Up until the year 2000 it was illegal exist as a sexual minority person in the British Military. LGBT people faced extreme persecution, even imprisonment. Painful. Some people have shared their stories as part of a short BBC documentary www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Participants in the included studies describe sexual and physical violence, verbal abuse, experiencing homelessness, and stigmatisation and discrimination relating to HIV status among the barriers to attendance 2/2

This systematic review of the global qualitative evidence provides a nuanced insight into the complex reasons underlying multiple non-utilisation of healthcare appointments ➡️ doi.org/10.3399/BJGP... 1/2

One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc

I haven’t been able to put this book down. @drrageshri.bsky.social names, in such a balanced way, so many of the tensions and barriers that exist for medical doctors and patients in the context of the NHS. I’m compelled to keep reading, but I’ll get nothing else done this weekend 😂 Buy this book!

Why is listening important? What makes it hard for us to truly listen to a patient during a consultation? Listen here #HIV #NHS #HIVcare open.spotify.com/episode/2CFQ...

Fewer people faint watching The Exorcist in the cinema in 2025 compared with 1973. It stands the test of time in every way.

A brilliant meta-analysis: social support & integration are the most important predictors of health beyond the conventional physical risks such as smoking, obesity etc (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010). Astonishingly, the general public see these as least important (Haslam et al., 2018). Graph ⬇️

Thankfully in the UK we have access to free healthcare through the NHS. Excellent care is provided to the best of our ability with what’s available. But how often do our processes and systems get in the way of genuinely containing the fears of people living with long-term health conditions? EricDane

Bristol, 6.50am😃

“Nobody with any sanity, including myself, would have anything but sympathy for the Palestinian plight.” - Sinead O’Connor

It’s Pride Month. This moving video shows us how much safety can be communicated simply by seeing 🌈 #OsloPride #LGBTQ

"Roughly 1,500 babies have been born HIV-positive every day since January 21, because Musk cut off their mothers’ medication." prospect.org/power/2025-0...

I found this short video on incivility in the workplace packed a punch. How many of us have experienced it? How are witnesses impacted by it? What is the impact on the people accessing healthcare services? #NHS m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukxs...

With every NHS reorganisation or plan I wonder- might THIS be when there's a meaningful attempt to do things differently? But honestly? I don't think I'll ever see an emotionally-intelligent NHS that prioritises relationships, where patients are really listened to, & where staff feel looked after.

I’ve been doggy sitting the lovely Daisy this weekend who has just moved to Bristol. I’ve been hoping to help her feel safe in new surroundings. We’ve been out shopping for new toys, enjoying the weather, discovering new walking destinations & striking up conversations with other people (and dogs).

@garyseconomics.bsky.social resonates with me. What we do to meet each other from less extreme positions, and how we cultivate a willingness to do so, is probably the tricky part of the problem.

House music history is interesting to me. I always wish I was around for the advent of HM. This song from 1987 by Sterling Void has some hitting social comments in it. Found it via Pet Shop Boys cover. I’d like some more of this in music today.

Global efforts to take some steps in the direction of health equity completely undermined. Seems so unfair. I am trying to hold onto hope.

Kicking off National HIV Testing Week by making history! Sir Keir Starmer has become the first UK Prime Minister & G7 leader to ever take a public HIV test. This week, anyone in England can order a free HIV self-test, just like the Prime Minister. Get yours at startswithme.org.uk

“...to care is an act not of weakness, but of strength.” The Lancet response: bit.ly/4jRb5Av

I’m getting confirmation that #NIH grants that focused on improving health for #LGBT people are being defunded and ordered to stop immediately.

HIV Surveillance System-gone. bsky.app/profile/asac... 3/x

Since the USA will no longer be funding HIV care in Africa, we can donate to Nurture Africa - a charity providing testing and medication to pregnant women so that they do not suffer additional stress during pregnancy and babies are born without the virus www.nurtureafrica.ie/healthcare

With long waiting lists in sexual health services acting as a barrier to accessing PrEP, availability in community pharmacies would be a game changer

The Countdown to #ZeroHIVStigmaDay 2025 Starts NOW! This year’s theme “Awareness to Action: Our Path to 2030” calls us towards meaningful action that eliminates stigma, improves quality of life for people living with HIV, and accelerates efforts to end all onward HIV transmissions by 2030.

Our team have recently noticed more adults with self-diagnosed food allergy in clinic. Living with a food allergy / hypersensitivity can upon QoL &psychosocial wellbeing for the individual and family. Of n=150,108 rates of FA doubled in England between 2008-2018 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

“These are people who are going through extremely stressful, life-destroying situations and they have to do the emotional calculation of, ‘will disclosing this make me less safe?’ … It is not just about access, it is the reality that HIV stigma is still very alive and well and still very powerful.”

This doctor raised the alarm about a deadly mpox outbreak that went global Placide Mbala is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 202 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Despite Attacks, an Underground Church for L.G.B.T.Q. Africans Thrives The congregation in Nairobi, Kenya, has been forced to move to 10 different locations over 10 years, and yet it has survived as a sanctuary in an increasingly hostile environment. Gift link!

The HIV anti-stigma campaign ‘You, Me & HIV’ launched today in Ireland by the HSE. HIV activist Aoife Commins stated that being told she had HIV was not the worst part, she knew she would be okay, it was the stigma that was the hardest. about.hse.ie/news/hse-lau... #FastTrackCities #U=U

Aoife is doing such an exceptional job at busting myths and tackling HIV stigma in Ireland. We have rarely heard the voices of heterosexual women who live with HIV. Anybody can live with HIV and live a normal life expectancy without passing on the virus if they are on effective medication.

Thread for those new to BlueSky. First of all, welcome. It feels like a safer space, doesn’t it? But also perhaps a bit disorienting initially? Here’s some tips for getting your bearings.

Even as h.care professionals we can unintentionally do harm with our words. Here Dr Hilary Jones is sharing information that is simply untrue. Surgeons can live with HIV & work safely with NO RISK to patients at all. This is an eye opening example of the HIV stigma that exists. (Nat AIDS Trust)

In toxic cultures, being a workaholic is normalized and sacrificing sleep is glorified. The best way to get ahead is to burn out. In healthy cultures, quality of life is expected and having a life is celebrated. You're encouraged to put your well-being above your work.

#ContinuityOfCare is reliable and cost effective theconversation.com/why-seeing-t...

Brown et al., (2024). A co-produced trauma-informed intervention for people living with HIV in a part of America with significant health inequalities yielded promising outcomes. Listen to an AI- generated ‘deep dive’ here notebooklm.google.com/notebook/ed4... link to paper tinyurl.com/4ea3vrvm

Here's a list of UK clinical psychologists on Bluesky. We have loads to offer in these dark times- *to support deeper listening & understanding *to hold in mind wider contexts that influence physical & mental health *to hold space for 'both-and' thinking Let's keep connecting go.bsky.app/T8w5B8U

Hello Bluesky 🌤️ Hello fellow Bluesky users and followers 👋 I’ve been here two minutes and I sense more algorithmic freedom already.