Dr Will Ball
@wpball.com
Interested in working out how to reduce unfair and avoidable differences in health. Mostly youth mental health.
Chancellor's Fellow at Robert Gordon University | Social Epidemiologist | Pro Cycling | Rstats | Causal Inference 🇮🇪🏴🍉
Chancellor's Fellow at Robert Gordon University | Social Epidemiologist | Pro Cycling | Rstats | Causal Inference 🇮🇪🏴🍉
Pinned
Dr Will Ball
@wpball.com
· Nov 10
I've had a bit of an influx of new followers this weekend. Welcome!
I'm a Social Epidemiologist based in Scotland 🏴
I do research on young peoples mental health - mostly about how socioeconomic exposures cause inequity, but also working out how much better things could be in a fairer society.
I'm a Social Epidemiologist based in Scotland 🏴
I do research on young peoples mental health - mostly about how socioeconomic exposures cause inequity, but also working out how much better things could be in a fairer society.
Athbhliain faoi mhaise!
December 31, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Athbhliain faoi mhaise!
Half a trifle down and I have been defeated.
For now.
For now.
I am the only person in my family that likes trifle.
I have made a family-sized trifle for tomorrow.
I have made a family-sized trifle for tomorrow.
December 25, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Half a trifle down and I have been defeated.
For now.
For now.
I am the only person in my family that likes trifle.
I have made a family-sized trifle for tomorrow.
I have made a family-sized trifle for tomorrow.
December 24, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I am the only person in my family that likes trifle.
I have made a family-sized trifle for tomorrow.
I have made a family-sized trifle for tomorrow.
Newgrange is older, has a roof and a also built in light show - 10x better than stonehenge.
December 21, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Newgrange is older, has a roof and a also built in light show - 10x better than stonehenge.
Winter Solstice Live Streaming - 21 December 2025
YouTube video by Office of Public Works
www.youtube.com
December 21, 2025 at 8:43 AM
I find this bizarre.
Compulsory religious observance (i.e. active practice of religious rituals/traditions/services) should be incompatible with formal education.
By all means, religious education (including non-belief) has value but this should be done from a secular stance.
Compulsory religious observance (i.e. active practice of religious rituals/traditions/services) should be incompatible with formal education.
By all means, religious education (including non-belief) has value but this should be done from a secular stance.
Yesterday, MSPs voted down Amendment 18 to the Religious Observance Bill.
That means young people still don’t have the independent right to opt out of religious observance at school, even though our recent poll revealed support for an independent pupil opt-out from RO stands at 66%.
That means young people still don’t have the independent right to opt out of religious observance at school, even though our recent poll revealed support for an independent pupil opt-out from RO stands at 66%.
December 17, 2025 at 1:14 PM
I find this bizarre.
Compulsory religious observance (i.e. active practice of religious rituals/traditions/services) should be incompatible with formal education.
By all means, religious education (including non-belief) has value but this should be done from a secular stance.
Compulsory religious observance (i.e. active practice of religious rituals/traditions/services) should be incompatible with formal education.
By all means, religious education (including non-belief) has value but this should be done from a secular stance.
Further proof that theory of relatively holds - every year the 'fun' bit at the end of Home Alone seems like a smaller and smaller proportion of the film.
When I first watched it, it seemed like it was at least half the movie.
When I first watched it, it seemed like it was at least half the movie.
December 11, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Further proof that theory of relatively holds - every year the 'fun' bit at the end of Home Alone seems like a smaller and smaller proportion of the film.
When I first watched it, it seemed like it was at least half the movie.
When I first watched it, it seemed like it was at least half the movie.
Reposted by Dr Will Ball
What % of all kids in the UK come to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) at some stage in childhood (0 - 18)?
15 years ago, it was 1 in 17 children.
Now it’s a pretty staggering 1 in 5
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
15 years ago, it was 1 in 17 children.
Now it’s a pretty staggering 1 in 5
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Trends in annual and lifetime prevalence of child and adolescent mental health service use in the UK between 1991 and 2023: Welsh healthcare register linkage study | The British Journal of Psychiatry ...
Trends in annual and lifetime prevalence of child and adolescent mental health service use in the UK between 1991 and 2023: Welsh healthcare register linkage study
www.cambridge.org
December 11, 2025 at 4:26 PM
What % of all kids in the UK come to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) at some stage in childhood (0 - 18)?
15 years ago, it was 1 in 17 children.
Now it’s a pretty staggering 1 in 5
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
15 years ago, it was 1 in 17 children.
Now it’s a pretty staggering 1 in 5
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
I've never had this happen to me before, but I do go back to past papers to check what I previously wrote.
You guys, I’ve made it:
I was told to read my own work in an R&R I got today. Didn’t expect this to happen for a few more years, but here we are 😂
I was told to read my own work in an R&R I got today. Didn’t expect this to happen for a few more years, but here we are 😂
December 5, 2025 at 5:36 PM
I've never had this happen to me before, but I do go back to past papers to check what I previously wrote.
Hot take: reference lists should be in a machine readable format like .bib right up until publication.
Journals can auto-format them in their preferred style in the .pdf if they want.
Journals can auto-format them in their preferred style in the .pdf if they want.
Referencing systems should be absolutely standardised within disciplines, and the sorts of random variations that happen are breaking my brain, who the fuck cares where the year goes as long as it's consistent?
December 4, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Hot take: reference lists should be in a machine readable format like .bib right up until publication.
Journals can auto-format them in their preferred style in the .pdf if they want.
Journals can auto-format them in their preferred style in the .pdf if they want.
I would be so embarrassed if I ever got a job and was described as a 'visionary leader' in the press release.
Can we not just say 'competent person with skills & experience'?
Can we not just say 'competent person with skills & experience'?
Baroness Nicola Blackwood has been appointed as Chair of the Health Data Research Service
www.gov.uk/government/n...
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Visionary leader appointed for Health Data Research Service
Patients to benefit from faster life-saving treatments as new leader appointed for health data service
www.gov.uk
November 26, 2025 at 8:04 AM
I would be so embarrassed if I ever got a job and was described as a 'visionary leader' in the press release.
Can we not just say 'competent person with skills & experience'?
Can we not just say 'competent person with skills & experience'?
Reposted by Dr Will Ball
@teni.bsky.social don't seem to use their bsky account so I'm posting this over here from their facebook because people should see it: one of the first things our new President Connolly did last week was write the community a letter for TDOR 🏳️⚧️
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
November 24, 2025 at 6:51 PM
@teni.bsky.social don't seem to use their bsky account so I'm posting this over here from their facebook because people should see it: one of the first things our new President Connolly did last week was write the community a letter for TDOR 🏳️⚧️
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
The only 'concession' for-profit publishers ever made to OA was shifting the cost of access from readers to authors.
And that on top of the fees university libraries already pay for journal access.
And that on top of the fees university libraries already pay for journal access.
Pushing for open access is not enough. We need a push to end profit.
We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:
a 🧵 1/n
Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
a 🧵 1/n
Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
November 12, 2025 at 2:49 PM
The only 'concession' for-profit publishers ever made to OA was shifting the cost of access from readers to authors.
And that on top of the fees university libraries already pay for journal access.
And that on top of the fees university libraries already pay for journal access.
New Scientific rule - anytime you use a causal term in a paper, it must be put in quotes.
This one surely has something on offer for every one: In this cross-sectional mediation analysis, the "effects" of soft drink consumption on depression were "mediated" by abundance of Eggerthela in the gut microbiome.
This was sent to me via dm and now you all got to suffer as well.
This was sent to me via dm and now you all got to suffer as well.
Soft Drink Consumption and Depression Mediated by Gut Microbiome Alterations
This cohort study examines the association between soft drink consumption and major depressive disorder diagnosis and severity and whether this association is mediated by changes in the gut microbiota...
jamanetwork.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:46 PM
New Scientific rule - anytime you use a causal term in a paper, it must be put in quotes.
Celebrity traitors finale was great, but all logic was abandoned.
Nick to Joe: so we should both just vote for Cat
Joe: *votes for Cat*
Nick: that was suspicious
Nick to Joe: so we should both just vote for Cat
Joe: *votes for Cat*
Nick: that was suspicious
November 7, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Celebrity traitors finale was great, but all logic was abandoned.
Nick to Joe: so we should both just vote for Cat
Joe: *votes for Cat*
Nick: that was suspicious
Nick to Joe: so we should both just vote for Cat
Joe: *votes for Cat*
Nick: that was suspicious
So I'm apparently no longer eligible for the COVID vaccine despite living with someone who is immunosuppressed.
November 3, 2025 at 3:16 PM
So I'm apparently no longer eligible for the COVID vaccine despite living with someone who is immunosuppressed.
An independent inquiry commissioned by the UK Government found that British Army soldiers shot and killed unarmed civil rights protestors in Derry (who posed no threat).
To this day no one has ever been held accountable.
To this day no one has ever been held accountable.
October 23, 2025 at 2:38 PM
An independent inquiry commissioned by the UK Government found that British Army soldiers shot and killed unarmed civil rights protestors in Derry (who posed no threat).
To this day no one has ever been held accountable.
To this day no one has ever been held accountable.
Beautiful morning for some CX
October 12, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Beautiful morning for some CX
Well done Derek Gee on taking a principled stand. The Israeli-based team suing him for €30million in damages are unhinged.
Derek Gee hits back hard at Israel-Premier Tech after torn-up contract, 30 million euros damages claim #DerekGee #IsraelPremierTech #CyclingNews #GirodItalia #Cycling
Derek Gee hits back hard at Israel-Premier Tech after torn-up contract, 30 million euros damages claim
Derek Gee has spoken out now that his contract with Israel-Premier Tech has been terminated and a transfer is imminent. The 28-year-old Canadian was the team's top rider, finishing fourth in this year's Giro d'Italia, but Israel-Premier's stance forced Gee to leave, according to his own statement. H...
dlvr.it
October 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Well done Derek Gee on taking a principled stand. The Israeli-based team suing him for €30million in damages are unhinged.
My daughter has been learning how to make charts in google sheets.
"Let's make it 3D...........COOL!!!"
The joy of dataviz
"Let's make it 3D...........COOL!!!"
The joy of dataviz
October 9, 2025 at 4:35 PM
My daughter has been learning how to make charts in google sheets.
"Let's make it 3D...........COOL!!!"
The joy of dataviz
"Let's make it 3D...........COOL!!!"
The joy of dataviz
Reading some interest stats about health research funding in the UK in recent years.
- Only 7% goes to Mental Health research
- Only 5% of that MH funding goes to studies related to prevention
- Only 7% goes to Mental Health research
- Only 5% of that MH funding goes to studies related to prevention
October 9, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Reading some interest stats about health research funding in the UK in recent years.
- Only 7% goes to Mental Health research
- Only 5% of that MH funding goes to studies related to prevention
- Only 7% goes to Mental Health research
- Only 5% of that MH funding goes to studies related to prevention
Preliminary findings from my latest piece of research suggest that butter wouldn't melt.
October 9, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Preliminary findings from my latest piece of research suggest that butter wouldn't melt.