2] and PLoS ONE [3].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

References:

Panday, S., Barnes, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2024) Exploring the motivations of female community health volunteers in primary healthcare provision in rural Nepal: a qualitative study, PLOS Global Public Health 4(8): e0003428
Panday, S., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2017) The contribution of female community health volunteers (FCHVs) to maternity care in Nepal: a qualitative study, BMC Health Services Research 17:623 be/vz9C
Panday, S., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2019) Perceived barriers to accessing female community health volunteers’ services amongst ethnic minority women in Nepal: a qualitative study, PLoS ONE 14(6): e0217070 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217070

May 28, 2024

Growing volume of migrant workers’ health research

Featured academics, Global engagement, international, PG research, Research communication, Research news, Student Engagement, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Last week we found out that the paper ‘Moral panic, fear, stigma, and discrimination against returnee migrants and Muslim populations in Nepal: analyses of COVID-19 media content’ was published by the Journal of Media Studies [1]. This latest paper is co-authored by Dr. Nirmal Aryal and Dr. Pramod Regmi in the Department of Nursing Sciences, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH), as well as former BU employee Dr. Shovita Dhakal Adhokari. The published paper addresses the effects of COVID-19 stereotyping and so-called ‘othering’ on migrant workers returning home to Nepal is the latest article in a long line of publications by Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHSS) academics.

This BU team (including former and current PhD students) has published over thirty papers on a wide range of aspects related to migrant and their work, health and well-being [2-31].

References:

Aryal, N., Regmi, P., Adhikari Dhakal, S., Sharma, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2024) Moral panic, fear, stigma, and discrimination against returnee migrants and Muslim populations in Nepal: analyses of COVID-19 media content, Journal of Media Studies, 38(2):71-98. http://111.68.103.26/journals/index.php/jms/article/viewFile/7846/4025
Chaudhary MN, Lim V-C, Faller EM,Regmi P, Aryal N, Mohd Zain SN, Azman AS, Sahimin B. (2024) Assessing the basic knowledge and awareness of dengue fever prevention among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. PLoS ONE 19(2): e0297527. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297527
Khanal, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Sharma, M., Acharya, J., Sharma, C., Kharel, S., Gaulee, U., Bhattarai, K., Pasa, R.B., Bohora, P. (2024) Risk Perception and Protective Health Measure Regarding COVID-19 among Nepali Labour Migrants’ Returnee from India. KMC Journal, 6(1): 313–330. https://doi.org/10.3126/kmcj.v6i1.62364
Gyawali, K., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E.R., Manandhar, S., Silwal, R.C. (2023). Sexual Harassment Among Nepali Non-Migrating Female Partners of International Labor Migrant Men. Journal of Health Promotion, 11(1): 22–31. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/jhp/article/view/61198
Chaudhary MN, Lim V-C, Sahimin N, Faller EM, Regmi P, Aryal N, Azman AS (2023) Assessing the knowledge of, attitudes towards, and practices in, food safety among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia, Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2023.102620.
Manandhar, S., Simkhada, P., Brown, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Spouses’ Health: A Systematic Review, Qeios, July 16, https://www.qeios.com/read/BX9WFC.2
Adhikari, Y.R., Regmi, P.R., Devkota, B., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers. Journal of Health Promotion, 10(1):1–4. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v10i1.50976
Khatri, R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2022) The health and well-being of female labour migrants from: A qualitative study of stakeholder views, Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences (EJMS) accepted
Aryal, N., Sedhain, A., Regmi, P.R., KC, R.K.,& van Teijlingen, E. (2021). Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 12(12), 126–132.
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K., Martinez Faller, E., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) Kidney health risk of migrant workers: An issue we can no longer overlook. Health Prospect 20(1):15-7
Khanal, S. P., van Teijlingen, E., Sharma, M. K., Acharya, J., & Sharma, S. (2021). Perceived threats towards COVID-19 pandemic among Nepali migrant workers returned from India. Journal of Health Promotion,9(01), 87–99.
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Trenoweth, S., Adhikary, P., Simkhada, P. (2020) The Impact of Spousal Migration on the Mental Health of Nepali Women: A Cross-Sectional Study, International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 17(4), 1292; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17041292
Adhikary, P., Aryal, N., Dhungana, R.R., KC, R.K., Regmi, P.R., Wickramage, K.P., Duigan, P., Inkochasan, M., Sharma, G.N., Devkota, B., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2020) Accessing health services in India: experiences of seasonal migrants returning to Nepal. BMC Health Services Research 20, 992. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05846-7
Regmi, P., Aryal, N., van Teijlingen, E., Adhikary, P. (2020) Nepali migrant workers and the need for pre-departure training on mental health: a qualitative study, Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health 22, 973–981.
Adhikary, P. van Teijlingen, E. (2020) Support networks in the Middle East & Malaysia: A qualitative study of Nepali returnee migrants’ experiences, International Journal of Occupational Safety & Health (IJOSH), 9(2): 31-35.
Simkhada, B., Sah, R.K., Mercel-Sanca, A., van Teijlingen, E., Bhurtyal, Y.M., Regmi, P. (2020) Health and Wellbeing of the Nepali population in the UK: Perceptions and experiences of health and social care utilisation, Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health 23(2): 298–307.
OM [International Organization for Migration]. (2019) Health vulnerabilities of cross-border migrants from Nepal. Kathmandu: International Organization for Migration.
Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Mahato, P., Aryal, N., Jadhav, N., Simkhada, P., Syed Zahiruddin, Q., Gaidhane, A., (2019) The health of Nepali migrants in India: A qualitative study of lifestyles and risks, Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 16(19), 3655; doi:10.3390/ijerph16193655.
Dhungana, R.R., Aryal, N, Adhikary, P., KC, R., Regmi, P.R., Devkota, B., Sharma, G.N., Wickramage, K., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2019) Psychological morbidity in Nepali cross-border migrants in India: A community-based cross-sectional, BMC Public Health 19:1534 https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7881-z
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Mahato, P. (2019) Adolescents left behind by migrant workers: a call for community-based mental health interventions in Nepal. WHO South East Asia Journal of Public Health 8(1): 38-41.
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Faller, E.M,, van Teijlingen, E., Khoon, C.C., Pereira, A., Simkhada, P. (2019) ‘Sudden cardiac death and kidney health related problems among Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia’ Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 9(3): 755-758. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/25805
Adhikary P, van Teijlingen E., Keen S. (2019) Workplace accidents among Nepali male workers in the Middle East and Malaysia: A qualitative study, Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health 21(5): 1115–1122. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10903-018-0801-y
Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen, E.R., Gurung, M., Wasti, S. (2018) A survey of health problems of Nepalese female migrants workers in the Middle-East & Malaysia, BMC International Health & Human Rights 18(4): 1-7. http://rdcu.be/E3Ro
Adhikary P, Sheppard, Z., Keen S., van Teijlingen E. (2018) Health and well-being of Nepalese migrant workers abroad, International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care 14(1): 96-105. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-12-2015-0052
Adhikary, P., Sheppard, Z., Keen, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Risky work: Accidents among Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia, Qatar and Saudi, Health Prospect 16(2): 3-10.
Simkhada, P.P., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Aryal, N. (2017) Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: A review of the literature, Journal of Travel Medicine 24 (4): 1-9.
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.
Sapkota, T., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2014) Nepalese health workers’ migration to United Kingdom: A qualitative study. Health Science Journal 8(1):57-74.
Adhikary P, Keen S and van Teijlingen E (2011). Health Issues among Nepalese migrant workers in the Middle East. Health Science Journal.5(3):169-i75 DOI: 2-s2.0-79960420128.
van Teijlingen E, Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P. (2009) Alcohol use among the Nepalese in the UK BMJ Rapid Response: www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/339/oct20_1/b4028#223451
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: www.biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/8/6

April 22, 2024

BU involved in new MRF dissemination grant

BU research, international, Research communication, Research news, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Bournemouth University of part of a research consortium that has recently been awarded a Dissemination Award from the Medical Research Foundation (MRF). Last week the MRF announced that it has granted £30,294 for a project to ‘Strengthening Nepal’s health systems’. This Dissemination Award has been offered to expand the reach and impact of our recently completed study which was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative [Grant ref. MR/T023554/1]. In this larger Nepal Federal Health System Project we studied the effects on the health system of Nepal’s move from a centralised political system to a more federal government structure in 2015. This interdisciplinary project was led by the University of Sheffield in collaboration with Bournemouth University, the University of Huddersfield, Canterbury Christ Church University and two institutions in Nepal: MMIHS (Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences) and PHASE Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

April 21, 2024

New COVID-19 publication

BU research, COVID-19, Global engagement, international, mrc, Publishing, Research communication, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health (APJPH) accepted our latest paper from our research on the impact of the federalisation of the health care system in Nepal. This paper ‘COVID-19 as a challenge to Nepal’s newly federalised health system: capacities, responsibilities, and mindsets’ has Bikesh Koirala as first author [1].

This recently completed study was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative [Grant ref. MR/T023554/1]. In this larger Nepal Federal Health System Project we studied the effects on the health system of Nepal’s move from a centralised political system to a more federal government structure in 2015. This joint project was led by the University of Sheffield in collaboration with Bournemouth University, the University of Huddersfield, Canterbury Christ Church University and two higher education institutions in Nepal: MMIHS (Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences) and PHASE Nepal.

This is the seventh paper from our collaboration. Previous papers focused on a wide range of aspects of this interdisciplinary study, including on its methods, participatory policy analysis, the WHO (World Health Organization) health systems building blocks, and public health [2-7].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH (Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health)

References:

Koirala, B., Rushton, S., Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Basnet, S., Joshi, S., Karki, A., Lee, A., Rijal, B., Simkhada, P., Subedi, M., van Teijlingen, E., Karki, J. (2024) COVID-19 as a challenge to Nepal’s newly federalised health system: capacities, responsibilities, and mindsets, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health (accepted).
Sapkota, S., Rushton, S., et al. (2024) Participatory policy analysis in health policy and systems research: reflections from a study in Nepal. Health Research & Policy Systems, 22 (No.7) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01092-5 .
Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., et al. (2023) Overcoming the Challenges Facing Nepal’s Health System During Federalisation: An Analysis of Health System Building Blocks, Health Research Policy & Systems 21(117) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01033-2
Sapkota, S., Dhakal, A., et al. (2023) The impact of decentralisation on health systems: a systematic review of reviews. BMJ Global Health 8:e013317. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013317.
Sapkota, S., Panday, S., et al. (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., et al. (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., et al. (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

April 10, 2024

Dr Shanti Farrington presenting on dementia

BU research, Featured, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, Knowledge Exchange, Publishing, Research Centres, Research news, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Today Dr. Shanti Farrington, Principal Academic in Psychology, presented our research work on dementia in India today. She was invited to speak to the ‘Research Participation Group of the Ageing & Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) at Bournemouth University. She addressed a range of interesting issues, for example she spoke about lack of training of health care workers in dealing with people living with dementia, but also in lack of experience in diagnosing different forms of dementia. She also spoke about the lack of experts neurologists in India, and the ageing population in this vast country.

The discussion with the online audience also covered the role of diet in prevention of dementia and the limitations of using online health promotion material and general information on dementia in English, where some many languages are spoken. The underpinning research was largely funded by GCRF (Global Challenges Research Fund).

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH (Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health)

April 7, 2024

Ph.D. paper cited 40 times

BRIAN, BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, Postgraduate Research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, Women's Academic Network, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today ResearchGate notified us that our paper ‘Caste Exclusion and Health Discrimination in South Asia: A Systematic Review’ has been cited 40 times [1]. This paper is based Dr. Raksha Thapa’s work for her Ph.D. in FHSS. This postgraduate project focused on caste-based inequity in health care utilization in Nepal, particularly focusing on people at the bottom of the caste hierarchy, commonly known as Dalit communities. Her Ph.D. study was supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi, Principal Academic in the Department of Nursing Sciences, Prof. Vanessa Heaslip Professor of Nursing and Healthcare Equity at the University of Salford and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH). Raksha published two further papers from her thesis [2-3].

References:

Thapa, R., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Heaslip, V. (2021) Caste Exclusion and Health Discrimination in South Asia: A Systematic Review, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health 33(8):828-838.
Thapa, R., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Heaslip, V. (2023) Researching Dalits and health care: Considering positionality, Health Prospect 21(1): 6-8.
Thapa, R., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Heaslip, V. (2018) Uptake of Health Services by People from the Dalit Community, Journal of B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences 1(2): 1-6.

March 8, 2024

New BU migrants’ health paper

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Drs. Pramod Regmi and Nirmal Aryal in the Department of Nursing Sciences published a new paper with colleagues from Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines in PLoS ONE under the title ‘Assessing the basic knowledge and awareness of dengue fever prevention among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia’. [1] Globally, 390 million dengue virus infections occur per year. In Malaysia, migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to Dengue Fever (DF) due to mosquito breeding sites exposure and poor health literacy. This study reports on assessing the current Dengue Fever knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP). The paper identifies strategies to promote awareness around Dengue Fever among migrant workers in Malaysia. Most respondents were male, working in the services industry, had completed high school, aged between 30–39 years and with less than ten years work experience in Malaysia. Overall, respondents’ knowledge was positively correlated with attitude but negatively with practices. Older respondents, who had completed higher education, obtained higher knowledge scores. Similarly, those with working experience of >20 years in Malaysia obtained higher attitude scores. Respondents with a previous history of Dengue Fever strongly considered the removal of mosquito breeding sites as their own responsibility, hence tended to frequently apply preventive measures. Respondents’ knowledge was also positively correlated to their understanding of Dengue Fever information sourced from social media platforms.

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Reference:

Chaudhary MN, Lim V-C, Faller EM, Regmi P, Aryal N, Mohd Zain SN, Azman AS, Sahimin B. (2024) Assessing the basic knowledge and awareness of dengue fever prevention among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. PLoS ONE 19(2): e0297527. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297527

February 1, 2024

New Nepalese migrant health paper published

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

New paper on migrant workers from Nepal was published this week in KMC Journal. The paper ‘Risk Perception and Protective Health Measure Regarding COVID-19 among Nepali Labour Migrants’ Returnee from India’ has Shanti Khanal as lead author [1]. The journal is Open Access, hence freely available online across the globe. The paper examines the association between risk perception and protective behaviour regarding COVID-19 in returnee migrant workers. A total of 384 returnee migrants, based in a quarantine centre on return from India, participated in the study. Using the health belief model (HBM) as a theoretical framework, a structured interview questionnaire was designed and administered. A further three health workers were interviewed face-to-face.

The study showed that the perceived risk of COVID-19 among participants was medium to low. Participants perceived few barriers and had low self-efficacy levels compared to other constructs. This study further showed that participants were more likely to follow a range of protective health behaviours, but not found all. The study revealed a significant association between all risk perception constructs and protective behaviours (p=< 0.05). This study accordingly highlighted a significant relationship between the respondents’ risk perception level and protective health behaviours. The study envisaged that public awareness of risk to the people who returned from India is essential to increase risk perception during the outbreak.

The study works towards fulfilling SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), especially ‘Good health and well-being’ (SDG 3) and Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8).

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

Reference:

Khanal, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Sharma, M., Acharya, J., Sharma, C., Kharel, S., Gaulee, U., Bhattarai, K., Pasa, R.B., Bohora, P. (2024) Risk Perception and Protective Health Measure Regarding COVID-19 among Nepali Labour Migrants’ Returnee from India. KMC Journal, 6(1): 313–330. https://doi.org/10.3126/kmcj.v6i1.62364

January 12, 2024

Labour migration: desperation & exploitation

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, Publishing, Research communication, Research news, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

On my latest trip to Nepal I noticed a number of related newspaper stories about those wanting to migrate abroad for work. Yesterday there was an article with the headline ‘Three held for defrauding unemployed youths’ (The Himalayan Times, January 11, page 2), which could be seen as story about crime, just like the one next to it on the same page with was headed ‘Vehicle stolen’ (The Himalayan Times, January 11, page 2) . Both fit under the category of people suffering from crime committed by naughty people. However, having studied labour migration as a sociologist for over a decade it also speaks of the desperation of young people to leave Nepal. In that sense, the ‘Three held for defrauding unemployed youths’ story, is more like the story the day before ‘Family of Nepali who joined Russian Army worried after hearing about his death’ (The Himalayan Times, January 10, page 1).

In the latter story of a tragic death of a Nepalese mercenary, the most unexpected element I found was that Nepalese victim had paid Rs. 500,000 to criminals, who acted as brokers. I would have expected that Putin’s agents operating in the Middle East were paying large amounts of money to potential army recruits to fight in the invasion of Ukraine. To my great surprise, the payment was the other way round, where Nepalese migrant workers are desperate enough to pay the country at war. When people are desperate to work abroad unscrupulous brokers see opportunities to make money.

Whilst at the end of December 2023 two Nepalese men were killed when Korean language test candidates were staging demonstrations in Kathmandu demanding that they be allowed to appear for language tests for jobs in the manufacturing sector in South Korea. When the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport stopped to intervene, he sparked a riot and his car was set on fire. The police opened fire and killed two protesters in a very un-Nepalese way of dealing with protest. Again to me the underlying issue to note is how desperate these men are to go abroad and get to work in South Korea.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH (Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health)

July 17, 2023

BU PhD student presents at Royal Life Saving Society event in London

conferences, Events, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, PG research, Public engagement, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

FHSS PhD student Md. Shafkat Hossain was invited last week to speak at the event’Accelerating Action on Global Drowning Prevention’ in London. On the 12th July the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) hosted a meeting on 12 July at Marlborough House, home of the Commonwealth Secretariat. This event was a partnership with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), and included presentations from Dr David Meddings, Drowning Prevention Lead at the World Health Organization. Our PhD student Md Shafkat Hossain presented in the event, which was well attended by staff from various High Commissions in London, representatives from the NIHR Global Health Research Programme, UNICEF, the Ministry of Health and Social Care, the International Maritime Organisation.

Shafkat spoke about Bangladesh’s experience of and contribution to drowning prevention. He introduced the NIHR-funded Sonamoni project with the title ‘Prevention of drowning for under-2 years old in Bangladesh’. The Sonamoni project has been made possible thanks to a grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through their Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme. For more information, visit the NIHR website. Bournemouth University (BU) is the joint lead organisation for the project with Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) with as key partners the RNLI, the University of West of England, and the University of Southampton. BU’s involvement spans three faculties, namely the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, the Faculty of Science & Technology and the Bournemouth University Business School.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

June 14, 2023

Bournemouth University mentioned in Pakistan

Featured academics, Global engagement, international, open access, Publishing, Research communication, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Last week The Aga Khan University (AKU) in Pakistan put a news story on its website highlighting a first for Pakistan. The reason for celebrating was that the Journal of Asian Midwives, one of the only two research journals hosted by The Aga Khan University, has been accepted for inclusion in Scopus. Scopus, which is part of the publishing house Elsevier, is the world’s largest electronic database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. The Journal of Asian Midwives is an Open Access journal and publishing is free. One of its three co-editors is based at Bournemouth University.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

June 3, 2023

Using participatory asset mapping and PhotoVoice in Nepalese alcohol study

BU research, Featured academics, international, open access, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week we received an email from the editorial office of Perspectives in Public Health with congratulations on the acceptance of your paper ‘Participatory asset mapping and photovoice interviews to scope cultural and community resources to reduce alcohol harm in Chitwan, Nepal’ [1]. The lead researcher on this public health alcohol research project in Nepal is Dr. Ranjita Dhital, Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Health Studies in the Arts and Sciences Department at UCL (University College London).

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Nepal, morbidity and mortality risks are greater per litre of pure alcohol consumed than in higher-income countries. This is largely due to poverty, poor nutrition, adverse living conditions, and poor access to care. These inequities are made worse by the dearth of understanding of the most appropriate and cost-effective approaches to reduce alcohol-related harm in LMICs. Our study aims to stimulate new thinking on how cultural and community assets could be integrated to co-designed alcohol interventions for future evaluation in LMICs, through scoping the breadth of cultural and community assets in relation to alcohol use and to exploring attitudes towards alcohol and people experiences with it.

The journal Perspectives in Public Health is published by SAGE and the paper will be Open Access when it appears online. My previous alcohol studies have focused on students [2], Nepalese migrants living in the UK [3], and Public Health measures to reduced alcohol misuse in Scotland [4].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

Reference:

Dhital, R., Yoeli, H., Adhikari, A., Luitel, N.P., Nadkarni, A., van Teijlingen, E., Sin, J. (2023) Participatory asset mapping and photovoice interviews to scope cultural and community resources to reduce alcohol harm in Chitwan, Nepal, Perspectives in Public Health (accepted). DOI: 10.1177/17579139231180744).
Engs, R.C, van Teijlingen E (1997) Correlates of alcohol, tobacco & marijuana use among Scottish post-secondary helping profession students, Journal of Alcohol Studies, 58:435-44.
van Teijlingen E, Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P. (2009) Alcohol use among the Nepalese in the UK BMJ Rapid Response: bmj.com/cgi/eletters/339/oct20_1/b4028#223451
Ludbrook A, Godfrey C, Wyness L, Parrott S, Haw S, Napper M, van Teijlingen E. (2002) Effective & Cost-Effective Measures to Reduce Alcohol Misuse in Scotland: Lit Review, ISBN: 0755932803 www.alcoholinformation.isdscotland.org/alcohol_misuse/files/MeasureReduce_Full.pdf

March 13, 2023

Applying FUSION in Bangladesh

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured academics, Fusion, Global engagement, Impact, international, Public engagement, research integrity, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Photo: RNLI /Kate Eardley

Late in 2022 we started a new interdisciplinary study funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The research aims to reduce the deaths of newly-mobile toddlers from drowning in rural Bangladesh. This project called Sonamoni is being co-ordinated by Bournemouth University in collaboration with the University of the West of England, Bristol, the University of Southampton, the Poole-based Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB).

In Bangladesh, drowning is the leading cause of death in children between one and two years old. This low-income country has one of the highest rates of drowning, especially among children in the world. The risk of drowning in rural areas is twice that in cities, because there are significant numbers of ponds and ditches, creating natural drowning hazards for very young children. CIPRB has implemented several effective drowning prevention solutions focused on children over the past 15 years, including a successful daycare model to keep young children safely away from water. However, enrollment and attendance rates for children under two years (those at the highest risk of accidental drowning) have been low.

The team will be working with communities to apply human-centred design techniques in Bangladesh. Together they will identify and prioritise potential solutions, develop prototype interventions, and assess the acceptability and usability of proposed interventions.

This research is an excellent example of BU’s FUSION. BU endeavours to bring together Research, Education and Practice to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. FUSION is central to our Bangladesh project, the Research is focusing on social sciences and public health, the Education is around health education of people in rural communities as well as training of the research team members, whilst Practice will be the outcome of the human-centred design approach, when we test the best interventions.

The £1.6m project has been made possible thanks to a grant from the NIHR through their Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme. For more information, visit the NIHR website. NIHR uses aid from the UK government to support global health research.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

September 28, 2022

Two little mishaps in a row

BU research, COVID-19, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, PG research, Postgraduate Research, Research Integritiy, Research news, Uncategorized, 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

July 7, 2022

Can you help, sir?

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Working in South Asia over the past two decades I have learnt to expect emails asking for help. Often from people I have met perhaps just once or twice or who are my friends on Facebook or LinkedIn. I tried to help if I can, but often I can’t. My friends and colleagues in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India have a slightly different idea of how UK officialdom works. Perhaps they have a better and more realistic idea than I have, but that’s a different blog one day.

This week I wrote a reference for an employee of Green Tara Nepal, a charity we have been collaborating with for decades. This is someone I have had general dealing with, not someone who work on one of our projects. I have had interesting research discussions with her in Kathmandu, so I was happy to write her a reference. This morning I received a request via Facebook from someone from Nepal whom I have been advising on a number of job applications in Australia and the UK. On my advice, he had recently applied to a post at a university in London. Yesterday I asked me what to do as he had not heard from them. I advised him to email HR at that university and ask for an update. This morning his question was: “Can you ask them on my behalf, Sir”. I kindly replied: “Sorry, not my university”, not going into confidentiality issues, the data protection act, etc.

What I find fascinating as a sociologist is the ‘traditional society’ thinking behind these questions, which must be something along the lines of: “Edwin is in a senior position, he must be powerful, hence, he has influence in high places. I know him so he can help me achieve my goals.” The interesting other side of the coin is, of course, that if I do something, speak to someone on their behalf, write a reference or recommendation, etc. and the person is successful this success is (partly) attributed to me. And when I say that that’s not the way decision-making works in the UK, it is likely to be regarded as false modesty.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

July 1, 2022

New BU disaster publication

BU research, Global engagement, international, open access, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, 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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