News Articles
Aussie and Kiwi nurses return from war on Ebola
Last Updated: 23-04-2015
The final contingent of Australian and New Zealand nurses and doctors will return home from combatting the world’s deadliest disease in Sierra Leone in early May. The Australian Government has announced it will close the Ebola Treatment Cent Read More...
Medicinal cannabis caution urged
Date of Posting: 22-04-2015
Pain specialists are urging caution at the prospect of using medicinal cannabis to treat chronic non-cancer pain. Using medicinal cannabis to relieve chronic pain in people who don't have cancer is likely to be far more risky than beneficial, Read More...
Australian nurses in Ebola response
Last Updated: 22-04-2015
Australian nurses are on the frontline in the health response to the Ebola epidemic sweeping West Africa. As the death toll from the virus continues to climb, Australian Red Cross aid worker and nurse Amanda McClelland is on the ground in Sierra L Read More...
Elderly inpatients on more than 10 drugs
Date of Posting: 21-04-2015
Hospital wards are an ideal setting to discontinue inappropriate medications for older people, say researchers. Australian hospitals are missing the chance to safely reduce the number of medications being prescribed to elderly patients, some of wh Read More...
World-first melanoma drug claim
Date of Posting: 21-04-2015
Landmark new study shows new drug prolongs survival rate of 74 per cent of patients with advanced melanoma, researchers say Patients with advanced melanoma, which kills an Australian every six hours, have lived longer when given a new drug than th Read More...
Eczema cream gives hope in MS fight
Date of Posting: 21-04-2015
Eczema cream gives hope in MS fight Scientists believe two drugs used to treat common skin conditions could be key to breakthrough treatment for multiple sclerosis.[subscribe] LONDON, PAA - Two drugs used in skin creams for treating athlete' Read More...
Malaria breath test breakthrough
Date of Posting: 21-04-2015
Australian scientists have discovered that malaria can be detected in the breath, paving the way for a simple and cheap test for the disease. Diagnosing the deadly malaria disease could soon be as simple as taking a breath test.[subscribe] Aust Read More...
Mind training works like anti-depressants
Date of Posting: 21-04-2015
Researchers say that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, a form of mental training, works just as well as anti-depressants for those with depression. A form of mental training which helps people recognise the onset of depression, and control it, Read More...
Cairns nurse calls for Ebola response
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
The Queensland nurse at the centre of the recent Ebola scare has urged other medical professionals to join the health frontline working to combat the deadly virus in West Africa. The call comes as three other nurses from across Australia prepare t Read More...
Nurses call on government to boost Ebola response
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
There’s growing calls for Australia to send a contingent of nurses, doctors and other health workers as part of a coordinated international response to the Ebola epidemic sweeping East Africa. As the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates Read More...
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
Libby Bowell was walking to the supermarket when a woman collapsed in front of her. As a nurse of 30 years, normally Libby would stop and render assistance.[subscribe] But, in Liberia at the moment, these are far from normal circumstances. & Read More...
Mental Health Inside a Police Cell
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
Healthcare professionals working in a custodial environment are typically exposed to a confronting set of symptoms and conditions, not limited to: anxiety, panic attacks, hearing voices, low or depressed mood, crying, screaming, delusions and paranoi Read More...
Health practitioners face hair testing for drug use
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
Nurses, midwives, doctors and allied health professionals with restrictions on their registration linked to past substance abuse will soon face routine hair testing. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and 14 National Boar Read More...
Who should fix the grad nursing crisis?
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
The Australian Nursing Federation is upping the ante in its campaign to help nursing graduates secure jobs with a new online poll. The poll, on the union’s website, aims to give nurses, midwives and members of the public a voice as Australia Read More...
Pharmacists applaud HIV home testing kits
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
Australians will soon be able to purchase HIV home testing kits and access treatment at local pharmacies, in a move pharmacists have welcomed. The nation’s peak body for community pharmacy, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, has applauded the Read More...
New Zealand pharmacists vital in flu fight
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
More than 450 trained and accredited pharmacist vaccinators in community pharmacies across New Zealand will play a vital role in this year’s influenza campaign. As Australia inches closer to pharmacist-delivered vaccinations, New Zealand pha Read More...
Psychology conference tackles health behaviours
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
The psychological aspects of cancer, eating behaviours and sexual dysfunction are some of the topics set to take centre stage at the Australian Psychological Society’s (APS) Health Psychology Conference next month. Almost 200 psychologists, Read More...
Aussies courting chronic disease
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
About two-thirds of Australians have health issues caused by risk factors that are "modifiable", such as exercise, diet and smoking, a new report shows. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, which was released on Wednesd Read More...
Improving communication in the operating room
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
An Australian researcher aims to improve team-work and communication between nurses, anaesthetists and surgeons in the operating room. Associate Professor Brigid Gillespie, a Senior Research Fellow at Griffith University’s NHMRC Centre for E Read More...
Indigenous physiotherapist focuses on closing the gap
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
Bleak health outcomes from the Close the Gap report came as a disappointment to Indigenous physiotherapist Danielle Dries. Ms Dries, a Kaurna-Meyunna woman originally from South Australia and winner of the Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) Read More...
Experts call for food packaging crackdown
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
Health experts are calling for stricter regulations on packaged foods after finding many contain misleading fruit and vegetable claims. Beware that fruit roll-up and approach that can of soup with caution.[subscribe] Australian researchers have Read More...
Obesity clips up to 8 years off your life
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
A study says obesity can take years off a person's life, with the biggest area of concern those who become obese while young. Obesity and extreme obesity can reduce life expectancy by up to eight years and deprive people of as much as 19 years Read More...
Cholesterol no longer a concern: US expert
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
A warning against eating foods high in cholesterol is no longer included in the US government's draft dietary guidelines. More butter, anyone?[subscribe] A warning against eating foods high in cholesterol is no longer included in the US gov Read More...
Food safety focus of new WHO campaign
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
The United Nations has launched a food safety campaign for an era in which millions are dying of hunger or tainted produce even as more and more people fall ill from eating too much. "Food safety, quality and quantity must go together," Read More...
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
How do flu vaccines work? Influenza vaccines work by stimulating the development of antibodies in our bodies. Approximately 2 weeks after administration of the flu vaccine, these antibodies develop and start to provide protection against inf Read More...
Pharmacists nation-wide tipped to give flu jab
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
Pharmacists right across Australia could be administering vaccines in the lead up to this year’s flu season, according to the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA). PSA president Grant Kardachi said he expected pharmacists in every state Read More...
Free vaccines for Vic babies: govt
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
Babies will be protected with free access to the whooping cough vaccine, the Victorian government has announced. Whooping cough vaccines will be made free to all Victorian expectant parents once again, the state government says.[subscribe] Dise Read More...
Greater flu vaccine access for NSW
Last Updated: 21-04-2015
NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley has announced a plan to increase access to flu vaccines, but the state government says Labor is playing catch-up. NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley has outlined a plan to allow trained pharmacists to administer flu Read More...
Vaccination alternatives needed: professor
Date of Posting: 17-04-2015
A US professor who led global efforts to eradicate smallpox, says new methods such as oral vaccine or skin patches are needed to overcome debates over the use of syringes for vaccinations. Donald Henderson, emeritus dean of medicine at the Bloombe Read More...
Key findings of mental health review
Date of Posting: 17-04-2015
Health minister says government-commissioned report into Australia's mental health system paints a "disturbing picture". NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH REVIEW KEY RECOMMENDATIONS[subscribe] * Develop a national mental health and suicide pre Read More...
Eye test could detect dementia
Date of Posting: 17-04-2015
Alzheimer's disease could be detected in patients up to 20 years before symptoms appear with a simple eye test, researchers say. Trials by US and Australian researchers have found changes in the eye's retina may mirror changes that occur i Read More...
E-cigarette use triples in US teens
Date of Posting: 17-04-2015
Some two million US high school students tried e-cigarettes last year, a rate that tripled in just one year, US health authorities say. The 2014 survey by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found that 13.4 per cent of high school st Read More...
UK Government to ban public sector pension transfers
Last Updated: 16-04-2015
On Wednesday 19th March the Chancellor of the Exchequer – George Osborne unveiled the most radical reformation of the UK pension regime, dwarfing the A-day changes announced in 2006 In an effort to provide consumers with more freedom and cho Read More...
College of Nursing explains costly re-entry course
Last Updated: 16-04-2015
The College of Nursing’s Assessment of Competence course has been inundated with applications from nurses wanting to return to the profession this year. The course has been so popular the College has more than doubled course placements to me Read More...
New Zealand nurses battle low aged care wages
Last Updated: 16-04-2015
Health care assistants in New Zealand’s aged care sector are being paid an average wage of $14.55 an hour after three years’ service. The revelation that assistants are taking home a pay packet of just $472.03 a week comes as the natio Read More...
Developing leaders at the College of Nursing
Last Updated: 16-04-2015
Inspired leadership and effective management are vital at this critical time in the delivery of health services. Nursing and Midwifery leaders and managers are at the forefront of health service delivery. Nurse leaders and managers juggle bed block, Read More...
Common painkillers could decrease skin cancer risk
Date of Posting: 16-04-2015
Common over-the-counter painkillers, such as ibuprofen and aspirin, can decrease risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma, according to a study published today in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. Squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most Read More...
Transforming healthcare in East Timor
Last Updated: 15-04-2015
Over seven years, St John of God Health Care has helped develop significant improvements in health provisions for the East Timorese and this commitment is continuing to expand. Having identified only the most basic forms of diagnostics operating i Read More...
Smartphone app may help diagnose cancer
Date of Posting: 14-04-2015
A new device that can be added to a smartphone may be able to accurately and cheaply diagnose cancer, US researchers say. Known as D3, the add-on is designed to be used by medical experts, not the general public, and so far appears as accurate as Read More...
'Nose' can detect stomach cancer in breath
Date of Posting: 14-04-2015
A low-cost electronic "nose" designed to detect stomach cancer molecules in the breath can also spot signatures of lesions that herald the disease. The Israeli-designed tester uses gold nano-particles to detect so-called volatile organic Read More...
