Here’s the latest collection of reads for your weekend, with palliative care news from around the world, research and social media advice, and a palliative pet care story. As always, please enjoy and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Today is World Refugee Day, at a time when world refugee numbers are at their highest since WWII. A new Palliative Care in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies (PALCHE) network has launched to help address the unmet palliative care needs of the world’s >60 million refugees. Read about it (and find out how to get involved) at ehospice.

Happy 10th Birthday, Pallimed! The US-based palliative care blog has been around for ten years – wow! That’s a rare achievement in the blogosphere. We recommend following Pallimed and checking out their archives – I particularly like the Arts & Humanities posts. Although based in the US, many of Pallimed’s posts are relevant to the palliative care community in Australia and New Zealand – and despite the name, they’re not just for doctors. We look forward to meeting Pallimed’s editor, Christian Sinclair (@ctsinclair) when he’s in town for the the Australian Palliative Care Conference.

Also, if you discovered us via Pallimed’s Facebook, welcome!

Many UK palliative care tweeps are using the #notdingy hashtag to protest BBC dramas’ representation of hospices as “dingy” and “grotty”. It’s been lovely to see the community pull together in defence of all the lovely hospices in the UK. (The BBC Drama Department is a Terrible Place to Die, Huffington Post UK)

“For cancer patients, focus on quality of life could also add to quantity of life” – this LA Times article refers to palliative care as “quality of life care”. That seems more accurate than a lot of other things we get called. I am a bit confused by the accompanying photo of vegetables, captioned “Diets high in vegetables and fruits have shown to be helpful for breast cancer patients.” (Quality-of-life care may help cancer patients live longer, feel better).

Cochrane Community shares ideas about using social media to find collaborators for Cochrane Reviews. While I think about it, another great way to find research collaborators is the Palliverse researcher database! If you’d like to join the database, please contact us. (Cochrane Review matchmaking through social media, Cochrane Community)

“We Made This Family”: End of Life Care in the LGBT Community (Huffington Post)

I’m a longtime twitter follower of dementia researcher Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer and I recently realised she also has a beautiful blog about dementia and her research. (via Aged Care Channel)

Speaking of Twitter (I seem to be), newcomers (or those that are struggling with the “rules”) may appreciate “Mom, This is How Twitter Works” (via Pallimed)

Human Rights Watch reports that Mexico, a country with “uneven, and limited” access to palliative care, has introduced new regulations that will improve access to opioids for tens of thousands of patients (Mexico: Breakthrough for Pain Treatment, HRW)

Did you hear about Nobel Prize winner Tim Hunt’s sexist comments regarding female researchers? There was an online backlash, with a #distractinglysexy hashtag. (Hilarious responses to Nobel Prize winner Tim Hunt’s sexist comments, IFL Science)

Why doctors should work closer with patient organisations (The Doctors Bag)

GP Registrar Hannah Fox blogs her experiences of Palliative Care In India. “Some might say that palliative care is a low priority given that basic healthcare needs are not being met, but I would argue the opposite.”

Here’s a heartwarming “palliative pet care” story to end the list:  Man takes his dying dog on a cross-country road trip (Time)