Jan R. Boehnke
LightNews LightNews
banner
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Jan R. Boehnke
@jrboehnke.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1.2K following 3K posts
I work at the School of #HealthSciences, University of Dundee

Measurement, (health-related) quality of life #HRQL, multimorbidity, #ResearchEthics, publishing, #PeerReview, research assessment

Ex- #REF2021, former #NightshiftEditor

No DMs due to UK-OSA.
Posts Replies Media Videos
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Probably last time cycling for this year. 🚴
Bha e cho fuar! 🥶

#BroughtyFerry #Dundee #RiverTay
Picture of a river landscape (River Tay), shot from one of its banks. On the left are a row of houses close to the water line (Broughty Ferry), the middle and right are dominated by a wide calm body of water. On the horizon, another river bank with woods and maybe low hills is visible (Tentsmuir). The picture is shot against the direction of the rising sun, with light orange tones at the horizon merging into light blue-greens toward the top. Some very light cloud cover.
October 30, 2025 at 8:18 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Just dialling up into the #ISOQOL conference live event.

Great opportunity that part of the conference is available hybrid / on-demand!

www.isoqol.org/events/32nd-...

#HRQL #HealthEconomics #PatientCentered
Conference logo for ISOQOL 2025 32nd Annual Conference
October 23, 2025 at 1:05 PM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
And a #MotivationalQute for the weekend.

Isolation is never a virtue.
Be mindful of your audience.
And #psychometrics is a frontier activity!
Quote from page 515 of the paper Heiser (2004). Psychometrika, 69, 513-545 "Geometric representation of association between categories" Isolation is never a virtue, but specialization is unavoidable. I believe that it is important to distinguish service to our customers from service to our field. When we teach research methods and statistics, or when other researchers consult us, we should be generalists. However, research in psychometrics is a frontier activity that tries to find new methods of data analysis and theoretical justifications for measurement procedures. There is a rich and cumulative body of knowledge to build upon, which is to our advantage, but unfortunately this "body" is also very extensive, scattering all over our own field as well as over related fields, over quite different parts of mathematics, and over a good deal of mainstream statistics. It is no wonder that most psychometricians need a narrow focus in their research if they are to achieve anything at all.
October 4, 2025 at 10:16 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Thank you to the Data Resources Training Network for organising the seminar
"Exploring #ethnicity through national datasets"
#DRTN

Info, recordings & future events
www.ncrm.ac.uk/about/engage...
#NCRM

Very enjoyable listen for my morning coffee. Some resources that were mentioned linked below 👇
Picture of a plate with a chocolate chip cookie and a small mug on it. The mug shows a scene with characters from the moomins, here in particular Littly My sitting on a birch tree. In the background, an open laptop and a black keyboard are visible.
September 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Great. Found the button to turn off direct messages 😅

Due to UK-OSA this feature has become useless to me.
Sorry to whoever dropped me another message today!

You can reach me via email
discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/persons/j...
and via Mastodon
mastodon.social/deck/@jrboeh...
Screenshot of a speech bubble with two dots in it, on the top right corner overlayed with a blue circle with a white "2" in it. Next to it the word "Chat". This is the indicator from the Bluesky direct message tool that tells me that I have two unread messages.
September 11, 2025 at 3:52 PM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Chapter 4 on the existing gaps in #MentalHealth systems is particularly interesting, as it highlights not only the continued gap in provision and access, but also offers suggestions for practice-focused research and work.

#HealthServices #GlobalMentalHealth
An info graphic (Figure 4.1 in the WHO report), titled "A snapshot of key gaps in mental health transformation" The four gaps and their headlines are 1) Information Gap Incomplete data Insufficient research 2) Governance gap Inadequate policies, plans and laws Misplaced priorities 3) Resrouces gap Scant spending Lack of essential medicines Scarce workforce Digital divide 4) Services gap Poor treatment coverage Limited range and quality of services
September 8, 2025 at 8:36 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Busy week, not much posted from #RSS2025.

I enjoyed chatting w @rlgrant.bsky.social and am reading his coauthored "Bayesian #MetaAnalysis" which he gave me a copy of 🙇
www.robertgrantstats.co.uk/bma-book.html

[in parallel w
link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...
for training inspiration]

#SysReview
A book leaning upright on a wooden bench or seat of sorts, sunshine broken up by shades (leaves?) above. In the background some green and flowers are vaguely visible. The top of a "Royal Statistical Society" conference name tag sticks out of it. The book's cover is largely black, sports the title "Bayesian Meta-Analysis - A practical introduction" by Robert Grant and Gian Luca Di Tanna. The lower half shows a picture with a beige background on top of which there are what looks like line or ink lines indicating a wild overlay of continuous distribution curves, close to symmetric but with a bit of positive skew. It is identified as a work in acrylic and coffee on card by Robert Grant
September 5, 2025 at 1:44 PM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Under the guidance of Mona Kanaan, Beth👇, Issa Dahabreh, James Carpenter and I will present on

"From study to target populations: Addressing #ExternalValidity through the lens of Transportability and Generalisability"
(1:50pm #RSS2025 #MedicalStatistics)

#RCT #Causality
Screenshot from conference programme: From study to target populations: addressing external validity through the Lens of Transportability and Generalisability TrackMedical Statistics Randomised and observational studies each have unique strengths and limitations when estimating causal effects for a target population. While estimates derived from randomised controlled trials may possess internal validity, they often fail to adequately represent the target population due to restrictive inclusion criteria. Observational data are more likely to represent the target population, increasing the likelihood of external validity. However, evidence from observational studies is prone to potential bias due to unmeasured confounding. A framework has recently been proposed to address the external validity bias through evaluating generalisability and transportability. This session will explore the current developments.
September 3, 2025 at 10:35 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Attending #RSS2025 for the first time and looking forward to meet people I am following here and on Mastodon in real life.

For now, just off from grey drizzly Dundee, expecting more of that in Edinburgh😅
shot from a moving vehicle (train actually) on a bridge, view of a river, sky with grey clouds, water reflecting grey, in the distance to the left and right some low hills are visible.
September 3, 2025 at 7:08 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
New #AcademicYear - New #introduction

I am a researcher at #DundeeUni, interested in health-related quality of life
#HRQoL #Psychometrics

I teach #ResearchMethodology and #ResearchMethods (focus #Quantitative)

I worked as a #NightshiftEditor and mull over roles in and sense of #AcademicPublishing
A bronze statue of a lemming from the game Lemmings looking over the top of a pillar. It hangs on to the pyramidal shaped top with its right hand, looking into the distance shielding its eyes with the left. Palm trees and other flowers like in a park or garden are visible behind. Clouds in the sky, but some blue visible as well.
September 1, 2025 at 3:54 PM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
A new #AcademicYear starts, pointing to a great resource aimed at #postgraduate research students:
www.dundee.ac.uk/projects/wel...

This #comic shares stories of postgraduate researchers to highlight how, where, and when to ask for support.

#PGRsupport #AcademicChatter #DundeeUni
Picture of a comic cover with a a group of people looking at or in the rough direction of the viewer. They are diverse in many ways, e.g. clad differently, of different ages (although most looking young), different skin tones, at the front is someone with a wheelchair. Their picture seems to be a puzzle, with a big hand coming in and putting the last piece in the top right corner (showing the words "PGR Support"). The comic is titled "Wellbeing - Postgraduate Researcher Narratives", and branded "University of Dundee"
August 21, 2025 at 1:15 PM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
One last #Kiltwalk post for now:

Thank you to everyone who donated! We don't know you all, many thanks for you generosity, and great for @scotwildlife.bsky.social ! 🙇‍♂️

You can still donate until tonight!
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/...

#KiltwalkDundee #Dundee
A collage with six pictures in it. There is a big one showing a pipe band playing on a grassy ground with some people around. There are five pictures arranged around this one on the right and bottom. Top right a small picture shows people at the starting line under an arch with a "Start" sign. Below it, we see people walking along a river, toward an oil rigg in the distance. Bottom right corner, people are walking across a footbridge toward a gap between several multi-storey houses. To the left of it we see houses on the left alng a river, harbour and oil rigg in the distance and some people walking along. Finally, bottom left shows an arch with "Finish" on it and people milling about. All pictures show that it is very sunny, and where the sky is visible, it is blue and mostly cloudless.
August 18, 2025 at 1:41 PM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Sorry for the person who sent me a chat message just before I needed to upload my passport or so to read it 😅

To quote @eileenguo.bsky.social 's piece and thread linked below:
"Anything you put online can [be] and probably has been scraped.”
Bluesky direct message sign showing "1" unopened chat message.
August 18, 2025 at 9:42 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
With #Dundee offering this year a "short half marathon" (1mi missing, www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...), I was not surprised that the last 2 miles of the #KiltwalkDundee being measured at 1.57km and 0.34km (below showing estimates for the last and last 2 miles).

#Measurement #Schmeasurement #Kiltwalk
OpenStreetMap of Dundee Slessor Gardens into the harbour area, showing what was supposed to be the last mile of the Dundee Kiltwalk as indicated by the place where they set up that sign (estimated distance of 1.57km according to tool). OpenStreetMap of Dundee Slessor Gardens into the harbour area, showing what was supposed to be the last _two_ miles of the Dundee Kiltwalk as indicated by the place where they set up that sign (estimated distance of 1.91km according to tool).
August 18, 2025 at 7:59 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Getting organised, last material check. Sunscreen seems to be necessary☀️ 🤭🤞

I'll probably post a bit from the walk, but that will be on Mastodon, in this thread:
mastodon.social/deck/@jrboeh...

#Kiltwalk #KiltwalkDundee
Two badges for the Dundee Kiltwalk hanging in front of some greenery. It shows the date (17 August 2025) and the Kiltwalk logo in front of a picture of the Tay Road Bridge with Dundee on the other river bank. The bottom half is red with several key telephone contacts in white font.
August 16, 2025 at 6:11 PM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
In less than 24hrs we'll be walking #KiltwalkDundee!

Here another shot from our training in the #Highlands:
Crossing Polhollick Bridge near #Ballater.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polholl...
#RiverDee

If you have not heard about #Kiltwalk, take a look here:
thekiltwalk.co.uk

#Dundee #Scotland #Alba
Picture of a a landscape with grassy fields in the foreground and a wooded hill in the background. In the foreground a child with a backpack is walking a path in the grassy meadow towards a white suspension footbridge that is crossing a river. We can just make out the river, it is too low and hidden behind the river bank on our side. The sky has white cloud cover with some blue spots showing through.
August 16, 2025 at 10:16 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Thank you to all who have already donated already! 🙇😊

We we had our own little training camp with walks in the #Highlands. Here a picture from a walk along the River Livet near Drumin Castle.

#KiltwalkDundee #Dundee #Kiltwalk #Scotland #Alba #Wildlife #ScotWildlife
Picture of a child with long hair and yellow wellies running down a grassy footpath between two fields, stretching one arm into the air pointing ahead. The landscape around shows fields and trees.
August 15, 2025 at 5:37 PM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
There we go, our kilts have arrived! 😊

Coming Sunday we'll be off walking for the Scottish Wildlife Trust
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/...

#Fèileadh #Kiltwalk #Dundee #DunDe
Two kilts lying on a wooden bench or so. One is large and in a grey-black pattern. A small royal stewart lies on top of it.
August 12, 2025 at 8:11 PM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Madainn mhath, gu dearbh! Tha i gaothach fhathast.

Good morning, indeed! It is still windy!
Photo shot across some low dunes with grass on it, mainly showing a low tide river bed. On the right toward the middle of the picture some houses are visible. The other side of the river shows mainly a green hill with houses (Tayport). The sky is blue with very few clouds toward the horizon.
August 5, 2025 at 7:03 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Since there is no #TayRoadBridge account on BlueSky, a service update:

The Tay Road Bridge is closed.

#Dundee #Tayside #Fife #RiverTay #StAndrews #StormFloris
Screenshot from the Tay Bridge website saying pretty much what the post says: the Tay Road Bridge is closed for any kind of traffic (last update 17:30)
August 4, 2025 at 4:54 PM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Finished my virtual course on quality assurance for psychotherapeutic interventions at the European Center for Psychotherapy and #PsychotherapyResearch in #Trier

I felt a bit odd when admitting that it was raining in #Dundee. In fact, Trier & #Dundee have similar precipitation profiles 😅

#Scotland
A line chart with the title "Average precipitation (data from Wikipedia)". It shows months of the year on the x-axis (January to December), and average precipitation in mm on the y-axis. Two lines are presented, one in blue connecting Dundee data, and one in black connecting Trier data. The two lines are quite close to each other in the range of about 45mm to 80mm. While with nearly an identical decrease from January to April, Trier reaches its peaks above Dundee levels in May, June, July and December (67-77mm), while Dundee shows higher levels in August, October, and November (75-85mm).
July 19, 2025 at 11:31 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Not sure whether you drink #coffee. Still trying to lure you over the #RiverTay for one.

#DunDeCofaidh
Collage with four square pictures. Top left, close up of a cup of coffee with latte art and a donut or so next to it. Top right, photo shot out of a window on a dark street, some words incl. "coffee" printed on the window, and a red coffee roasting machine sits on the right of the picture. Bottom left, a handleless white mug with latte art in front of a window, next to an open laptop, street scene in the background. Bottom right, dark cup with latte art, spoon and view out of a window behind it down a street, river or other water in the background.
July 17, 2025 at 9:38 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
Yes, IMI 😅

Interesting read. Especially the quote from the Lancet editor 👇 sits uncomfortably in the current landscape:

Institutions arguably partly responsible for the hype that feeds the "case against science" meet institutions that are now pressed to focus on their "USP".

What could go wrong?
Quote from a Lancet Commentary by Richard Horton, that is also displayed in Darren Dahly's blog post that I refer to / that is forwarded with my post “The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn towards darkness.” Horton, (2015), The Lancet, 385, 9976 p1380
July 3, 2025 at 11:14 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
I know, international collaboration is not really "in" at the moment (and potentially declining).

So, here a #ShoutOut to #Eduroam! 💓🙇
It made #SPRKrakow2025 just so much easier!

#AcademicChatter #Krakow
Picture showing a bike lane or pedestrian walkway with the following printed on it 7-8.06. 2003 referendum akcesyjne w polsce - 77.45% za wstapieniem Polski do UE which according to the translation programme means Accession referendum in Poland - 77.45 in favour of Poland joining the EU [if not, this could be pretty awkward :D :D ]
July 3, 2025 at 9:09 AM
jrboehnke.bsky.social
I enjoyed participating in and presenting at the Summer Course 2025 of the Brain and Behavioral Sciences doctoral program at @unibe.ch!

I have written a brief summary of the programme
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

and one about my inputs
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

#ResearchDesign #ECRs
Summer Course 2025 The fourth edition of our Summer Course, “Contemporary Evaluation of Interventions: Mobile, Digital, and Pragmatic”, took place from June 3-5, 2025. The three-day event featured a dynamic program including presentations, interactive workshops, poster session, networking opportunities, a career insights session, and a focus on open science - plus plenty of good moments along the way! We were thrilled to welcome 21 Ph.D. students from various Swiss universities and disciplines. Their active participation, collaboration, and enthusiasm played a key role in making the course a success.
July 2, 2025 at 11:03 AM