Hazel Godfrey

The Cochrane library is a global source of independent health evidence for everyone – why is NZ restricting access? New Zealanders download Cochrane Library health reviews daily. Restricting access is a step back to when medical knowledge was held tightly by professionals.

Another way government austerity is failing healthcare and the NZ people. Underfunded Te Whatu Ora / Health NZ is cutting access to the Cochrane Library, a gold standard source of information to support health decision-making. NZers use it 246 times per day. #nzpol

tinyurl.com/3jya8hkd

Preparing our kids for the real world? | E-Tangata “Children have a human right to a quality education that equips them for effective participation in a strong democracy — not one that simply shapes them into cogs for the economic machine.”  — Catheri...

“Children have a human right to a quality education that equips them for effective participation in a strong democracy — not one that simply shapes them into cogs for the economic machine.” — Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn.

This doesn’t surprise me. I know so many around me going down with illnesses!

Wear a mask people. I reckon this is why I haven’t gotten sick

Māori voices silenced in health, again | E-Tangata “We will no longer be tasked with local service design and delivery. Instead, our job will be to ‘engage’ and ’advise’. These changes take us from active partners to passive recipients.”  — Louisa Wal...

“We will no longer be tasked with local service design and delivery. Instead, our job will be to ‘engage’ and ’advise’. These changes take us from active partners to passive recipients.” — Louisa Wall on changes to Pae Ora law.

There’s a poster above, as well as a link below to a survey where people can sign up if interested 😊:

vuw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Thank you very much! Any help is really appreciated. (3/3)

We’re interested in people’s experience with breastfeeding and chestfeeding pain, and would love it if you could please share the invitation to join the research with anyone you think would be keen to join an arts-based workshop about this. Babies and kids are of course welcome to attend! (2/3)

A poster showing a person breast/chest feeding in one image and craft items (pens, scissors, glue sticks in another). The text reads: "Breast/Chest-Feeding Pain Research. What is feeding pain like? What support do feeders need? Join us for a workshop about pain and what helps. Format: Creative Workshop Dates: 7, 9, or 11 August 2025. Koha and refreshments provided. This study was approved by the Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University Human Ethics Committee (#HE040069).

Kia ora Wellington based friends 😊

I’m posting to let you know about a research project I have underway with Octavia Calder Dawe, Eva Neely (both from the School of Health at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington) and Carmen Timu-Parata (NZ Breastfeeding Alliance). (1/3)

The Kāpiti Coast has its own writers' festival on 9-10 August - check it out!

Wow -- I didn't realize we've been added to Spotify, too! If that's how you roll, here's the link:

open.spotify.com/show/0s6hEHu...

* Audio distribution for indies like us takes a while and it's a crapshoot with major retailers. Corporate publishers get the real access, priority lane, tools, etc.

Restoring Gold Standard Science By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7301 of title 5, United

tl;dr — this EO co-opts the language of open science to implement a system of political control wherein presidential appointees are given broad latitude to designate any number of reasonable scientific activities and inferences as scientific misconduct, and to penalize those involved accordingly.

NZ's Long Covid blind spot nothing short of a crisis Analysis: Post-infection syndromes like Long Covid are nothing new – but pandemic-scale waves of a novel virus exposed just how ill-prepared we are to handle them.

"Both #LongCovid and #MECFS are under-recognised, not because they are rare, but because clinicians lack the tools and training to adequately detect the systemic dysfunction they reflect"

@drannanz.bsky.social on how New Zealand’s Long Covid blind spot has now reached crisis levels

#pwME 🇳🇿

I Don't Know Anyone With Long Covid Yes. You do. It might even be you. Let's take a look at why people don't realize, or can't admit, that they're dealing with Long Covid.

"I don't know anyone with Long Covid"
"It's a liberal disease"
"It's the vaccine"

We've all heard the excuses. The truth is more than 400 million people are suffering from Long Covid, and the stigma and denial associated with the condition makes it hard for people to realize they have it:

A deeply frustrating line-by-line reading of Casey Costello’s letter to Health NZ Does the associate minister of health know that sex and gender are two different things? Her letter suggests no.

Good reporting from the spinoff, making an important point: specific language like "people with a cervix" is good for everyone. Not every woman - or cis woman - has the same body parts or needs the same type of care. Being specific about the bodies we talk about is good.

Governments like to boast that “data-driven” policies are the best way to make fair, efficient decisions. They collect statistics, set targets and adjust strategies to suit 🧪🧵

A tricky thing about modern society is that no one has any idea when they don’t die.

Like, the number of lives saved by controlling air pollution in America is probably over 200,000 per year, but the number of people who think their life was saved by controlling air pollution is zero.

To Improve Literacy, Improve Equality in Education, Not Large Language Models Huettig and Christiansen in an earlier issue argue that large language models (LLMs) are beneficial to address declining cognitive skills, such as literacy, through combating imbalances in educationa...

Out this week @cogscisociety.bsky.social! @samhforbes.bsky.social & I ”urge extreme caution in the use of LLMs in classrooms lest we further normalize: pupils losing their privacy, reducing contact between learner and educator, deskilling teachers & polluting the environment”
doi.org/10.1111/cogs...

Abortion care quietly shelved amid staff shortage Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need

The government disposed of all the gynae doctors in Whakatane. It pays travel costs for people who want to give birth, but those who don’t want to give birth have to find their own way to get where they can get the health care they need.
#nzpol #abortion 1/3

It's one month until submission time for the Special Issue of @herdjournal.bsky.social on benefits and challenges of integrating lived experience in higher education teaching, which Snita Ahir-Knight and I are co-guest editing.

Submissions due 25th April!!!

I'll take this chance to share what Snita Ahir-Knight are up to again 😊

I'm delighted to be co-guest editing a Special Issue of @herdjournal.bsky.social with Snita.

With the Special Issue we will curate a range of perspectives on integrating lived experience in teaching.

Beyond humbled for #KindnessInScience & @tepunahamatatini.bsky.social to feature in @nature.com Careers with @climateadam.bsky.social.

For more see @aisrayne.bsky.social et al. in @naturehumbehav.bsky.social here: bit.ly/3XpnD8V

🎨 @jobailey.bsky.social

5 years on, COVID remains NZ’s most important infectious disease – it still demands a strong response Analysis: On Friday it is five years since Covid-19 was first reported in New Zealand, and it continues to remain Aotearoa's most harmful disease demanding a strong response.

"many people want to move on from the early pandemic years, and there is a temptation to minimise Covid's threat now the emergency response has passed.
But it deserves a proportionate response that draws on the rich evidence we now have.....l"

If you support your library having Pride events and inclusive titles in their collection TELL THEM.
If you appreciate the all gender toilets or the generally safe space they provide tell them that too.
Don’t let the Destiny faithful be them only voices your library hears.

Thank you, Sophie 😍 You can be sure we'll be broadcasting the special issue publications loudly!

The call has been open for just over a week, and we're already seeing that you're going to get to read about fabulous work people around the world are doing in their teaching contexts – covering both advantages and complexities of lived experience teaching. (4/4)

Please do get in touch with us when you've got questions or if you've got an idea you'd like to talk through. (3/4)

We are aiming to curate a critical dialogue that includes a range of perspectives, contexts, types of lived experience, and approaches to teaching.

Snita and I appreciate your time considering if you have a submission, and your support in sharing this call widely with your network. (2/4)

I'm delighted to be co-guest editing a Special Issue of @herdjournal.bsky.social with Snita Ahir-Knight.

The Special Issue will focus on the benefits and challenges of integrating lived experience in higher education teaching.

Full paper submissions are due 25 April 2025. (1/4)

A democracy based on respect, rather than contempt for ordinary people, and values that underpin healthy co-operation and social cohesion, in balance with individual striving and aspiration – the idea of a ‘fair go,’ truth, justice, the value of hard work and care for others and the earth – would restore hope and decency to public life in New Zealand.

“A democracy based on respect, rather than contempt for ordinary people…would restore hope and decency to public life in New Zealand.”

Yes please, when will that be available?

Great read from Newsroom today👇
newsroom.co.nz/2025/02/01/h...

This part?? This is why sometimes research doesn’t make immediate sense to people looking at a list of projects but can still lead to important discoveries

Relevant to my previous skeet… I get that people want COVID to be a thing of the past, but it’s not and everyday is impacting on the lives of our most vulnerable while disabling other. Why we can’t just accept that and make all this a priority to protect each other I will never understand.