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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · 2d

To have this as the policy for a mental health service is *wild*. If someone does not attend a mental health assessment appointment, they're probably worse not better...

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Reposted by Jack Birch

Hannah Forde @hannahforde.bsky.social · 16d

We're are now accepting applications for an exciting DPhil at the @oxprimarycare.bsky.social, *FUNDED* by the THRIVING Food Futures research hub!
The project is about divisive policies, supervised by me, Dr Rachel Pechey @petescarbs.bsky.social @ashakaur.bsky.social
lnkd.in/eezGaZZ3
Pls share! ✨

Crowd-pleasers or food fights? Exploring UK public support and objection to divisive policies that aim to reduce the environmental harm caused by the food system

www.phc.ox.ac.uk

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · 26d

P.s.: caption competition for my stern look at a malfunctioning microphone?

Jack, wearing a pink shirt, looking very seriously at a handheld microphone

Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · 26d

My main takeaway reflection from the conference - as researchers, to what extent should we be acting as advocates (or even activists?) for 1) what our research finds and 2) the policy implications of that research?

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · 26d

Just back from attending another excellent @socsocmed.bsky.social conference #SSM2025

It was great catching up with old and new friends that I've made over my time in academia to date. I was happy to share our @nihr-pru-bass.bsky.social research on populism and public health interventions.

Jack standing in a pink shirt and navy chinos on a flowery carpet. He was presenting at the 2025 Society for Social Medicine and Population Health annual scientific meeting

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Reposted by Jack Birch

James Larkin @jameslarkin13.bsky.social · 26d

Less inequality = fewer problems

@profkepickett.bsky.social lays our her vision for a good society at #SSM2025

@socsocmed.bsky.social

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · 27d

It was great to present our review of interview studies looking at populism and how people receive public health interventions @socsocmed.bsky.social #SSM2025 yesterday!

Looking forward to two more days of exciting talks 🤓

Image of jack in a pink shirt and blue trousers standing up and presenting

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · 29d

#SSM2025 Early Career Researcher day! Follow this thread to see updates (I'm doing the updates, so look forward to inevitable typos)

Society for Social Medicine & Population Health @socsocmed.bsky.social · 29d

Let us know if you're coming to the #SSM2025 Early Career Researcher day!

We get started at 09:30 with a packed schedule of sessions from considering how to best include the public in research, the role of qualitative methods in health research, to presenting research in the media.

See you soon!

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · Sep 2

Super interesting thread from @amckinlay.bsky.social on how trust relates to public health, and how this links to our recent work looking at how populism affects the acceptability of public health interventions

⬇️

Dr Alison R. McKinlay @amckinlay.bsky.social · Sep 1

Trust (or lack of it) shapes how people respond to public health.

In our latest review in Social Science & Medicine, we found that distrust of “elites”(aka politicians, scientists, health professionals) doesn’t just affect individual choices.

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Reposted by Jack Birch

Dr. Laura M. König @lauramkoenig.bsky.social · Aug 19

Thank you @jackmbirch.bsky.social for summarising your experiences at our recent #DigitalHealthDivide2025 workshop at @univie.ac.at!

NIHR PRU Behavioural and Social Sciences @nihr-pru-bass.bsky.social · Aug 19

Our researcher @jackmbirch.bsky.social recently attended a workshop on the digital health divide at the University of Vienna @univie.ac.at.

Read about how they considered how research practice can be improved when considering the digital health divide ⬇️

behscipru.nihr.ac.uk/3207-2/

Considering the digital health divide - NIHR PRU Behavioural and Social Sciences

One of our Newcastle-based researchers, Dr Jack Birch, recently attended a workshop on the ‘digital health divide’ at the University of Vienna. “The digital health divide is how digital interventions ...

behscipru.nihr.ac.uk

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Reposted by Jack Birch

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · Aug 27

After all the bollocks of claiming (wrongly) that the UK has two tier justice system, Farage is planning exactly that.

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Reposted by Jack Birch

Alexander Hogrebe, PhD @alexhgo.bsky.social · Aug 19

A really nice example on how to visually communicate the text contents of a paper on mobile phones

Megan Ranney MD MPH @meganranney.bsky.social · Aug 19

A must-read, must-share piece - clearly deconstructing the shoddy science of the Geiers (who are inexplicably in charge of studies at HHS).

Consider this an early warning for what lies ahead. 🛟🩺🧪

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Opinion | The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism (Gift Article)

Data can easily be manipulated to show a causation that doesn’t exist.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Jack Birch

NIHR PRU Behavioural and Social Sciences @nihr-pru-bass.bsky.social · Aug 19

Our researcher @jackmbirch.bsky.social recently attended a workshop on the digital health divide at the University of Vienna @univie.ac.at.

Read about how they considered how research practice can be improved when considering the digital health divide ⬇️

behscipru.nihr.ac.uk/3207-2/

Considering the digital health divide - NIHR PRU Behavioural and Social Sciences

One of our Newcastle-based researchers, Dr Jack Birch, recently attended a workshop on the ‘digital health divide’ at the University of Vienna. “The digital health divide is how digital interventions ...

behscipru.nihr.ac.uk

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Reposted by Jack Birch

Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · Aug 8

Very happy to see a big paper from my PhD *OUT TODAY*

We explored if there were inequalities in the attendance & effectiveness of behavioural weight management interventions in an individual participant data meta-analysis.

See the thread for findings 👇

bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/3/2/...

Are there inequalities in the attendance at and effectiveness of behavioural weight management interventions for adults in the UK? An individual participant data meta-analysis

Objectives Interventions for obesity that require individual behaviour change, such as behavioural weight management interventions, may contribute to health inequalities. We explored if there was evid...

bmjpublichealth.bmj.com

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Reposted by Jack Birch

Dr Zoë Ayres @zjayres.bsky.social · Aug 13

Want to help improve mental health in academia? We are looking for bloggers for our November and December slots.

You can submit a pitch here and learn more about the process: voicesofacademia.com/contact-2/

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Reposted by Jack Birch

Dr Kate Womersley @katewomersley.com · Aug 11

AI replicates, magnifies and perpetuates the biases already active in our health system and society www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

AI tools used by English councils downplay women’s health issues, study finds

Exclusive: LSE research finds risk of gender bias in care decisions made based on AI summaries of case notes

www.theguardian.com

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · Aug 8

Thanks to all my co-authors for getting this mammoth paper out!

@amyahern.bsky.social @mrcepid.bsky.social

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · Aug 8

We did not find any differences in effectiveness by age, education, occupation, place of residence, nor household income. Similarly, we did not find evidence of inequalities in attendance at these interventions.

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · Aug 8

❗ For sex, we found that the interventions had a greater effect in men than women – however, this was likely driven by men in the control groups (i.e., no or minimal intervention) actually gaining weight, whereas women in these groups would still lose some weight.

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · Aug 8

❗ These interventions were more effective in those of a white ethnicity than those from ethnic minority backgrounds. This highlights more needs to be done to equitable support those from ethnic minority groups, a pattern we see all too often in health and healthcare.

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · Aug 8

Very happy to see a big paper from my PhD *OUT TODAY*

We explored if there were inequalities in the attendance & effectiveness of behavioural weight management interventions in an individual participant data meta-analysis.

See the thread for findings 👇

bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/3/2/...

Are there inequalities in the attendance at and effectiveness of behavioural weight management interventions for adults in the UK? An individual participant data meta-analysis

Objectives Interventions for obesity that require individual behaviour change, such as behavioural weight management interventions, may contribute to health inequalities. We explored if there was evid...

bmjpublichealth.bmj.com

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · Aug 6

In particular, it was fruitful discussing what we can to better our practices in future to address the digital health divide. Excited to see what emerges from the workshop and how can produce meaningful change that actually helps people!

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · Aug 6

It was great to have a diverse group of international researchers, of all career stages, considering how we currently impact on the digital divide (the good and the bad) through our research practices.

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Jack Birch @jackmbirch.bsky.social · Aug 6

Just back from a very interesting (and intellectually stimulating!) couple of days in Vienna.

I attended a workshop on improving research practice to understand and address the digital health divide, hosted by Prof @lauramkoenig.bsky.social and colleagues at the University of Vienna.

A landscape image of Vienna in Austria. In the foreground are green Vineyards, and in the background is the city landscape. The sky is blue with big grey clouds

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Reposted by Jack Birch

NIHR PRU Behavioural and Social Sciences @nihr-pru-bass.bsky.social · Aug 5

As part of our OptICS project, we’re hosting an online stakeholder workshop on the 6th of October!

If you work in integrated care, be it service delivery, management or commissioning, join us to explore how behavioural and social science can support the sector.

🎟️ Sign up here: shorturl.at/LtFZA

Optimising Integrated Care Services (OptICS)- Online Stakeholder workshop

Do you want to help develop the future direction of integrated care? Reserve a spot to secure your workshop space.

shorturl.at

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