News Articles
Aussies delay dental treatment as cost of living bites
Date of Posting: 06-08-2024
Two-in-three Australians are only visiting the dentist when they have a problem as cost of living pressures continue to bite, amid calls for dental subsidies to be expanded. In an oral health survey of 25,000 people, 61 per cent delayed oral treat Read More...
Iowa starts enforcing six-week abortion ban
Date of Posting: 04-08-2024
Iowa has started enforcing a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, becoming the 22nd state to impose broad restrictions on ending pregnancies since the US Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights in 2022. Iowa's state Supreme Read More...
Vegan diet linked to reduced biological age
Date of Posting: 04-08-2024
Eating a vegan diet may reduce a person's biological age. A recent study found after eight weeks of a plant-based diet, there were also decreases in the ages of the heart, hormone, liver, and inflammatory and metabolic systems.[subscribe] H Read More...
COVID effect to cause 'excess' deaths for years to come
Date of Posting: 04-08-2024
Australia could continue to feel the tail effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for years as more people die because of the virus and its impacts. Some 8400 more people died in 2023 than would have been expected under pre-pandemic conditions, an Actuar Read More...
The Role of Midwives in Reducing Cesarean Section Rates
Date of Posting: 04-08-2024
In recent years, Australia has seen a rise in cesarean section rates. In 2021, one third of women giving birth for the first time did so via cesarean section, compared to one quarter in 2004. The World Health Organisation advocates for a c Read More...
Unraveling Australian Weather's Role in Parasitic Disease Transmission
Last Updated: 03-08-2024
Is the weather conspiring against our health? As climate patterns shift and extreme events become more frequent, a hidden threat is emerging from the shadows. Parasitic diseases, once thought to be under control, are finding new footholds in our chan Read More...
One course too many: food critic quits due to obesity
Last Updated: 02-08-2024
Restaurant critics appear to have the best job in journalism, enjoying meals a few nights a week on someone else's dime. But New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells had painted a more complicated picture. In a recent column, Wells announce Read More...
Theatre nurses are unsung heroes when it comes to complicated births
Last Updated: 24-07-2024
Theatre nurses are unsung heroes when it comes to complicated births, but staff shortages are leaving nurses overworked and surgeries cancelled. Midwife, Melissa Stedman, said theatre nurses, also known as perioperative or scrub nurses, were essen Read More...
Critical care nurses urged to prioritse mental health.
Date of Posting: 22-07-2024
Repetitive and prolonged exposure to trauma, coupled with long hours and shift work, can leave critical care nurses grappling with mental health challenges, if workplaces fail to provide adequate support. “Being faced with trauma on a freque Read More...
ACT Government's four-year strategy to boost elective surgeries and upgrade healthcare facilities
Date of Posting: 21-07-2024
The ACT Government is launching a four-year plan to significantly boost elective surgeries, targeting 60,000 procedures and increasing operating theatre capacity in public hospitals. Despite recent challenges affecting elective surgeries, Canberra Read More...
Meet Naomi Hammond: Australia's Leading Researcher in Critical Nursing for 2024
Date of Posting: 21-07-2024
Associate Professor Naomi Hammond, a distinguished registered nurse and researcher, has been recognised by Research Magazine as Australia’s foremost figure in critical nursing research for 2024. Armed with a Master’s degree in critical ca Read More...
How Can Australian Nurses Develop An Additional Stream of Income?
Date of Posting: 17-07-2024
The nursing profession in Australia continues to offer up a lot of job opportunities for registered Aussie nurses throughout the country. While the job opportunities are abundant, the pay scale for registered nurses isn’t very attractive anymor Read More...
Traumas of birth untold no longer as mums in pain speak
Date of Posting: 16-07-2024
Alicia Woodfield listened to soft music during the birth of her son, hoping her first child would be calmly welcomed into the world. But in the months after Archie was born acoustic music came to haunt her, serving only as a reminder of his trauma Read More...
Toddler milk 'a myth that needs to be busted'
Date of Posting: 14-07-2024
Marketing guidelines for infant and toddler formulas need to be scrapped and replaced with a stricter code of practice, leading health organisations say. The Australian Medical Association (AMA) wants the voluntary, self-regulated industry agreeme Read More...
Millions needed for life-saving diabetes devices
Date of Posting: 14-07-2024
A funding boost of $200 million is needed to subsidise technology for diabetics who can't afford potentially life-saving devices which help monitor and deal with the chronic disease. Diabetes Australia Group has published a report with economi Read More...
Women retire early as Senate wrestles menopause leave
Date of Posting: 14-07-2024
Memory loss, brain fog, heavy bleeding, sleepless nights and a barrage of hot flushes - this is the reality for countless Australian women trying to function during menopause. The natural decline in reproductive hormones and its sometimes life-cha Read More...
More health checks call to keep older bus drivers safe
Date of Posting: 12-07-2024
Older bus drivers need more regular health checks to stay on the road, a report sparked by a fatal crash has found. The independent report, commissioned by Brisbane City Council, found bus drivers over 60 should have increased health assessments t Read More...
Push to expedite common anti-depressant amid shortages
Date of Posting: 09-07-2024
Shortages of a common anti-depressant have resulted in fears of stockpiling as the medical regulator works with manufacturers to expedite shipments. Duloxetine is used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder ( Read More...
Personal hygiene now a luxury item as costs bite
Date of Posting: 09-07-2024
Millions of Australians are living in hygiene poverty as the soaring cost of living leaves many unable to afford soap, shampoo and deodorant, a survey has found. More than four million people, or more than one in seven, recently skipped buying ess Read More...
GPs urge jabs as winter lurgies return with a vengeance
Date of Posting: 09-07-2024
Cases of whooping cough, the flu and gastro have surged, with the spike in illness hitting children hard and adding "unprecedented" pressure on some hospitals. The winter lurgy peak is still ahead of northern parts of Australia popular w Read More...
Complex blood cancer on the rise in Australia
Date of Posting: 07-07-2024
The number of Australians being diagnosed with a complex blood cancer is forecast to rise sharply over the next 25 years, new research shows. Some 80,000 people will have contracted multiple myeloma by 2043, an increase of nearly 15 per cent on pr Read More...
More funding, workforce boost for abortion services
Date of Posting: 07-07-2024
Abortion services in Queensland will receive more than $20 million to improve access for women seeking to terminate a pregnancy and to increase the sector's workforce. Hospitals and health services across Queensland will use the funding to rec Read More...
Appetite for sugar tax to fight diabetes and obesity
Date of Posting: 07-07-2024
A 20 per cent tax on all sugar-sweetened drinks should spearhead efforts to stem Australia's diabetes epidemic, a parliamentary inquiry has found. The year-long inquiry into the nation's fastest-growing chronic disease made 23 recommendati Read More...
Date of Posting: 05-07-2024
While nearly everyone experiences back pain at least once during their lives, scientists are still trying to work out why some experience it more chronically than others. An international team of researchers has undertaken a significant systematic Read More...
Incest fears after sperm donor's 200-plus visits
Last Updated: 04-07-2024
A lack of regulation at Queensland's fertility clinics may have led to a donor fathering hundreds of children, sparking incest fears. An investigation into the state's assisted reproductive technology providers has also revealed claims of Read More...
Young people sadder, lonelier since social media onset
Last Updated: 04-07-2024
Youth mental health levels used to be relatively stable until something changed about a decade ago. After 2012, as some of the most popular global social media platforms were taking off, young Australians began reporting a sharp drop in mental wel Read More...
Indigenous kids 'suffering in silence' with ear disease
Date of Posting: 04-07-2024
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children suffer some of the highest rates of middle ear infections in the world. The disease is going undetected among 26 per cent of First Nations children, while one-in five live with undiagnosed hearing los Read More...
Warning opioid-laced cocaine could be a killer
Date of Posting: 02-07-2024
A white powder sold as cocaine has been laced with a deadly opioid 100 times more potent than heroin. The Department of Health issued an urgent warning on Tuesday to Victorians over the white powder being sold in Melbourne.[subscribe] The warni Read More...
Body camera trial for hospital security as attacks soar
Date of Posting: 02-07-2024
Security staff at nine hospitals will trial body-worn cameras to see if they can play a role in reducing aggression at health facilities. The year-long trial is still being planned and no start date has been set, while security and privacy policie Read More...
Longer life expectancy brings growing disease burden
Date of Posting: 02-07-2024
Australians are living longer compared to 20 years ago but are spending more time battling health conditions. A flagship study run by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare also found no improvement in First Nations infant and child death Read More...
More hip-pocket help, less vaping in new financial year
Date of Posting: 30-06-2024
Tax cuts, energy bill relief and an increase in the minimum wage are among the raft of mid-year changes set to kick in for Australians. Every taxpayer will keep a little more of what they earn from Monday as the long-planned stage three tax cuts k Read More...
Family's close call after indoor barbecue gas poisoning
Date of Posting: 30-06-2024
A family of five in western Sydney are lucky to be alive after almost succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning from an outdoor barbecue brought inside to use as a heater. Emergency crews rushed three adults and a child to hospital after the family Read More...
Aust expert backs weight-loss drugs for obese teens
Date of Posting: 30-06-2024
There is "growing evidence" that weight-loss drugs could be effective in treating severely obese teenagers, an expert has said. The medication acts "in exactly the same way" in younger patients as it does in adults, and while n Read More...
Pregnant pause as glitch causes baby due date errors
Date of Posting: 28-06-2024
More than 1700 pregnant women's due dates were incorrectly recorded by South Australia's health department, prompting an independent review. SA Health says a technical fault between November 2023 and June 2024 affected the estimated date o Read More...
Hospital staffer certified deaths 'outside the law'
Date of Posting: 28-06-2024
Deaths at a major hospital were incorrectly certified by an experienced former staffer who acted outside the law and signed off on patients he hadn't seen, a review has found. Tasmania's Launceston General Hospital was the subject of a rev Read More...
Sights set on cataract surgery for Indigenous people
Date of Posting: 28-06-2024
Ian Delaney was struggling with everyday life as his vision deteriorated. "In my right eye everything was very blurry," said the 70-year-old Quandamooka man.[subscribe] "Not having clear vision was a problem making simple things Read More...
University study reveals surprising results about telehealth consults
Date of Posting: 28-06-2024
A new study led by Monash University has revealed patients are surprisingly happy with telehealth consults for a range of health services, including allied health. [subscribe] Many patients perceived the relationships developed with practitioners Read More...
Indigenous woman makes history with speech therapy qualification
Date of Posting: 28-06-2024
Having set her sights on addressing numerous healthcare challenges in the Northern Territory,Teegan Wattam has now become the first First Nations graduate to receive a Bachelor of Health Science/Master of Speech and Language Therapy at Charles Darwin Read More...
Nurses, midwives to pocket more in major pay win
Date of Posting: 27-06-2024
Victorian nurses and midwives have scored massive wage increases that will boost some pay packets by $600 a week on top of more than 70 improvements to allowances and penalties. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation members in Melbourne and Read More...
Long wait for aged-care bed, NDIS places clog hospitals
Date of Posting: 27-06-2024
A lack of federal support has been blamed for leaving thousands of people languishing in hospital beds with nowhere else to go amid a growing public spat between NSW and the Commonwealth over service funding. A statewide shortage of NDIS placement Read More...
