They are now clear they only fund research for terminal illness. Important stuff! And donors can choose what they support, but it does makes me think about the palatability of young people's sexual autonomy. It's a challenge that we still have roads to go in Aust, not in research but society broadly

I had to add two more... Okay I better stop now, save it for the meeting

An indirectly, soon after my residency, I used my honed journalism and communication skills to launch new research with Lucy Barbour - which lead to over 30 appearances in other media and millions of views across the country! www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...

Here are some of the things I got to do as a direct result of the program!

A segment for The Health Report I produced with supervision from Tegan Taylor www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

A feature on The Health Report about my research on period tracking apps www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

And the fact that research expertise is just one of MANY kinds of expertise that is valued. It really takes away from the hierarchy and competitiveness so ingrained in that research academia culture. It's so refreshing to have that true collaboration with peers in policy, health promotion & medicine

I still get to collaborate with academic researchers (helloooo 📩), conduct research, publish papers. But I am placed somewhere were I can directly support and influence practice and policy. It has been so rewarding, and still very challenging (but let's be real I need that)

"I think we should all be more concerned about finding methods of contraception that women do feel comfortable with, rather than trying to persuade them to be more comfortable with what we’ve got" end thread 🧵

They are eager to understand how their bodies work because their education was lacking this, and apps pretend to provide this. I love the quote by Dr Janet Barter finishing off the Guardian article. It sums up where we need to be, listening and taking action (see next & final post)

When we meet people where they are at, we discover systemic issues in contraceptive choice. These systemic issues are being profited on by app companies who claim a silver bullet solution. Some people feel ignored, out of options, and desperate for something else.

This prompts concern and shock for those people using less effective contraception that is failing them. This spirals into Discourse™ about the anti-hormonal contraception sentiment from social media. A reliable blanket blame for a seemingly insurmountable problem.

This kind of statement has VERY HIGH stakes for the user - but the constant condemnation from experts and medical professionals isn't stopping people from using them. This adds to a new study whose press release exclaims the rise of fertility apps in abortion seekers (www.scimex.org/newsfeed/ris...

Heaps important. I'm giving it a listen this morning. Great work!