News Articles
Youth discounts fail to keep young people in private health insurance
Date of Posting: 05-09-2019
It was a key plank of what was dubbed the most significant package of private health insurance reforms in more than a decade. From April 1 this year, private health insurers have been permitted to offer a youth discount – lower premiums for Read More...
It's not just athletes who get Achilles tendon pain, but exercising is the answer
Date of Posting: 05-09-2019
Basketball fans around the world were recently sickened by the footage of NBA star Kevin Durant’s Achilles tendon rupturing during a game. But while many think it’s only elite athletes who suffer from Achilles tendon issue Read More...
Government funded health programs for NT's deaf children
Date of Posting: 05-09-2019
Two-year-old Cherraya Houldsworth is the first indigenous toddler to receive a cochlear implant in the Northern Territory after being born deaf. Darwin mother Rosalie Houldsworth remembers the moment her two-year-old daughter Cherraya could hear f Read More...
Air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of developing dementia
Date of Posting: 05-09-2019
Australian researchers have established a link between air pollution and an increased risk of developing dementia, a new study shows. Air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of developing dementia later in life, Australian researchers h Read More...
Listeria has been found in pastrami sold at a number of Adelaide supermarkets
Date of Posting: 05-09-2019
Health officials in South Australia have issued a warning after listeria was found in pastrami sold at a number of outlets. SA Health's acting director of food and controlled drugs branch Joanne Cammans said meat producer Conroy's had dete Read More...
World Physical Therapy Day celebrates physiotherapists providing care to chronic pain patients
Date of Posting: 04-09-2019
To celebrate World Physical Therapy Day (WPTD) this Sunday September 8, the Physiotherapy Board of Australia (the Board) and the Australian Physiotherapy Council (the Council) are recognising the important care given by physiotherapists to patients s Read More...
When caring hurts: recognising and responding to vicarious trauma
Date of Posting: 04-09-2019
Every day across Australia, the compassion, empathy and expertise of thousands of social workers and counsellors helps people from all walks of life come to terms with personal trauma. These professionals share the grief, pain and fears of their c Read More...
Menopause therapies linked to major increase in breast cancer risk
Date of Posting: 04-09-2019
Nearly all types of menopausal hormone therapy increase breast cancer risk, with some risk persisting for many years, a major new international study has found. The study, involving researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) and Can Read More...
Silicosis and lung disease awareness now a priority for medical professionals
Date of Posting: 04-09-2019
Awareness raising for lung health and lung disease will be among the issues discussed at WorkSafe Victoria’s Silicosis Summit for medical professionals this week. Research into the deadly lung disease silicosis and a strong awareness campaig Read More...
One in nine Australian women live with endometriosis
Date of Posting: 04-09-2019
A new figure has been put on the number of women in Australia living with endometriosis. Researchers from The University of Queensland have found 1 in 9 Australian women are diagnosed with the inflammatory condition by the time they reach the age Read More...
Fertility and Research Centre to make IVF more accessible across NSW
Date of Posting: 04-09-2019
A new fertility centre will offer women across the state low-cost IVF treatment and on-site fertility preservation services for young people with cancer and rare genetic diseases. A state-of-the-art facility that will offer publicly funded IVF tre Read More...
UQ researchers develop social cure for leading cause of premature death
Date of Posting: 04-09-2019
A program that reduces loneliness, depression and anxiety caused by social disconnection has been developed by researchers at The University of Queensland. Groups 4 Health (G4H) was created by a team of UQ School of Psychology researchers to direc Read More...
Time-pressured mums sidestep nutrition guidelines
Date of Posting: 04-09-2019
Australia’s National Nutritional Guidelines are not helpful to working mums, who are committed to providing nutritious meals for their families but find this difficult under time pressures that are ubiquitous to modern life. Flinders Univers Read More...
Study shows gestational diabetes is on the rise
Date of Posting: 04-09-2019
Gestational diabetes in Australia is on the rise, particularly among older women and those from non-white backgrounds, according to a study. Women aged between 45 and 49 are nearly four times as likely to be diagnosed with gestational diabetes as Read More...
Australia's top medical body has declared climate change a health emergency
Date of Posting: 03-09-2019
The Australian Medical Association has joined other international medical groups in recognising climate change as a "health emergency". The Australian Medical Association has warned climate change could have severe health consequences fo Read More...
Assisted reproduction technology leaves its mark on genes but only temporarily
Date of Posting: 03-09-2019
Any effect that assisted reproduction technology has on babies’ genes is largely corrected by adulthood, new research led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has found. Published in the latest edition of Nature Communications, Read More...
Victorian child hearing-loss databank to go global
Date of Posting: 03-09-2019
A unique Victorian databank that profiles children with hearing loss will help researchers globally understand why some children adapt and thrive, while others struggle. The Victorian Childhood Hearing Impairment Longitudinal Databank, which has c Read More...
People with a disability are much more likely to face violence
Date of Posting: 03-09-2019
About half of the 4.3 million people with a disability, 47 per cent, have experienced violence compared with 36 per cent of those without a disability. People with a disability are much more likely than other Australians to face violence, discrimi Read More...
Allergan which produces Botox has been placed on PBS to help stroke victims
Date of Posting: 02-09-2019
Botox has been placed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to help patients recover from the symptoms of stroke, and spinal cord and brain injury. Stroke patients and those who have suffered traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries will save thous Read More...
Government push for blood cancer breakthrough
Date of Posting: 02-09-2019
The federal government is creating a $150,000 task force aimed at improving blood cancer survival rates. Blood cancer kills 20 Australians each day on average, with death rates due to double by 2035 unless something is done.[subscribe] The fede Read More...
Poor mental health care for indigenous patients in NSW
Last Updated: 30-08-2019
The NSW Auditor-General says not enough is being done to provide indigenous people in NSW with adequate mental health care before they end up in hospital. More needs to be done to provide indigenous people in NSW with adequate mental health care b Read More...
New Zealand health officials have requested all travellers to Auckland be vaccinated against measles
Date of Posting: 30-08-2019
New Zealand is battling its worst measles outbreak this century, with health professionals battling to contain the disease among non-immunised Kiwis. At least 844 people have contracted measles this year, with one researcher declaring the crisis & Read More...
National report shows more endometriosis cases in older women
Date of Posting: 29-08-2019
The first national analysis of its kind shows 11 per cent of women between the age of 40 and 44 have endometriosis, compared to seven per cent between 25 to 29. One in nine women between the ages of 40 and 44 have endometriosis, the first national Read More...
Young people with chronic illness find health system doesn't meet their needs
Last Updated: 28-08-2019
New Zealand’s adult-centred health system appears ill-equipped to meet the needs of chronically sick young people, a University of Otago study has found. Lead author Dr Judith Sligo, of the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, says Read More...
Church leaders in Queensland are against voluntary euthanasia
Last Updated: 28-08-2019
Church leaders are calling for better palliative care while addressing a Queensland inquiry into voluntary euthanasia sitting in Brisbane on Thursday. Queensland's leading Catholic has warned politicians should not be "seduced" into Read More...
Influenza's link to heart attacks prompt call for flu jab
Date of Posting: 28-08-2019
Despite spring nearing, experts are calling on Australians to get the flu jab, prompted by concerns over influenza's links to heart attacks. Experts are issuing a mid-flu season call for Australians to get immunised, prompted by concerns over Read More...
Meals on Wheels Australia has called on the federal government to double funding for meal services
Date of Posting: 28-08-2019
Support group Meals on Wheels has called on the federal government to double funding for meal support, describing malnutrition among older Australians as a "silent epidemic". On Meals on Wheels day on Wednesday, the organisation has also Read More...
A new blood test has been developed for quick concussion check
Date of Posting: 28-08-2019
A US study has found a new blood test which can detect traumatic brain injuries faster, cheaper and with more accuracy than standard emergency department scans. A new blood test has been developed which can quickly diagnose a concussion, even amon Read More...
Overdose problem in Australia is getting worse
Date of Posting: 27-08-2019
There were more than 1600 unintended overdose deaths in Australia in 2017, according to a drug research body, which argues the problem is "getting worse". Having lost a partner and a close friend to overdose, Kayla Caccaviello considers Read More...
Adelaide researchers will use $2.5 million to fight against a fatal type of childhood dementia
Date of Posting: 26-08-2019
Adelaide researchers will use cutting-edge "brain in a dish" technology to fight against the Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare and fatal type of childhood dementia. A team from the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute will le Read More...
An opioid medication will be listed on the PBS from next month
Date of Posting: 26-08-2019
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced that Buvidal, a medication that's used to treat opioid dependence, will be listed on the PBS from next month. The more than 110,000 Australians struggling with opioid dependency could have access Read More...
Cardiac stents cost five times more in Australia than in New Zealand
Date of Posting: 23-08-2019
Do heart stents cost Australian private health funds five times more than they cost in NZ? AAP FactCheck Investigation: Do heart stents cost Australian private health funds five times more than they cost in New Zealand?[subscribe] The Statement Read More...
Public drunkenness no longer a crime in Victoria
Date of Posting: 23-08-2019
Public drunkenness will be decriminalised in Victoria on the eve of a coronial inquest into the death of an Aboriginal woman who died in police custody. The family of an Aboriginal woman who died in police custody say it's about time Victoria Read More...
How the Aging Population will impact Australia
Last Updated: 23-08-2019
Australia could be facing an issue in near future, that issue being the elderly population rising which could be a struggle to support as we don’t have infrastructure in place. It’s a fact that Australians have one of the highest life Read More...
Exciting new vaccine targets killer disease TB
Date of Posting: 23-08-2019
Australian medical researchers from the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney have successfully developed and tested a new type of vaccine targeting tuberculosis (TB), the world’s top infectious disease killer. Reported in the &ls Read More...
How Australia can act on suicide prevention
Date of Posting: 23-08-2019
Experts say the Australian Government’s “zero suicide” strategy, which will focus on Indigenous groups and children, might benefit from drawing on the experiences of Denmark. Denmark historically had one of the highest suicide ra Read More...
Researchers are developing an injection that could slow macular degeneration
Date of Posting: 22-08-2019
Canberra-based researchers are developing a new gene therapy that involves an injection to stop the progress of dry age-related macular degeneration. An untreatable, age-related condition leading to loss of vision could be slowed by injecting a &q Read More...
Data shows longer wait time for mental health in NSW
Date of Posting: 21-08-2019
Emergency departments in NSW hospitals have been described as "far from the best" environment for mental health patients needing support. There are concerns NSW hospital emergency departments are "far from the best" environment Read More...
Uncovering a "hidden" disability affecting one million Australians
Last Updated: 21-08-2019
There are 1.2 million Australians currently living with a communication disability, which can affect relationships, employment, education and social inclusion. Speech Pathology Australia is putting a spotlight on this “hidden” disabili Read More...
Global study investigates the cause of stuttering
Date of Posting: 21-08-2019
Researchers need 3,000 Australian stutterers for an international study that is searching for the genes in human DNA which cause stuttering. The largest study of its kind into stuttering aims to help develop treatments that target the speech disor Read More...
