For Patients

We have a library of over 50 podcasts covering different conditions and topics for patients with expert guest speakers.

Podcasts

Our popular patient information podcasts on different rheumatology conditions feature a variety of experts in their field. This is an ever growing library. The podcasts give you an overview of the condition and medications, research news and tips for self-management. We are also committed to getting patients involved in research by sharing opportunities and offering support. We also run webinars for patients a few times a year. These webinars feature the same specialist speakers from the podcasts and offer another way of learning how to understand and better manage your rheumatology condition. To keep up to date with the podcast releases and webinar dates, sign up to receive our newsletters or follow us on social media, or finally, our website ‘News’ page.

Please join us and share ideas from your perspective, whether you are a patient a family member or friend – we invite and encourage everyone to get involved – you can find us on Twitter and Facebook or email Admin@birdbath.org.uk.

Webinars and Events

BIRD hosts patient webinars on different conditions with expert speakers from the RNHRD as well as other in-person events.

To register for one of our webinars or events, please see the listings below.

axSpA Patient Information webinar 1 - Diagnosis

24 Sep 24

1.00pm

Audience

Patients

RNHRD RUH Osteoporosis Patient Information Event October 2024

10 Oct 24

10.00am – 12:00pm

Audience

Patients

axSpA Patient Information webinar 2 - Treatments

24 Sep 24

1.00pm

Audience

Patients

Lupus Patient Information Webinar

13 Nov 24

2.00pm – 3.30pm

Audience

Patients

axSpA Patient Information webinar 3 - Prognosis

19 Nov 24

1.00pm

Audience

Patients

axSpA Patient Information webinar 4 - Research

17 Dec 24

1.00pm

Audience

Patients

Psoriatic Arthritis Patient Information Event

21 Jan 25

12.30pm – 2:30pm

Audience

Patients

Your webinar has been reassuring in a few ways as it highlights you are not alone in experiences and for support

It’s been really interesting, especially for someone who is near the beginning of the journey

100% of people would recommend others attend our webinars

100% of webinar attendees would feel more confident and informed at their next appointment

Get involved in Research

Can you help researchers? At BIRD we are are approached by researchers for help finding patient participants for projects that need patient engagement. Quite often this is helping researchers by completing surveys or participating in patient focus groups. Below is a list of research engagement requests that we currently have.

Researcher name	Project Name	Project description	Contact
HCI Bath	Virtual Reality: Gesture Accessibility	BIRD have been contacted by a team of Researchers from Bath University who are calling out for volunteers to screen for an exciting new piece of work involving Virtual Reality (VR). VR is a rapidly developing immersive technology offering exciting opportunities for entertainment, education, and work. However, many commercial VR devices require full mobility of the user’s hands to operate which is a big limitation and means certain people cannot properly access the experiences VR has to offer. The team are looking to address this limitation to make VR more accessible. For more information please contact the team via details. Click here to see a project poster with more details.	lsp40@bath.ac.uk
Alaa Kattan, a PhD student at the University of Bath	Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA)	Alaa Kattan, a PhD student at the University of Bath is conducting a research project on axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) to better understand the flare experiences from a patient’s perspective. Working alongside colleagues Professor Raj Sengupta, Dario Cazzola, Peter Rouse and Logan Wade, Alaa aims to explore patient opinions on using virtual reality exercises for pain management. Alaa has developed an e-survey and is looking to recruit volunteer individuals with axSpA who have recently experienced a flare for interviews. The interviews of approx. 1hr, will focus on experiences during flare and gather thoughts on the potential use of VR technology for managing pain that could lead to a further project.	ak2870@bath.ac.uk

BIRD Patient Research Panel

We also have a ‘Patient Research Panel’. This panel is a group of people who are interested in the research process. Sometimes researchers will approach BIRD for help in designing their project with the patient at the forefront.

The panel will sometime review a questionnaire to see if it’s understandable or take part in a workshop. The Patient Research Panel is a remote group who occasionally meet via Zoom. If you’d like to know more please get in touch and email: ppe@birdbath.org.uk

Podcast Listening Volunteers

This group listens to our podcasts before release and helps to guide the content and quality of our podcasts. If you would like to help us with the BIRD podcast library please email: ppe@birdbath.org.uk