When Dr Paul Kalanithi (pictured) was 36, and with most of his neurosurgical training complete, his life was finally beginning to take the form he had anticipated. Just as pieces of the puzzle were shifting toward an idealistic future, classic symptoms of malignancy emerged. Scans confirmed the severity of the situation: he had stage IV […]
Stephen Maloney: The role of social media in communicating research findings
This blog is part of a series of blogs linked with BMJ Clinical Evidence, a database of systematic overviews of the best available evidence on the effectiveness of commonly used interventions. I found it interesting to learn that the inspiration behind Twitter was when one of the founders, Jack Dorsey, thought it would be revolutionary […]
Andrew McDonald Johnston: Ebola resilience in Sierra Leone
On the 14 January 2016 a new case of Ebola virus disease infection was confirmed in Sierra Leone, only hours after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that the Ebola epidemic was over. This was deeply disappointing, but had been anticipated by the organisations involved in the Ebola response. We know that Ebola sometimes persists […]
Saffron Cordery: The old slogans are often the best
Sometimes it’s good to revive an old slogan. The one that’s been running round my head recently is that 80s environmental campaign: think global; act local. There isn’t necessarily an instant connection between that and mental health until you consider the underlying intention: small scale changes, grass roots action, and commitments carried out by individuals can […]
Soumyadeep Bhaumik’s review of South Asian medical papers—February 2016
We are now officially in a new era of global health—the era of the Sustainable Development Goals. The month of January saw the publication of some papers from South Asia which provides an opportunity to learn from the previous era of Millennium Development Goals. […]
Aeesha NJ Malik: Improving children’s eye health in Pakistan
1.5 million children in Pakistan are blind. Many from eye diseases which are preventable and treatable. Often children don’t know they have a vision problem because they assume they see the way everyone around them sees. However childhood visual impairment or blindness has a huge impact—its effects last a lifetime and affect not just the […]
Tim Lobstein: Community interventions for healthy bodyweight—can we make them work?
Groups like mine which advocate for market interventions to restrict advertising, raise taxes, control fast food outlets and the like, are having a tough time making progress. Governments prefer to change health behaviour at the individual level through education, through subtle nudges and social marketing campaigns, and, especially, by devolving responsibility to local, community-level interventions. […]
Neville Goodman’s Metaphor Watch: Guns and needles
Sometimes research goes badly, and red herrings lead to a blind alley (qv), but sometimes there’s a smoking gun: conclusive evidence just a little bit short of being caught in the act. But note “just a little bit short.” This means that smoking gun shouldn’t be applied to properly conclusive evidence, and that it doesn’t […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—1 February 2016
NEJM 28 Jan 2016 Vol 374 Venetoclax & CLL 311 Venetoclax is a wonderful name. I shall set up a burglar alarm company in Venice so that I can see it painted on the side of gondolas: “Protect your palazzo with VENETOCLAX.” Then, when the moony silence of the Venetian night is pierced with the […]
Patrice Baptiste: What is the future of the NHS?
During my foundation years I wasn’t completely sure about what specialty I wanted to pursue within medicine so I decided to take a year out of training. Although not my passion, I thought a lot about general practice as this encompasses a broad range of specialties, including the possibility of a “special interest,” as well […]