By Jane Halliday, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and Sue White, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
How often is a person’s biological father someone other than the man they call dad? Paternity doubts are a source of gossip, on the one hand, and emotional trauma, on the other. But our assumptions about…
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recently completed a review of the evidence for homeopathy’s effectiveness and, after analysing systematic reviews of clinical trials, concluded…
A recent discrimination case has highlighted the difficulty of balancing the rights of disabled medical students with the rights of the community to safe medical and health care. In the BKY v The University…
We started the week with a new proposal by the Grattan Institute to shake up the hospital workforce and allow nurses to take on more roles traditionally performed by doctors. But should registered nurses…
The salt debate has filled the pages of health magazines and newspapers for years. From John Swales’ original scepticism in 1988 to the Godlee’s sharp call to reality in 1996, the debate has transcended…
Condoms break, contraceptive pills are missed and in the throes of passion, contraception might be overlooked. So from time to time, a woman may need emergency contraception, known as the morning-after…
When patients suffer from a brain injury and are unresponsive, we often don’t know whether they have suffered irreversible damage from which they will never recover, or whether the damage is a temporary…
Two months after the death of 18-year-old Sydney man Daniel Christie, who was punched to the ground on New Year’s Eve, New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell introduced a set of measures aimed at improving…
Australian parents spend $40 million each year on vitamin supplements for their children. It’s a big number; much smaller is the number of children who actually need them. In 2009, a large American research…
Faced with a portion of food twice as big as what you normally consume will lead you to eat about a third more food than usual. This portion-size effect helps explain how growing serving sizes may be contributing…
Go ahead and contemplate your own mortality. How does it feel? Would you be surprised to learn that it can potentially improve your mental health to think about your death more often? The Russian novelist…
Employees are the public hospital system’s most valuable resource, and its biggest cost. Wages account for nearly 70% of recurrent hospital spending. To keep hospital care affordable in a time of rising…
For thousands of years, people believed their future could be read in the lines etched into the palm of their hands. The ancient art of palmistry, originating in India, claimed a close examination of the…
In the legal system, first-hand memory reports of victims, witnesses and suspects are crucial evidence. Some cases rely also on physical evidence and expert testimony. But the accounts of those who experienced…
If you’re confused by food labels, you’re not alone. But don’t hold your breath for an at-a-glance food labelling system that tells you how much salt, fat and sugar each product contains. Australia’s proposed…
We started the week with a new proposal by the Grattan Institute to shake up the hospital workforce and allow nurses to take on more roles traditionally performed by doctors. But should registered nurses…
We need to look past the colours, pictures and cleverly crafted claims.
We need to look past the colours, pictures and cleverly crafted claims.
Art Allianz/Shutterstock
If you’re confused by food labels, you’re not alone. But don’t hold your breath for an at-a-glance food labelling system that tells you how much salt, fat and sugar each product contains. Australia’s proposed…
It’s easy to make the game safer without significantly altering the collision aspect that makes rugby so attractive.
It’s easy to make the game safer without significantly altering the collision aspect that makes rugby so attractive.
AAP Image/David Crosling
The legendary American Football coach Vince Lombardi once said “Football is not a contact sport, it’s a collision sport – dancing is a contact sport”. This is equally applicable to the various codes of…
A small proportion of overweight and obese people are metabolically healthy but that doesn’t mean we should become complacent about aiming for a healthy weight.
A small proportion of overweight and obese people are metabolically healthy but that doesn’t mean we should become complacent about aiming for a healthy weight.
Isaac Brown/Stocky Bodies
The idea that people can be healthy at any weight has gained credence in recent years, despite widespread evidence that obesity creates health risks. While the idea is attractive, it’s also dangerous because…
Psychotropic drugs are often used to control the behaviour of people with dementia in aged care.
Psychotropic drugs are often used to control the behaviour of people with dementia in aged care.
Harry/Flickr
Psychotropic drugs are being over-used in Australian aged-care facilities to chemically restrain residents, according to both researchers and several government reports. But despite all this attention…
A National Health and Medical Research Council review has found ‘there is no reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective for treating health conditions.’
A National Health and Medical Research Council review has found ‘there is no reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective for treating health conditions.’
Amanda Wilson/Flickr
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has released its long-awaited review of homeopathy, as well as a tip sheet for doctors to talk to their patient about complementary medicines in…
One person’s rationing may be another’s priority setting.
One person’s rationing may be another’s priority setting.
Shutterstock
In the lead-up to the May budget, the seemingly inexorable rise in health spending has unleashed a “sustainability panic”: rhetoric that health system costs are out of control and drastic measures are…
There is no publicly available, solid evidence to show that such outsourcing generates savings for governments. But it could.
There is no publicly available, solid evidence to show that such outsourcing generates savings for governments. But it could.
Alexander Tihonov/Shutterstock
In the lead-up to the budget on May 13, the Tony Abbott government is looking for ways to make the health dollar go further. In 2011-12 the federal government spent A$14.4 billion on public and private…
Many adults missed out on vaccines that are routinely given to children today.
Many adults missed out on vaccines that are routinely given to children today.
Shutterstock
Most of us will receive the majority of our vaccinations in childhood. But Australian adults still die and become disabled from vaccine-preventable diseases. Immunisations are therefore an important preventive…
Many people struggle to balance the facts that too much sun exposure results in skin cancer and too little causes vitamin D deficiency.
Many people struggle to balance the facts that too much sun exposure results in skin cancer and too little causes vitamin D deficiency.
August Allen/Flickr
With daylight saving ending yesterday across most of the country and winter approaching, Australians are moving from fears of too much sun exposure resulting in skin cancer to too little sun exposure and…
The documentary explores why 99% of women with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.
The documentary explores why 99% of women with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.
SBS
Most people would be aware of Angelina Jolie’s preventative double mastectomy after she found she was carrying a mutation to the BRCA 1 gene which confers an extremely high risk of breast cancer. But according…
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