New paper alert! 🌟We explored the first year of an ambitious redesign to hospice services. Successful implementation happens when teams collaborate, adapt to changes, and receive support and feedback. Thrilled to see this published! #palliativecare Read here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....

New paper alert! 🌟We explored the first year of an ambitious redesign to hospice services. Successful implementation happens when teams collaborate, adapt to changes, and receive support and feedback. Thrilled to see this published! #palliativecare Read here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....

🏅Announcing our awarded Research Impact Grants - 4/6 Connection, Compassion, and Action - Achieving impact towards integrated palliative care through knowledge mobilisation

Don't miss this free online conference next Weds! 😍 "Caught between the dream and realities: considering advance care planning (ACP)" Register: tinyurl.com/4zbbpxka Amazing line-up, asking: How is ACP being used? Does the public engage with ACP? What are the challenges in ACP? Where to next?

Don't miss this free online conference next Weds! 😍 "Caught between the dream and realities: considering advance care planning (ACP)" Register: tinyurl.com/4zbbpxka Amazing line-up, asking: How is ACP being used? Does the public engage with ACP? What are the challenges in ACP? Where to next?

Really pleased to share that this realist review on integrated palliative care in oncology has now been published by BMC Medicine. We focused on cancer but there are transferable lessons to non-malignant conditions and comorbidities. Open access article: rdcu.be/elqkN #palliativecare

If a government wanted to stop us being strangers, it could stop shovelling money at the tech bros & surveillance & start spending it on buses & cycle infrastructure & public spaces, it could regulate pay, hours, working conditions & rents better so people had energy to engage in their community.

A new realist review from @natashabradley.bsky.social, Dr Tracey McConnell, Professor Joanne Reid and colleagues highlights the context, challenges and recommendations for integrating palliative care into oncology services. 👇

Really pleased to share that this realist review on integrated palliative care in oncology has now been published by BMC Medicine. We focused on cancer but there are transferable lessons to non-malignant conditions and comorbidities. Open access article: rdcu.be/elqkN #palliativecare

It's #DyingMattersAwarenessWeek! If you're in London, come join us @codydock.bsky.social tomorrow for a thought-provoking and entertaining evening. #DyingMatters #TheCultureofDyingMatters Registration link below...

I am so looking forward to 'Cycles of Life' at @codydock.bsky.social Join us for a special evening in a beautiful venue with brilliant speakers - inc. an artist, chaplain, ecologist, historian, psychologist, and an end-of-life doula 😍 You can register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cycles-of-...

The introduction of Section 28 marked the peak of homophobic attitudes in the UK. For the years it was law, the belief that homosexuality was wrong diminished and acceptance grew. We lost the battle to halt Section 28 but it armed us well to win the war. Laws can’t crush us. Keep hope alive. 💜 16/16

We have been describing the association between area-based deprivation and place of death for 30 years but we know little about causes and moderators or how to reduce inequalities. Our new paper in SSM Pop Health investigates with some surprising results... 👇👇👇 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I'm organising a public event to hear from different people on themes related to Mortality, in a beautiful venue in East London. We have some brilliant speakers already and there is time for more volunteers to contribute. Save the date and watch this space for a registration link coming soon!

Important and timely work from @dianateggi.bsky.social and colleagues. Findings highlight the urgency of improving home-based services and providing real alternatives to hospital, if existing policy narratives around choice are to become meaningful. #palliativecare #endoflifecare #academicsky

"For every patient we look after, there are others that we can’t care for. I really feel for the families. The ones that do get a bed can take a deep breath, it’s such a relief. People say they can go back to being a husband or daughter again rather than a carer.” www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Plant everything now....Plant even the idea of a wave. It's a good day that starts with inspiration from @adriennemareebrown.bsky.social, but brought by puppets. Hope is a muscle (adrienne taught me this but many poets have said it before and since - so it must be true) #academicsky

Real honour to chair today's @mariecurieuk.bsky.social #MCResearch2025 conference session on poverty at end of life. Sobering new research: - Numbers dying in poverty rose to 110,000 in 2023. - Risk of dying in poverty far higher for working age, but also now rising for pensioners. 1/4

You can also now download and read our report, "'To Know Dying' Identifying research areas in palliative and end of life care for the social sciences and humanities" healthopenresearch.org/documents/7-1 @ericaborgstrom.bsky.social @brionyhudson.bsky.social @marigreenfield.bsky.social

Wonderful day yesterday and a landmark moment - launching the new set of priorities for palliative care research. Another impressive achievement from the Marie Curie team! 👏😊 @mariecurieeolc.bsky.social @sabinebest.bsky.social @brionyhudson.bsky.social @devirsagar.bsky.social

Benefits of Early Outpatient #PalliativeCare Enhances QOL Increases adaptive coping strategies Reduces symptoms of depression Fosters prognostic awareness Improves communication about EOL care preferences Leads to earlier initiation of #hospice services Decreases caregiver distress #hapc25

@matthewhodson.bsky.social @philipcbaldwin.bsky.social @nagingtonuom.bsky.social @ardenfitzroy.bsky.social This research could reveal and change heteronormativity in end-of-life care. I wonder if you amazing blueskyers could help by sharing the survey link or taking part? (Flattery works, right?)

It really is hard to believe that he has this much power, or even that he had the time and concentration span to do all this (as well as everything else that's happened this week). 😣 How does that poem go again? #academicsky please read www.science.org/content/arti...

Literally every company now youtube.com/shorts/hL9pl...

"Choice can only be exercised when options exist that enable equitable access to comprehensive care." On the cover, a Comment explores assisted dying, complex systems, and global equity in palliative care. Read this & more ➡️ tinyurl.com/42n97mp4

An audiobook I loved and will return to - stories of the working lives of famously accomplished people and wise advice on how to master your productivity. Sharing as a reminder to myself as much as to recommend to others: Do fewer things. Obsess over quality. Work at a natural pace. #academicsky

⭐️ The 2025 CDAS Conference call for papers is OPEN!! ⭐️ Theme? Death and transition When? 12-13 June 2025 online Full details via the link below www.bath.ac.uk/announcement...

Looking forward to this! I am part way through 'Unheard' as an audio book and I would definitely recommend - it's fascinating company for some January tidying. Inspirational work @drrageshri.bsky.social 👏

For those of you interested in community building: emergencemagazine.org/essay/the-se... "Competition makes sense only when we consider the unit of evolution to be the individual. When the focus shifts to the level of a group, cooperation is a better model, not only for surviving but for thriving"

“fragmented, unsupported caregiving in a sea of chaos leaves lifelong scars, diminishing carers’ trust in both the health system and government as a whole. “ must read I’ve never read it put so well. #hapc katherinepettusconsulting.wordpress.com/2024/12/21/p...

Facilitators of high quality out-of-hours care include: a palliative care specific single point of access for patients; formal structures to integrate generalist/specialist services; and timely/skilled management of symptoms journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... #hapc #PalliativeCare #hpm /1

@thelancet.bsky.social Comment out today: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... Social and structural determinants of dying well and the complex systems they exist in #palliativecare #socialdeterminantsofhealth

I wrote an article about my dad's death, and how it affected my views on assisted dying, published in the Times Free version here

we must reclaim the idea of the future; we must tell people a story and give them a picture of that better world we are building together and when i say "story" and "picture" i mean that in the most literal possible sense

Learning about Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners helped me to see the world in a different, more hopeful, way. When oppressed and divided communities work together, they become so much more powerful than the sum of their parts. This kind of solidarity is what creates a progressive society.

I love being part of projects that seek to remove barriers to health and to research involvement. These findings highlight the importance of really listening to people. The lead author tried out a robust and innovative combination of Q-methodology and realist synthesis: doi.org/10.1123/jpah...

There used to be an assumption that research participation is burdensome to palliative care patients. This is changing now. Altruism, legacy, and being heard - these can all be meaningful, even at the very end of life (see quote!) Reflecting on lessons from hospice research nurses at #HospiceUKConf

Maybe I need to get out there and keep spreading the word….. #PalliativeCare is not synonymous with #EndOfLife care Pass it on.

A beautiful morning in Glasgow! Wonderful to hear lots of optimism about building hospice research capacity #HospiceUKConf

'Virtual wards' can be used for both short-term crisis and long-term proactive care. This review looked at research evidence and spoke with stakeholders to develop explanations of how virtual wards can function effectively as a forum for integration. Read here: academic.oup.com/ageing/artic...

Two in one 😀 Read about realist evaluation, how it differs from other research approaches, and why it is well-suited for palliative care: journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.... And how we can get to high-quality realist research through strong reflexivity practice: journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....

Is it possible to measure the outcomes of social support groups in palliative care? This paper suggests yes - by collecting data over time from 30 patients in four different hospices, we observed a difference in loneliness, depression, and perceived emotional support: www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19...

The bigger question is WHY did hospices offer social support to people with life-limiting illness? How did the patient's context contribute to risk of isolation or loneliness, and what are the mechanisms through which positive outcomes can be achieved? More here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

How did hospices offer social support to people with life-limiting illness? We carried out a survey to understand what activities were involved, in which settings, to what aims. The survey documents hospice activity before the turbulence of 2020: bmcpalliatcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

This week I will be sharing links to some of my research contributions. First up - my PhD. We all need support from other people. Social support has an important (& often overlooked) role in coping with illness. Lots of meaning comes from our social world - even (or especially) when we're sick.