News Articles
New Zealand midwives take pay parity fight to court
Last Updated: 31-08-2015
New Zealand midwives are lodging the nation’s largest equal pay challenge. The New Zealand College of Midwives (NZCOM) filed a statement of claim in the High Court today against the government’s Ministry of Health, alleging its pay lev Read More...
Kidney disease health costs soar: experts
Date of Posting: 31-08-2015
Prevention is the key to easing Australia's increasing health burden of kidney disease, say experts. Australia's health bill for chronic kidney disease will reach $12 billion by 2020, say experts who are calling for urgent preventative act Read More...
Obese people's appetites hard-wired: study
Date of Posting: 31-08-2015
Brain imaging by researchers has found obese people's food cravings may occur because their brains are wired differently to people of normal weight. Obese people may have brains that are hard-wired to find food irresistible, a study has found. Read More...
Don't count calories, say experts
Date of Posting: 27-08-2015
Experts from Britain and the US say eating healthily is more important than counting calories - a view not shared by some of their peers. Doctors are being urged to promote the powerful benefit of healthy food rather than focusing on calories and Read More...
Flu shot protects against heart attacks
Date of Posting: 27-08-2015
The risk of a heart attack is reduced by almost one-third in older people who have the flu jab compared with those who don't, a study shows. The flu jab doesn't just keep the virus away, it can reduce the risk of a heart attack for people Read More...
Blood test could predict cancer relapse
Date of Posting: 27-08-2015
Researchers say a new blood test could potentially help predict breast cancer relapses earlier, and help refine treatments. An experimental blood test may be able to predict whether a woman with breast cancer will suffer a relapse months before ne Read More...
Falls sending more to hospital
Date of Posting: 26-08-2015
A new study says more Australians are going to hospital for injuries from falls. Falls are sending more Australians to hospital than ever before, most of them older people.[subscribe] But fewer are ending up in hospital for poisoning and drowni Read More...
Early exposure to peanuts recommended
Date of Posting: 26-08-2015
A major study has found exposure to peanuts in infancy seemed to help build tolerance - contrary to conventional thinking. A pediatricians' group is recommending that infants at high risk of peanut allergies be given foods containing peanuts b Read More...
Govt pays for mental health failure
Date of Posting: 26-08-2015
Mental health experts say the current system is failing patients and a waste of government funds. The federal government is wasting $10 billion a year on a mental health system that fails its patients, Australia's leading experts have told a S Read More...
'Major step' toward universal flu vaccine
Date of Posting: 25-08-2015
Scientists say they have made a significant breakthrough in the quest to create a "universal" flu vaccine. Scientists have taken a major step towards creating a vaccine that works against multiple strains of influenza, according to two s Read More...
Twitter liberates adults with no speech
Last Updated: 24-08-2015
Twitter levels the playing field for adults with no speech including those who have had a stroke or motor neurone disease, say researchers. People with communication disabilities tend to flourish on Twitter.[subscribe] While other users might b Read More...
Dementia rates may be stabilising: study
Last Updated: 21-08-2015
A review of data from Sweden, the Netherlands, Britain and Spain has shown the percentage of the population with dementia holding steady.The occurrence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease may have stabilised in some wealthy nations, according to Read More...
A health check on our health system - surviving change
Last Updated: 19-08-2015
The Australian health and human services sector is a complex and rapidly growing industry of tremendous scale. Nearly three times larger than the global banking industry, it faces increasing pressure from a growing aging population and the ramific Read More...
Occupational therapy students put theory into practice
Last Updated: 17-08-2015
Jordon Matthews has witnessed the benefits of occupational therapy on aged care residents first-hand. The Griffith University occupational therapy student recently spent four months at the Currumbin RSL Retirement Village on the Gold Coast as part Read More...
Violent video games 'risk factor' for aggressive behaviour
Date of Posting: 17-08-2015
A review of almost a decade of studies has found that exposure to violent video games is a "risk factor" for increased aggression. A review of almost a decade of studies found that exposure to violent video games was a "risk factor& Read More...
Teaching by humiliation common in hospitals
Date of Posting: 17-08-2015
A new survey has found that teaching by humiliation is rife in hospitals, leaving some medical students regretting their career choice. Three-quarters of medical students are taught by humiliation in hospitals, but up to half of them think it' Read More...
Common drug 'ineffective for back pain'
Last Updated: 14-08-2015
Paracetamol is ineffective for lower back pain, an Australian study has suggested. The over-the-counter painkiller was also found to have "small, but not clinically important benefits" for people with osteoarthritis, the research publish Read More...
Lower back pain top disability cause
Last Updated: 14-08-2015
Diabetes poses an increasing health threat to Australians, while low back pain is the leading cause of disability, says a new study. Low back pain is the leading cause of ill health in Australians, according to an international study.[subscribe] Read More...
Ben has sights set on critical care nursing career
Last Updated: 14-08-2015
Ben Lewinsohn was in his third year of studying electrical engineering when he realised he wanted more personal interaction in his career. Now at the age of 22, Ben is studying to become a nurse and hopes to one day become a nurse leader in critic Read More...
Vic voluntary euthanasia inquiry set up
Last Updated: 14-08-2015
Victoria will investigate end-of-life options with a parliamentary inquiry set up to report by March next year. Voluntary euthanasia and palliative care will be investigated after a collection of unlikely bedfellows joined forces to vote for a Vic Read More...
Children 'at risk' in botched hospital opening
Last Updated: 14-08-2015
A review of the opening of Brisbane's Lady Cilento Children's Hospital has found patients were put at risk, but no one is to blame for the debacle. Patients were put at risk because Queensland's new children's hospital opened two m Read More...
Travelling lab makes healthy living fun for remote kids
Date of Posting: 14-08-2015
A travelling health lab has found a fun way to make people interested in their long-term health, and is finding success in a remote top end community. In a busy classroom on the Tiwi Islands, teacher's aide Stan blows into a breathalyser measu Read More...
Study shows music eases post-operative pain
Date of Posting: 13-08-2015
In a study involving nearly 7000 patients, researchers have found that music reduced pain after surgery by about a fifth. Listening to music before, after and even during surgery reduces anxiety and the need for painkillers, according to a study p Read More...
'Astounding' results for cancer drug trial
Date of Posting: 13-08-2015
A third of patients with incurable blood cancer are in complete remission after trialling a new drug, a Melbourne haematologist says. A new drug trial has produced "excellent" results for Australian patients with an incurable blood cance Read More...
Senate passes $20b medical research fund
Date of Posting: 13-08-2015
Legislation to set up the government's $20 billion medical research future fund has passed the Senate after the coalition made several amendments. The Abbott government's $20 billion medical research future fund has cleared the Senate desp Read More...
Health professionals applaud dead co-payment
Last Updated: 12-08-2015
Nurses, midwives and GPs have welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to shelve the embattled GP co-payment. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) federal secretary Lee Thomas said nurses and midwives have waged a tireless ca Read More...
Poor health literacy blamed for obesity
Last Updated: 12-08-2015
Poor health literacy, and not a lack of motivation, could be the main reason patients have difficulty overcoming obesity issues, UNSW research says. Many Australian GPs wrongly assume that obese patients are not sufficiently motivated to lose weig Read More...
Breast milk protein a clue in cancer fight
Last Updated: 12-08-2015
A breast milk protein that sustains life could become an important target for scientists working on anti-cancer drugs. Research into how breast milk is produced could help in the search for a breast cancer cure.[subscribe] Melbourne scientists Read More...
'No evidence' of placenta health benefits
Last Updated: 12-08-2015
There is no evidence that there are any health benefits related to eating the placenta post birth, a review says. Eating one's own placenta after giving birth may be trendy but there is no scientific evidence that women derive any benefits fro Read More...
Midwives support calls for breastfeeding friendly workplaces
Last Updated: 12-08-2015
The Australian College of Midwives (ACM) is one of about 120 organisations and companies across Australia accredited as a ‘breastfeeding friendly workplace’. “With midwifery being a female-dominated profession, having a breastfee Read More...
Protein key to diabetic heart diease
Date of Posting: 12-08-2015
New Zealand scientists discover the reason why heart disease kills so many diabetics with a key protein to blame. Heart disease has long been the biggest killer of diabetics, but a group of New Zealand scientists has solved the mystery as to why.[ Read More...
"Skinny" pill could stop obesity and diabetes
Last Updated: 11-08-2015
Australian scientists have discovered the gene behind obesity and type 2 diabetes in steps toward preventing the disease. Australian scientists have isolated the gene behind obesity and type 2 diabetes, which could lead to a "skinny" pil Read More...
RSV vaccine could be a "major breakthrough"
Date of Posting: 11-08-2015
In a few years biotech company Novavax Inc's jab could become the first vaccine approved in the US against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Early research in older adults found an experimental vaccine prevented nearly two-thirds of serious Read More...
Early diagnosis triples cancer survival rates
Date of Posting: 10-08-2015
Early diagnosis of cancer can increase the chance of survival more than three times and also significantly reduce the cost of treatment, experts say. Cancer experts have spoken of the importance of diagnosing the disease as early as possible, with Read More...
Music in the OR causes safety risks
Date of Posting: 07-08-2015
More than 50 per cent of surgical operations are performed against a backdrop of music, but its safety has been questioned in a new study. A surgeon on the job is five times more likely to repeat a request when music is playing in the operating th Read More...
Low income families less likely to vaccinate
Last Updated: 07-08-2015
A university says children from poorer families are less likely to be fully immunised, but not because of parents' anti-vaccination attitudes. Anti-vaccination beliefs aren't the main reason almost 10 per cent of Australian children remain Read More...
FODMAPS diet "largely ineffective" for IBS
Date of Posting: 07-08-2015
A study has found that an Australian IBS diet is largely ineffective, and could cause some to suffer nutritional deficiencies. There is very little evidence a Australian diet for those with irritable bowel syndrome works, a new study has found.[su Read More...
Australian-first transplant shows perseverance pays off
Date of Posting: 06-08-2015
A young boy has received an Australian-first transplant to prevent him developing diabetes, thanks to the urging of his mother. A mother's determination has saved her young son from a lifetime of pain and cut his risk of developing diabetes.[s Read More...
SA Gov launches inquiry into chemo bungle
Last Updated: 06-08-2015
The South Australian government has launched an inquiry into a chemotherapy bungle where some cancer patients were given incorrect doses. The South Australian government has launched an independent inquiry into a chemotherapy bungle that resulted Read More...
Mental health funding wasted, commission says
Last Updated: 06-08-2015
Renowned economist Allan Fels says billions of dollars pumped into mental health is a payment for failure and reforming the sector would boost the economy. The federal government is wasting billions of dollars funding a mental health system that d Read More...
