Medical activism

Actions speak louder than words: the case for responsible scientific activism in an era of planetary emergency

The world's understanding of the climate and ecological crises rests on science. However, scientists' conventional methods of engagement, such as producing ever more data and findings, writing papers and giving advice to governments, have not been sufficiently effective at persuading politicians to act on the climate and ecological emergency. To date, governments' decisions (such as continuing with vast subsidies for fossil fuels) clearly show that powerful vested interests have been much more influential than the amassed scientific knowledge and advice. We argue that in the face of this inaction, scientists can have the maximum amount of influence by lending their support to social movements pressing for action, joining as active participants and considering civil disobedience. Scientists seeking to halt continued environmental destruction also need to work through our institutions. Too many scientific organizations, from national academies of science to learned societies and universities, have not taken practical action on climate; for example, many still partner with fossil fuel and other compromised interests. We therefore also outline a vision for how scientists can reform our scientific institutions to become powerful agents for change.

A Reassessment of the Impact and Significance of Social Media to Pathology

CONTEXT

Social media (SM) use in pathology and medicine today is widespread, receives active advocacy, and is said to bring a host of benefits. In latter days, the harmful effects of SM have received attention, but they have yet been followed by greater encouragement of professionalized SM usage. SM use in medicine has seen adoption in parallel to its general ascendancy, even though the platforms are products with purposes misaligned with the practice of medicine.

OBJECTIVE

To (1) characterize premises and forces that propel professional SM platform adoption and use, and (2) examine wide-ranging literature, both medical and nonmedical, that substantiates the premises and to find counteracting perspectives and evidence.

DATA SOURCES

Review of the literature using relevant keyword searches in PubMed, Google Scholar, Dimensions, and Web of Science for articles that study/describe professional SM use in pathology and medicine. Additionally, we examined business, technology, and social sciences literature and high-quality gray literature (newspapers, books, blogs) that addressed questions in relation to the topic of professional SM adoption.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified 6 major premises as motivators of professional SM use and highlight significant counteracting factors. We conclude that the harms of professionalized SM use have not been fully considered in the medical literature and that a change in direction and the creation of new communication platforms would be beneficial.

The biospheric emergency calls for scientists to change tactics

Our current economic and political structures have an increasingly devastating impact on the Earth's climate and ecosystems: we are facing a biospheric emergency, with catastrophic consequences for both humans and the natural world on which we depend. Life scientists - including biologists, medical scientists, psychologists and public health experts - have had a crucial role in documenting the impacts of this emergency, but they have failed to drive governments to take action in order to prevent the situation from getting worse. Here we, as members of the movement Scientist Rebellion, call on life scientists to re-embrace advocacy and activism - which were once hallmarks of academia - in order to highlight the urgency and necessity of systemic change across our societies. We particularly emphasise the need for scientists to engage in nonviolent civil resistance, a form of public engagement which has proven to be highly effective in social struggles throughout history.

Protesting for public health: a case for medical activism during the climate crisis

Anthropogenic climate change and its sequelae are de-stabilizing our environmental, social, economical and political systems. Not surprisingly, the direct and indirect effects of disrupting these key determinants of health are profoundly detrimental to mental health and wellbeing. Psychiatrists feel compelled to speak out. However, decades of gentle persuasion have failed to invoke sufficient government action so many have turned to activism. Others doubt whether this is, or should be, within their scope of practice. In this article we present the case for medical activism. History has shown prominent activist medics and psychiatrists have been instrumental in creating social and cultural change. We propose that psychiatrists are well-placed to advocate for health issues that cross socio-politico-environmental boundaries. We suggest that, not only do we have a moral imperative to act for the wider determinants of health, but we are also advantageously positioned as trusted professionals with the necessary skills to articulate the problem and advocate for the most vulnerable in society. We call on our training and regulatory bodies to support health activism.