Shared decision-making, informed consent, and the rhetoric of false empowerment: How HHS misrepresents SCDM, which is used by doctors in a very specific way - it does not mean "let's talk". open.substack.com/pub/yourloca... via @kmpanthagani.bsky.social

1/ Recently, RFK Jr. made sweeping changes to childhood vaccine guidance using terms like “shared clinical decision-making” and “informed consent.” At first glance, they sound empowering—but the reality is more complicated. YLE contributor @kmpanthagani.bsky.social is breaking it down for us🧵

Autonomy in vaccine decision-making is supported, not undermined, by expert recommendations and guidance. Thanks for emphasizing this, @kmpanthagani.bsky.social

What does “shared decision-making” actually mean when it comes to vaccines? To the average person, this sounds like it describes physicians and parents collaboratively making decisions. But in medicine, it has come to mean something far more specific…

Now would be a great time for academia to start valuing SciComm in service, tenure & promotion. The status quo of publishing in pay-walled journals for narrow audiences in the dozens & handwaving about 'broader impacts' is a threat to your funding, a broader understanding of science & public health.

How do I find accurate health information online? open.substack.com/pub/youcankn... via @kmpanthagani.bsky.social

Five years of COVID vaccines: how a breakthrough created a public-heath crisis @nature.com @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social Physician and science communicator @kmpanthagani.bsky.social talks about why public trust in vaccines has fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Today is the 5th anniversary of the first COVID vaccine. To mark the occasion, I chatted with @nature.com about trust in vaccines, what’s changed in the last 5 years, and where we need to go from here. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Science can never “disprove everything,” because you can create an infinite list of possible questions. To show what an unreasonable standard this is, let’s dig into the question that everybody’s been ignoring and hasn’t been studied adequately — DO DOGS CAUSE AUTISM???

Do dogs cause autism? The anatomy of a scientific rumor that is designed to never die 👇🏽👇🏽 www.youcanknowthings.com/do-dogs-caus...

@dennisrenmd.bsky.social Excellent SGEM Xtra on science communication with @kmpanthagani.bsky.social I really enjoyed the last 7min that touched on the use of the term “anti-vax”. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t... @casinoshiftmd.bsky.social @kaymd.bsky.social

#MemeMonday for #SGEMPeds Xtra with @kmpanthagani.bsky.social on Health Communication. @thesgem.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social @kkjetelina.bsky.social @nejm.org @yalesph.bsky.social thesgem.com/2025/11/sgem... #FOAMed #SciComm #MedSky #PedSky

On the latest #SGEMPeds Xtra, we chat with Dr. @kmpanthagani.bsky.social about how health communication strategies and approaches must evolve in today's world. @yalesph.bsky.social @kkjetelina.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social @thesgem.bsky.social @yalesph.bsky.social #FOAMed #SciComm #MedSky

Coming up this week is an #SGEMPeds Xtra. Dr. @kmpanthagani.bsky.social joins us to talk about the evolution of health communication! #FOAMed #SciComm #MedSky @nejm.org @yalesph.bsky.social @kkjetelina.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social @thesgem.bsky.social

Also! Join @mattlanza.bsky.social and @kmpanthagani.bsky.social for a Substack live at 1P ET/12P CT today to discuss science communication, weather, climate, health, and probably a little Melissa as well. open.substack.com/live-stream/...

Join @mattlanza.bsky.social and I today at 1 pm ET on substack live!

“Communications training in medical school & graduate school is largely absent, & what is there emphasizes fancy graphs, citations, & a professional, emotionally detached presentation style. If you ask a scientist to create an Instagram post, they’ll often create a tiny PowerPoint slide.”🧪🛟

great post on this public health communication paradigm shift. h/t @jennanewman.bsky.social

Inspired by the work of @noupside.bsky.social and Rachel Kleinfeld, Kristen has a great piece here on modern scicomm and new media and how institutions should adapt. Relatedly, Kristen and I will be chatting about a lot of this on a Substack live Thursday at 1P ET/12P CT. Hope you will tune in.

Just wrote a post inspired by one of the best articles I’ve read in a long time — it put into words a shift I’ve been seeing in how people decide what’s “trustworthy” and explains why experts and institutions are set up to fail in the new media environment (if we don’t adapt). shorturl.at/TbyNF

Old dogs, New tricks? Communicating in the new media environment feels kind of overwhelming for this Elder Millennial academic. But better to face how times have changed @kmpanthagani.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/youcankn...

The push to change the hepatitis B vaccine to start at age 4 makes zero sense.

Is it time for us—scientists, PhDs, PostDocs, and others—to be more welcoming? Great post by @kmpanthagani.bsky.social on the impact of the word “misinformation.” I believe we should go further: listen, be welcoming, and engage in dialogue. It takes time, but in my view, it’s the only viable option.

Listen to Kristen.

I stopped using the word ‘misinformation.’ To many it feels like a slap in the face and immediately sows distrust — not a great way to start a conversation or reach people outside the academic bubble. www.youcanknowthings.com/why-i-stoppe...

A short explanation of p-hacking and why it absolutely makes sense to ask HHS to release the study methods of their autism report in advance.

This, from @kmpanthagani.bsky.social is such an important, challenging read. Kristen always writes really thoughtful things about science communication. www.youcanknowthings.com/is-science-i...

Want to see the impact of #NIH, #NSF and #EPA grant cuts in your community? Check out @noamross.net, @scott-delaney.bsky.social and colleagues' project here. Tell your friends and neighbors about what is happening. grant-witness.us

Here’s who RFK Jr hired to study autism and vaccines:

1/ It’s been a struggle to process what happened at the CDC just a few days ago. The facts are coming in: one officer died, 500 rounds fired, 200 bullets made contact with 6 CDC buildings, hundreds of staff sheltered in place for hours. The intention is undeniable: this was an attempted massacre.

Inside Medicine video: Spreading good information in the fight against medical misinformation. With guest Dr. Kristen Panthagani @jeremyfaust.bsky.social @kmpanthagani.bsky.social bit.ly/45nhmxq

Spreading good information in the fight against medical misinformation @kmpanthagani.bsky.social & @jeremyfaust.bsky.social insidemedicine.substack.com/p/spreading-...

Let’s talk about science, baby. Let’s talk about empathy. Let’s talk about all we do know. And all we don’t know, that may be. Let’s talk about science. 🧵 Keep reading for a health communication crash course 1/10 @kmpanthagani.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social

Now more than ever, scientists, doctors, and public health professionals must effectively communicate beyond their own circles. Clear, public‑facing communication is no longer optional—it’s an essential skill that can be learned! This is worth a read! @nejm.org www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Public health has a communication problem, and we need to fix it. Excited to share our new piece in @nejm.org explaining the need to train more health communicators, with coauthors @meganranney.bsky.social, @kkjetelina.bsky.social, and @tedmelnick.bsky.social: www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

1- Clinicians, scientists & public health experts would benefit from more training in how to communicate with the public, the authors of this @nejm.org perspective argue. #medsky www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

“Academic and health care institutions often discourage trainees and faculty members from engaging with the public online and in the media, emphasizing the risks associated with social media use and creating a culture of fear surrounding public communication.” www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

I've seen a number of folks talking about grants they/colleagues had cut & lists of those going around - plz share this effort by @brindabee.bsky.social & @realdoctormike.bsky.social to gather stories of cancelled research grants and clip these into a media campaign docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Insightful article from Dr. Panthagani, relevant to debates about abortion, gender affirming, care, vaccines, and more. Also see Andrew Dryden's insightful discussion which highlights the initial skepticism which ECMO faced (which I did not know about prior to reading this)

Good explainer by @kmpanthagani.bsky.social www.youcanknowthings.com/thats-a-grea...

Earlier this month I shared The Scale of Flawed Science — a revamped hierarchy of evidence for the age of memes and fraud. Overall the feedback was positive, but one reader found the scale discouraging — for a very valid reason. Here is his story: youcanknowthings.substack.com/p/thats-a-gr...

It's exceedingly hard to argue that the administration & MAHA are committed to improving nutrition when they're simultaneously cutting everything from SNAP-Ed to innovative community nutrition work - cements the perception that food dyes are public health theatre. www.healthbeat.org/newyork/2025...

This is excellent:

Inspired by @mattlanza.bsky.social’s Space City Weather flood scale, I’m excited to announce the new You Can Know Things ‘Scale of Flawed Science.’ It’s an updated hierarchy of evidence in the age of memes, AI hallucinations, and questionable peer review to communicate “just how wrong is this.”

1/ The phrase “ #Doyourownresearch” has become one of the most polarizing phrases in public health, exposing deep divides in how people approach health info and trust experts. YLE contributor @kmpanthagani.bsky.social breaks it down in her most recent health (mis)communication post 🧵

Stellar piece by @kmpanthagani.bsky.social exploring why non-experts "do their own research" & the epistemic pitfalls that await them. An astute observation: assuming "real" truth always opposes the consensus *creates* bias & enables misinfo. yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/how-should...

We want to save the NASA Ballooning Program! Help us here at www.change.org/p/save-nasa-...

American science is being defunded.

www.youcanknowthings.com/thats-a-grea... @kmpanthagani.bsky.social