Dr Munikumar Ramasamy Venkatasalu
kumar.venkatasalu@ubd.edu.bn
Dr MuniKumar Ramasamy Venkatasalu, Professor in Cancer and Palliative Care at Institute of Health Sciences (IHS). He completed his doctorate in palliative and end of life care at University of Nottingham, UK. His doctoral thesis on end of life care received a National Award (Justice Akinsanya Scholar) from The Royal College of Nursing, UK for ‘Most Innovative Doctoral Research Studies’ in the UK for year 2011. During 2007-2015, he worked as academic at various UK Higher education settings (University of Nottingham, University of Northumbria and University of Bedfordshire). Clinically, he worked as a Specialist Palliative Care Nurse for several years in the UK (2004-2013) and also worked as a specialist advisor and inspector for acute hospitals on behalf of care quality commission (CQC) UK (2013-2015). He is Registered Nurse Teacher UK (RNT), Registered General Nurse UK (RGN), Registered Mental Health Nurse UK (RMN), a Fellow of Higher Education Academy, UK , Member, Eta Pi chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honour Society of Nursing, USA, and Member, Royal College of Nursing, UK. He is also registered nurse with Brunei Nursing Board. He currently serve as Vice-president of International Network for Doctoral Education in Nursing (INDEN). His focus of publication is cancer, palliative care, older people, death, dying and end of life care education.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
a) Cancer care, Survivorship, Palliative and End of life Care
b) Evidence based care
c) Technological innovations in patient care
d) Doctoral Education in Nursing
e) Ethnic minorities and health disparities
FUTURE PROJECTS
The nature and extend of palliative care and terminal suffering among hospitalised patients in Brunei Darussalam
With an increasing terminally ill population across the world, there is greater awareness and interest among international health policy makers in improving quality of life for terminally ill patients. In Brunei Darussalam hospital services are utilized more commonly particularly during the last days of life. The Wawasan 2015 for Brunei Darussalam has highlighted the delivery of high quality care in the acute hospital setting as an area of priority. Yet one of the most common complaints is that hospitals are related to care during last hours of life. Previous research also found that older people often experience perceived poor care and mistrust on the quality end of life care at hospitals. On the other side (of the world), palliative and end of life care in Brunei Darussalam yet remains in its developmental stages. Around 98% of Brunei Darussalam palliative population does not have access to palliative care5 and little is known about extent of palliative care needs among hospitalized patients from this population. The aim of this study is to explore the extent and meaning of terminal suffering among hospitalised Brunei Darussalam patients. . * Application invited for ONE PHD STUDENT -PhD in Nursing
Applications Invited
BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS OF KIDNEY DONATION: A NATIONAL STUDY ON PERSPECTIVES OF LIVING ELIGIBLE DONORS IN BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
Brunei Darussalam has one of the highest prevalence and incidence of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in the world. Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam has shown the steady increase in number of patients undergoing renal replacement therapy. In 2014, 94.5% of total ESRD patients underwent dialysis and only 5.5% underwent transplant done elsewhere. The Department of Renal Services, Ministry of Health encourages ESRD patients to opt for kidney transplantation as their primary treatment choice rather than undergoing dialysis treatment three times a week as financial burden related to dialysis treatment and the renal translation proved as effective as in increasing survival and improving quality of life. Recently, Sultanate of Brunei successfully completed transplant surgeries at local level. However, similar to any other country, there is shortage of kidney donors at local level. Studies in western world explored cultural beliefs, mistrust, fear, lack of information, being old, and pre-existing medical conditions as barriers to living kidney donation among relatives of patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis. Yet little is explored around barriers and facilitators of organ donation, in particular kidney donation among the perspectives of living eligible donors in Brunei Darussalam. This study aims to explore the perspectives of living donor kidney transplantation among family members of patients with ESRD in Brunei Darussalam.Application invited for ONE PHD STUDENT -PhD in Nursing
Applications Invited
Improving the Utilization of Evidence based Practice among nurses in Brunei Darussalam (IUEP study): a mixed method randomized controlled trial
EBP has widely been accepted as an appropriate framework for health care professionals including healthcare professionals to embrace and use as a basis for their practice. Several studies identified that EBP can lead to a higher quality of care, improved patient outcomes, a culture of safety, and decreased cost of health care. Besides the benefits of using EBP in health care, there were inconsistencies in its utilization and implementation in the clinical working environment. The Ministry of Health in Brunei Darussalam wanted to achieve service excellence through strategy Vision 2035 by utilizing evidence based approaches, interventions and practices in the health care system. Vision 2035 also indicate the Ministry’s expectation towards healthcare professionals in ensuring high quality healthcare settings care they provide to patients are based on current research findings. To achieve Vision 2035, there is a need to build an organizational cultures that support EBP, implement strategies to enhance healthcare professionals’ EBP knowledge and skills, and provide environments where EBP can thrive and be sustained is necessary. However, this appeared to be a challenging agenda and goal the level of healthcare professionals’ understanding or skills to apply EBP in their daily practice in Brunei is currently unclear. Healthcare professionals’ ability to integrate and utilize research evidence into the practice in order to deliver optimal patient care in Brunei Darussalam has not been investigated. This study will be undertaken to understand the level of healthcare professionals’ utilisation of EBP in their daily care. The outcomes from this study will be highly significant in promoting EBP in Brunei Darussalam’s health care system by informing educators in that areas that needs improvement in healthcare settings education and policy makers in planning healthcare professionals’ professional development opportunities.Application invited for ONE PHD STUDENT -PhD in Nursing
Applications Invited
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
1. Cunningham A and Venkatasalu MR (2016) Research waste in higher education settings: more issues and more opportunities, Brunei Darussalam Journal of Health, 2016 6(2): 41-43
2. Venkatasalu MR (2016) Managing “difficult situations†in doctoral research supervision: a critical commentary Journal of Advances in Nursing Doctoral Education & Research 5(2):7-9
3. Venkatasalu MR (2016) Issues and techniques in translating and transcribing multi-linguistic end-of-life care research interviews, Brunei Darussalam Journal of Health, 2016 6(2): 84-93
4. Seit Mei Chien, Fazean Irdayati Binti Hj Idris, Hashmet Parveen Ghouse, Munikumar Ramasamy Venkatasalu (2016), Early diagnosis and late presentation of cancer in primary care settings: A review and implications for general practitioners of Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam Journal of Health, 2016 6(2): 124-133
5. Venkatasalu MR , Michael Hill and Se Kwang Hwang (2015) Effect of blended teaching on research skill attainment among doctoral students: a pilot survey results. Brunei Darussalam Journal of Health
TOP PUBLICATIONS
1) Ramasamy Venkatasalu M., Whiting D. & Cairnduff K. (2015) Life after the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP): a qualitative study of critical care practitioners delivering end-of-life care. Journal of Advanced Nursing 00(0), 000–000. doi: 10.1111/jan.12680
2) Venkatasalu, M. R., Clarke, A. and Atkinson, J. (2015), ‘Being a conduit’ between hospital and home: stakeholders' views and perceptions of a nurse-led Palliative Care Discharge Facilitator Service in an acute hospital setting. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 24: 1676–1685. doi: 10.1111/jocn.12769
3) Venkatasalu MR, Kelleher M & Shao CH (2015): Reported clinical outcomes of high-fidelity simulation versus classroom-based end-of-life care education. International Journal of Palliative Nursing 21, 179-186.
4) Venkatasalu M., Eisenhauer L A & Hyras K (2015), Social media: an inescapable platform in today’s Doctoral Education in Nursing, Editorial paper, Journal of Advances in Nursing Doctoral Education & Research April 2015, 3:1 Page 3-5
5) Venkatasalu MR, Seymour JE, Arthur A.(2014) Dying at home: a qualitative study of the perspectives of older South Asians living in the United Kingdom. Palliat Med. 2014 Mar;28(3):264-72. doi: 10.1177/0269216313506765. Epub 2013 Oct 9.
6) Venkatasalu MR, Seymour J, Arthur A (2013) ‘Talking about end-of-life care: the perspectives of older South Asians living in East London’ Journal of Research in Nursing Sage Publications
GRANT DETAILS
1. Asnah, Zainah & Venkatasalu et al. Evaluation of International Midwifery council standards of Midwifery Education practice in 10 ASIAN countries (10,000BND, Universiti Brunei Darussalam Competitive Research Grant)
2. Ramlah P, Sheeba & Venkatasalu Preferences, perspectives and burden of complementary and alternative medicine use and polypharmacy issues among community – dwelling older people living with chronic illness: a mixed methods study (8,400BND, Universiti Brunei Darussalam Research Grant)
3. Shirley D, Yachee M, & Venkatasalu M R (2016) Association between 2D:4D ratio, maternal hormonal imbalance and autism(13,400BND, Universiti Brunei Darussalam Competitive Research Grant Application)
4. Venkatasalu M., Nalini S., Ali P., Ahmed H., Cross-national understanding of terminal suffering among Hospitalised Asian Cancer patients in UK, India and Pakistan (CUTS study) (8,00,000 Indian Rupees SRMC University Grant)
5.. Venkatasalu M., England J., Mathew D., Chapman S., Dunn H., Montimer C., & Broad R Dying in Social Media: effectiveness of Facebook based versus classroom based learning in end of life care topics among nursing students
6.. Venkatasalu M., Whiting D., CairnCuff K., Life after LCP: A multicentre study to improve end of life care in critical care settings in the UK
7. Venkatasalu M., &Cook M., Independent Evaluation of Bedfordshire Clinical commissioning Group funded End of Life care Educational Investment. (15,000 British Sterling)
8.Venkatasalu M., Clarke, A.,& Atkinson J., Independent Evaluation of the County Durham and Darlington Cancer Cervices `Macmillan Palliative Care Discharge facilitators` The County Durham & Darlington Foundation NHS Trust, UK (15,000 British Sterling)
9. Venkatasalu MR., Widening employability: would integrating high-fidelity simulation as a learning- teaching strategy enhance end of life care skills for pre-registration nursing students? The Higher Education Academy, UK (7000British Sterling)
10. Venkatasalu M., Jackson S., & Shou J., Improving End of Life Care Educational Outcomes in Pre-registration Nursing Programmes: a qualitative inquiry The Higher Education Academy (1,500 British Sterling)
11. Venkatasalu M R., Seymour, JE, & Arthur A (2006-2010) Ethnicity and End of Life care, Sue Ryder Care Centre for Palliative and End of Life Care Studies, School of Nursing, University of Nottingham (45,000 British Sterling-Phd Studentship)
12. Venkatasalu M R. & Seymour, JE (2007-2008), Burdett Trust fund support to conduct research field work at East London (2000 British Pounds)
13. Timmons.S et al (2008) How do religious people navigate a secular organisation: Religious nursing students in the UK National Health Service, School of Nursing, University of Nottingham