A shortage of qualified nursing staff and rising health costs have led to an increase in the employment of unregulated nursing workers. In 2012, the average weekly salary for full-time nursing professionals…
The former Labor government’s GP Super Clinics Program has come in for a bashing. The Coalition has derided it as “a total waste of money” and News Corp has dubbed it a “dangerous health care experiment…
About one-quarter of Australians support the legalisation of cannabis. And advocates often point to the potential of raising tax revenue from sales as part of their argument. But there has been limited…
Like a movie zombie, a policy idea that should have died has arisen from the dead and is likely to feature as a cost-savings measure in next month’s budget. The idea is simple: most GP patients should…
The use of “chemical castration” has been seen by many as an answer to the public fear of paedophiles, reignited by the recent trial of Brett Cowan for the murder of Daniel Morcombe. The idea is that giving…
Gluten intolerance covers a range of gut problems caused by ingesting proteins found in wheat, barley, rye and in some cases, oats. The three main groups affected are those with a direct sensitivity to…
After Newcastle forward Alex McKinnon’s neck was broken in a lifting tackle in March, some commentators and parents have questioned whether rugby is just too dangerous for children, amateurs – and even…
Most people who think they have the flu, don’t. And some people who think they have a cold, really have the flu. So what is the difference between a cold and the flu? And does it matter? A cold is a mild…
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…
The former Labor government’s GP Super Clinics Program has come in for a bashing. The Coalition has derided it as “a total waste of money” and News Corp has dubbed it a “dangerous health care experiment…
Like a movie zombie, a policy idea that should have died has arisen from the dead and is likely to feature as a cost-savings measure in next month’s budget. The idea is simple: most GP patients should…
The morning-after pill is available in Australian pharmacies without prescription.
The morning-after pill is available in Australian pharmacies without prescription.
Shutterstock
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…
Measures to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence will take time to really have an effect.
Measures to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence will take time to really have an effect.
ABC TV
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…
Vitamin jubes contain quite small doses of vitamins and up to 50% sugar.
Vitamin jubes contain quite small doses of vitamins and up to 50% sugar.
Ethan Hurd/Flickr
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…
Increasing portion size makes an offering more attractive, but when everyone does this in order to be competitive, all available offerings become large.
Increasing portion size makes an offering more attractive, but when everyone does this in order to be competitive, all available offerings become large.
Penn State/Flickr
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…
With the right training and supervision, assistants could safely take on 15% of nurses' workloads.
With the right training and supervision, assistants could safely take on 15% of nurses' workloads.
John Keith/Shutterstock
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…
The Secrets of the Hand premieres on SBS at 8:30pm Sunday April 13.
The Secrets of the Hand premieres on SBS at 8:30pm Sunday April 13.
SBS
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…
If we inaccurately recall a detail of an experience, does it follow that we are untruthful?
If we inaccurately recall a detail of an experience, does it follow that we are untruthful?
EPA/Chris Collingridge/The Star/Pool
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…
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…
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