This week on BBC Radio’s Healthcheck, I shared thoughts on new research showing that oral healthcare before surgery can cut hospital stay & lower pneumonia risk. Should oral healthcare be part of standard pre-op care? 🎧 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Canadian Journal of Pain special issue: "Social and health inequities in chronic pain across the lifespan." Members of our partnership, including @fionawebster1.bsky.social, are co-editors. Check out the collection, including their insightful editorial, here: www.tandfonline.com/toc/ucjp20/8/2

A friend feels the same about people as I do about sitting. She gets easily "peopled out", and needa a solitary break. So whether it is spoons, sits, or people, life comes with a cost for many of us. We can do it, but we have limits, which are more pressing than most people's [5/5].

For far too long, racialised communities and people seeking safety from torture and war have been scapegoated by politicians who have failed to deal with the social and economic hardships that we are all living through. What we saw this weekend is the result of this.

Springboard awardee, Dr Sam Hughes, has found that exposure to virtual reality nature scenes can help relieve symptoms for those living with chronic pain. 👇 Read more via @exeter.ac.uk: ow.ly/EnAh50WwEqz 👉 Learn more about our Springboard funding: ow.ly/BQqN50WwEhF

I spent a little time on the underlying data and playing with the interface. This is what data viz can do when it is guided by theory — in this case a clear position on “authoritarianism”, not just a “snapshot” that leaves the sense making to the reader. www.trumpactiontracker.info?

Professor Fiona Webster @fionawebster1.bsky.social is PEPR's Director and Principal Investigator. PEPR was founded in 2022 as a result of receiving a $2.4 million SSHRC Partnership grant, entitled Toward Democratization of Health: A Sociological Exploration of #PatientEngagement in #PainResearch.

WeTransfer just changed their TOS giving themselves permission to train AI on any content you transfer and produce derivative works based on content you transfer that they are allowed to monetize and you are not allowed payment for. Stop using WeTransfer.

New article in Social Theory & Health, co-authored with @judegreen.bsky.social, open access. In a nutshell we argue that that lived-experience research is not the same as qualitative sociology in health research. The difference exists and matters. Read here: rdcu.be/evZ7F

Scoping review highlighting lack of #rehabilitation research in POEMS syndrome, Led by NHNN physio Lucy Johnson, published in @clinicalrehab.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... @uclh.bsky.social @gitaramdharry.bsky.social @jackiewalumbe.bsky.social

Behaviour change is often overrated as the ultimate solution to improve health because without social, economic & structural environments that facilitate rather than obstruct healthy choices, behaviour change remains a privilege reserved for those who have the resources to remove the obstructions.

Much needed commentary on how macro issues like social security affect people living with long term pain. Extremely topical with the rising gap between life expectancy and healthy life years. From a pain care and rehab perspective, this is foundational.

'People living with long-term pain and illness need social security' - blog for Pain Concern from my perspectives as a physiotherapist & researcher (also contains a link to the ScotGov consultation on social security): painconcern.org.uk/social-secur...

Such ace discussions #CampDigital about digital accessibility, a reminder to consider poverty as a form of digital exclusion, latest report here: www.goodthingsfoundation.org/policy-and-r... lots for folks who design digital tools and services to consider!

“There is something very social about pain.” In the penultimate episode of Season 8 of the We Society podcast, @tomshakespeare.bsky.social of @lshtm.bsky.social joins Will Hutton to discuss his research into the link between social science and disability. ➡️ podfollow.com/the-we-society

In a post-truth world, can we always trust the facts presented to us in statistics and research? In this 10-Minute Talk, Alex Edmans FBA explores how we can combat misinformation based on his book ‘May Contain Lies. Watch the full video here: buff.ly/MeR5nJZ

⏰ New BMJ Editorial ⏰ from me, Drs Lucinda Hiam & Eleanor Barry bmj.com/cgi/content/... Ahead of the NHS 10-yr plan, we ask what a digital first strategy means for the NHS's commitment to "being for everyone," highlighting: 1. Digital Exclusion 2. Entrenched bias 3. Austerity & the SDoH

A singular focus on single curative pathways denies the reality of many individuals who often have multiple coincident health needs. Change the mindset and we improve outcomes.

New paper www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Took my kid to urgent care this morning and was asked for permission to use an “AI scribe.” I’ve declined multiple times for myself because, as a data scientist (and, like, a person observing the political economy of AI), I have grave concerns. Today I relented, and not for lack of concern 🧵 1/

I wrote this essay to show that the types of biological racism and neoliberal apologia that Slobodian finds among explicit advocates for neoliberalism are prevalent among evolutionary biologists: olrsupplement.com/2025/05/19/g... (Thread)

Shout out to all the immigrants out there taking knocks on the reg

Anyone who has written about physical pain (me) knows how hard it is to capture. Maggie Nelson does it brilliantly in Pathemata: Or, The Story of My Mouth, which is never singular, and takes in love, mortality, parenting, the pandemic. My @theguardian.com review: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...

CASPR (Critical Approaches to Scholarship in Pain Research) invites you to a one-day conference during Canadian Pain Society's ASM, May 2 in Toronto. All disciplines welcome! Agenda will be shared shortly. Register here: tinyurl.com/34xe8cb2 #PeprPartnership #CriticalPainScholarship #CanadianPain25

Our third session today is a panel: “Thinking, and talking, about patients and the clinical trials encounter.” See abstracts below #CriticalPainScholarship #PeprPartnership #CanadianPain25

quite extraordinary story. Sometimes I think it’s the weird people that will save the world,

💡 #HSRUK25 Workshop Spotlight 💡 Join @gemhughes.bsky.social s.bsky.social & Prof. Maniatopoulos for a collaborative session where you can bring your papers in progress for feedback & discussion! Perfect for those presenting their work at the conference! Register now! ➡️ hsruk2025.org

💷🇬🇧Has randomisation made the British Academy's (@britishacademy.bsky.social) grants more attractive by ensuring equal chances and removing bias? Read here 👉 ow.ly/ZrAt50VIJSK #Research #Grants #Funding #Randomisation

Opinion: “The expectation that humanities and social science scholars must conform to a model of research designed for the sciences risks devaluing forms of scholarship that do not require large financial investment.” 🖊️ Peter Sutoris www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/my-f...

On 16 March, DHSC announced “crack teams” of top clinicians working in 20 trusts had reduced the waiting list by 130% more than in trusts elsewhere. As a result, the scheme (called FF20 – Further Faster 20), is being rolled out across the country. The claim examined🧵 www.gov.uk/government/n...

www.bmj.com/content/389/... Oh dear me What @mgtmccartney.bsky.social said, basically.......

The govt has rejected a plan for a separate nursing pay spine, despite 94% of nurses who responded backing the idea:

Where can you download a free PDF copy of this important book by @seyeabimbola.bsky.social? 👇🏾👇🏾 www.editions.ird.fr/produit/728/...

There's still time to apply for two research posts here at the Uni of Bath to look at how period pain impacts adolescent girls' lives and school engagement. See below for details.

I presented findings from my PhD at a workshop supported by materials co- produced with @designscience.bsky.social. Inspired conversations captured with @sanjamaretic.bsky.social we share our editorial 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾⭐️https://painandrehabilitation.co.uk/index.php/par/article/view/18 ⭐️

All staff at the NIH Office of Pain Policy and Planning were let go due to today's cuts. This devastating loss will have significant negative impacts on the health of millions. Pain is the leading cause of disability and the top reason for seeking medical care.

Black lives matter. Gay, lesbian and trans people deserve the same rights as everyone else. Workplaces, and their staff & customers/clients benefit when they accommodate diversity. People should be allowed to follow their religion. These statements reflect basic human rights and a civilised society.

Pain: a disability rights issue seminar with @tomshakespeare.bsky.social, Dylan McBurney and me from a few weeks back is now online www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmd8...

Not being believed is huge negative effects on individuals, research and policy, e.g. endometriosis @bjgp.bsky.social #bjgprc @drrageshri.bsky.social

@drrageshri.bsky.social tells us about epistemic injustice: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan.... @bjgp.bsky.social #bjgprc

Who is a credible speaker in medicine? Asks @drrageshri.bsky.social @bjgp.bsky.social research and publishing conference

Last week we officially withdrew a paper accepted for publication in a scientific journal because of editorial requests to remove language deemed out of compliance with executive orders. criticalpublichealth.org/blog/2025/03...

Still places left on this amazing online course in Narrative Practice / "Conversations Inviting Change." Our courses are usually commissioned by NHS organisations for their staff. This one is open to *all* health and social care professionals. www.conversationsinvitingchange.com/2025/03/04/o...

KLAXON 🚨: Indie SAGE has come out of retirement to release a new short report standing up for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the sciences! DEI is not just the right thing to do, it *improves* the quality of the science. Please read and share. independentsage.org/wp-content/u... 1/2

Ethnographers: This coming Thursday, I will be teaching a lecture (online, asynchronous) on ethnographic writing. Please recommend beautiful writing (yours included, of course). I'd love to get a sampler across disciplines/fields/areas of study. Re-skeet for broader samples.

An important PSA! If they study "the history, institutions, and people/scholars of [those] African countries" (X), really study and understand it, they (almost certainly) won't be doing "randomized experiments" (Y). I take doing Y as a reliable signal of not having done X or taken it seriously!