News Articles
A Melbourne man is fighting for life in Thailand after competing in a martial arts fight last year
Date of Posting: 22-01-2020
A Melbourne man has been in a coma in a Bangkok hospital for months after collapsing following a muay thai martial arts bout. Sy Leafa, 23, has been in hospital since September 9 after a muay thai bout in Bangkok's Lumpinee stadium ended with Read More...
Treatment of pain is a challenge in Alzheimer's disease
Date of Posting: 22-01-2020
The treatment and management of pain in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can be a challenge due to problems in communication and uncommon symptoms of pain. Opioid painkillers are widely prescribed, but not without adverse effects. Findin Read More...
Premature menopause increases risk of chronic health issues
Date of Posting: 22-01-2020
Women who experience premature menopause are significantly more likely to develop multiple chronic conditions, according to a new study by The University of Queensland. School of Public Health PhD student Dr Xiaolin Xu analysed data on more than 1 Read More...
Body's natural signal carriers can help melanoma spread
Date of Posting: 22-01-2020
A new study from Finland sheds fresh light on how melanoma cells interact with other cells via extracellular vesicles they secrete. The researchers found that extracellular vesicles secreted by melanoma cells use the so-called hedgehog signalling Read More...
Home care clients to co-design frailty interventions
Date of Posting: 22-01-2020
A Melbourne research collaboration is bringing together frail hospital and home care clients and clinicians to improve health outcomes, overcome resistance to treatment and help build resilience. The Be Your Best Program - a collaboration between Read More...
Physiotherapy part of the recovery for Samoa's measles patients
Date of Posting: 22-01-2020
How were your holidays? Ask Wintec physiotherapy tutor Oka Sanerivi this question and he’ll tell you he went to Samoa, to help fight the measles epidemic. Oka worked in the Intensive Care Unit at Apia's main hospital Tupua Tamasese Meaol Read More...
NSW health authority to monitor travellers to China
Date of Posting: 22-01-2020
NSW Health will help federal biosecurity staff at Sydney Airport to monitor travellers returning from China after an outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus. NSW's health authority will help federal biosecurity staff at Sydney Airport to monit Read More...
Date of Posting: 21-01-2020
The risk posed to Australians by a new strain of coronavirus is low, but health authorities say there is a need to be vigilant. CORONAVIRUS ORIGINS AND SPREAD:[subscribe] * The World Health Organisation began responding to cases of unexpla Read More...
New research reveals the poor health of the poor
Date of Posting: 21-01-2020
New data has revealed that the poor and the most disadvantaged in Australia have increasingly worse health outcomes. The gap in the quality of health between the disadvantaged in Australia and those more affluent is continuing to widen, new resear Read More...
Australian researchers have pinpointed more than 100 genes linked to risk of glaucoma
Date of Posting: 21-01-2020
Australian scientists have identified 107 genes that increase the risk of someone developing glaucoma. Australian researchers have pinpointed more than 100 genes they say will increase a person's chances of developing glaucoma.[subscribe] G Read More...
Australian College of Mental Health Nurses welcomes bushfire funding
Date of Posting: 20-01-2020
As the nation faces one of its biggest ever crises following the catastrophic bushfires, thousands of Australians will grapple with the mental health consequences that result from the devastating loss of property and lives. The Federal Government Read More...
Almost one in five stonemasons in Queensland have a potentially deadly lung disease
Last Updated: 20-01-2020
Screenings of more than 1000 stonemasons in Queensland has revealed almost 20 per cent of the workforce have the potentially fatal lung disease silicosis. Health screenings of more than 1000 stonemasons by WorkCover Queensland found 160 have silic Read More...
4 1/2 myths about sunscreen and why they're wrong
Last Updated: 17-01-2020
Many Australians are reluctant to use sunscreen, even though it’s an important element in preventing the skin cancers that affect about two in three of us at some time in our lives. The Cancer Council says myths about sunscreens contri Read More...
Making space: how designing hospitals for Indigenous people might benefit everyone
Last Updated: 17-01-2020
Last year, New South Wales health minister Brad Hazzard proposed segregated Indigenous waiting areas in the emergency departments of the state’s public hospitals. The novel policy suggested a link between Indigenous participation in he Read More...
Report shows sepsis death toll doubles estimate
Date of Posting: 17-01-2020
A new report shows the number of deaths from sepsis almost doubles previous estimates, with a senior health expert calling for better healthcare standards. The number of cases and deaths from sepsis in Australia is vastly underestimated with an ed Read More...
Virtual reality may be the next frontier in remote mental health care
Date of Posting: 16-01-2020
In recent years, experts have focused on finding better ways to improve remotely delivered mental health care. Now, virtual reality (VR) may pave the way for myriad new opportunities. Using VR for remote therapy involves conduct Read More...
New tool to help beat the health hazards of smoke haze
Date of Posting: 16-01-2020
With major cities across Australia choking on thick clouds of hazardous smoke, an expert from The Australian National University (ANU) has released freely accessible new factsheets on how to best protect yourself from bushfire smoke. The factsheet Read More...
Online support for trauma survivors
Date of Posting: 15-01-2020
Flinders University psychology is running an online stepped-care therapy trial to help people who have experienced violence or traumatic events. With bushfire and drought sweeping Australia, the online and phone program is targeting people a Read More...
Car accidents, drownings, violence: hotter temperatures will mean more deaths from injury
Last Updated: 14-01-2020
What we suspected is now official: 2019 was Australia’s hottest year on record. The country’s average maximum temperature last year (30.69℃) was a scorching 2.09℃ hotter than the 1961-1990 average. For the whole plane Read More...
NT minister says Darwin region has enough hospital beds
Date of Posting: 13-01-2020
The NT chief minister says the Darwin region has enough hospital beds despite the emergency department head claiming there was a shortfall over Christmas. Chief Minister Michael Gunner has defended the Northern Territory health system after one of Read More...
After the firestorm: the health implications of returning to a bushfire zone
Last Updated: 13-01-2020
Australia has a long history of bushfire disasters. The loss of almost 70 homes in Tathra, New South Wales, and 18 homes in southwest Victoria this week has again reminded us of the risks and huge personal costs of living in a fire-prone country. Read More...
Supporting our GPs battling the bushfire crisis
Date of Posting: 09-01-2020
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is calling on the Federal Government to help GPs on the frontline of the bushfire crisis. With fires raging across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, GPs are doing all they Read More...
Study finds straight back for lifting may be a myth
Date of Posting: 09-01-2020
The belief that lifting with a straight back minimises the risk of injury may be busted with new research out of Curtin University. The research paper, ‘To flex or not to flex? Is there a relationship between lumbar spine flexion during lift Read More...
NSW government is giving out respiratory masks across the state
Date of Posting: 08-01-2020
The NSW government is distributing more than one million respiratory masks across the state as hazardous air quality warnings are issued. More than one million particulate-filter masks are being delivered to bushfire zones across NSW as residents Read More...
Experts have started to weigh in on bushfires devastation
Date of Posting: 08-01-2020
As bushfires burn, academics and organisations have weighed in on long term effects of blazes that have killed wildlife and covered cities with smoke. Months of bushfire devastation has left million of hectares burnt across Australia, more than 20 Read More...
Heart health warning as Australians face smoke haze
Date of Posting: 07-01-2020
As smoke haze continues to blanket parts of the country, the Heart Foundation is urging Australians with conditions such as heart failure, and those aged 65 years and over, to be aware of the risks to their health and the need to protect themselves. Read More...
Bushfires have increased the number of ambulance calls and demands of respiratory mask
Last Updated: 07-01-2020
Poor air quality linked to smoke from bushfires has increased the number of ambulance calls for respiratory problems, as well as demand of respiratory masks. As most of Victoria woke up on Monday to a thick layer of smoke covering the sky, ambulan Read More...
We can reverse antibiotic resistance in Australia. Here's how Sweden is doing it
Last Updated: 06-01-2020
The antibiotic resistance threat is real. In the years to come, we will no longer be able to treat and cure many infections we once could. We’ve had no new classes of antibiotics in decades, and the development pipeline is largely dry. Read More...
Your first point of contact and your partner in recovery: the GP's role in mental health care
Date of Posting: 06-01-2020
Around 70% of people who sought treatment for their mental health in Australia in 2015-16 saw a general practitioner. This amounts to 18 million dedicated mental health consultations. GPs are often the first point of contact for people conce Read More...
As drug deaths rise in rural Australia, we must do more to prevent overdoses
Last Updated: 06-01-2020
Rural Australians are more likely than their city counterparts to drink alcohol at harmful levels. They’re also higher consumers of cannabis, ice and the prescription opioids oxycodone and fentanyl. Drug-related deaths are also rising Read More...
How a rethink of emergency care is closing the gap, one person at a time
Date of Posting: 06-01-2020
This is one of our occasional Essays on Health, about one community’s attempt at closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health in the Northern Territory. It’s a long read. You can see the gap driving through the ma Read More...
Sights set on solving problem smoking
Date of Posting: 06-01-2020
A new approach to support long-term smokers to quit will be trialled in Adelaide this year, building on a decade of research into finding solutions to tobacco addiction. The program, funded by Cancer Australia, will focus on low socio-economic sta Read More...
Therapy at home helping people with dementia
Date of Posting: 06-01-2020
Receiving occupational therapy at home has been found to be effective for people living with dementia, according to a University of Queensland-led study. Associate Professor Sally Bennett from the UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sa Read More...
Important changes to improve the quality of aged care start today
Date of Posting: 06-01-2020
The quality of aged care provided to senior Australians will be significantly strengthened as Government measures come into effect today. From 1 January 2020, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will be bolstered with additional functions Read More...
Possible dementia vaccine closer after mice studies
Date of Posting: 06-01-2020
A vaccine to ward off dementia may proceed to clinical trials after successful animal testing. The US-led research is looking to develop effective immunotherapy via a dual vaccine to remove ‘brain plaque’ and tau protein aggregates lin Read More...
Steps to make a healthier and safer start to 2020
Last Updated: 06-01-2020
As the countdown to New Year’s Eve celebrations begin, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation is encouraging Australians to plan ahead and follow some simple steps to help make a healthier and safer start to 2020. Chief Executive Office Read More...
Queensland government calls for inquiry into cancer screening
Date of Posting: 03-01-2020
Claims that about 1000 Queensland patients may have been misdiagnosed in cancer screenings dating back to 2012 have prompted a government investigation. The Queensland government says it will investigate how about 1000 patients may have been misdi Read More...
A measles alert has been issued for Sydney's inner west
Date of Posting: 02-01-2020
A man who travelled on trains and buses across Sydney in the past week has been diagnosed with highly-contagious measles. A measles alert has been issued for Sydney's inner west and other locations after a young man contracted the highly-conta Read More...
Report shows Aussies underestimate alcohol drinking guidelines
Date of Posting: 23-12-2019
New research looking into Australians' understanding of responsible drinking highlights the social responsibility behind alcohol drinking constraint. Australians believe responsible drinking has to do with caring for people around you, not how Read More...
Melbourne's supervised injecting room will be separated from a drug outreach service
Date of Posting: 20-12-2019
Melbourne's supervised injecting centre will be separated from a needle exchange and outreach service after two health workers were accused of drug trafficking. The October allegations against the North Richmond Community Health workers sparke Read More...
