In the eighth part of our series Health Rationing, Philip Clarke and Nicholas Graves suggest ways to make the health-care system more efficient and affordable.
Who would want be the health minister…
‘Light’ wines are potentially big business if they can be successfully marketed to the diet-conscious consumer.
Steve Petric
Dieters can now have their wine and drink it, guilt-free and minus the hangover. That’s the promise of so-called “light” or low-alcohol, low-calorie wines. But these wines are not considerably lighter…
Reflexology is just one of the therapies subsidised by private health insurers that’s being reviewed.
Chris/Flickr
Significant growth of natural therapy benefits subsidised by private health insurers, coupled with concerns about the poor evidence base for some of the services offered, has apparently resulted in the…
David Koch meets breastfeeding advocates who converged outside the studio where his show is recorded.
AAP/Damian Shaw
By Yvette Miller, Queensland University of Technology
The host of Sunrise breakfast television show, David Koch, aka Kochie, has stirred controversy by saying mothers should breastfeed “discreetly” and that while he agreed that breastfeeding should be done…
Taxpayer-funded research should be out there for everyone to access.
muffin9101985/Flickr
The issue of open access to research findings has been in the media for a number of reasons lately, some positive – the release of the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) open access policy – and some…
A rat used for cancer research in the United States.
Janet Stephens
More than six million animals are used in experiments in Australia each year. Many endure pain and distress, and most are killed after their use.
The research community claims that our regulatory framework…
We need to research the health of the health system for the sake of sustainability.
Greg Boege
By Marion Haas, University of Technology, Sydney and Jane Hall, University of Technology, Sydney
The consultation paper by the panel of the McKeon Review is available and open for public comment now, so it’s worth examining whether this review (the latest of many into health and medical research…
Health services are ripe for evidence-based reform.
www.shutterstock.com
Each year $120 billion is spent on health services in Australia. But hardly any research is done to investigate whether this money is being used wisely.
Only 2.8% of the funding for NHMRC project grants…
Ovarian cancer is a significant cause of illness and death in Australia.
Flickr Lindsey G (modchik)
Cancer has been a National Health Priority Area since 1996 because of the burden it places on the Australian community. Of course, cancer isn’t just a health and economic burden – it takes an enormous…
A rally of white-coated scientists and lab technicians rally against cuts to research funding in Perth, April 14, 2011.
AAP Image/Lloyd Jones
Australia’s usually mild-mannered medical researchers marched in the streets a year ago to protest mooted government budget cuts. In the face of widespread outcry, the government chose to maintain the…
Guidelines help doctors decide on the best way to treat patients.
Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA News Photo
By Elim Papadakis, National Health and Medical Research Council
TRANSPARENCY AND MEDICINE – A series examining issues from ethics to the evidence in evidence-based medicine, the influence of medical journals to the role of Big Pharma in our present and future health…
Healthy food needs to promote long-term health, so must consider environmental impact.
Mark Lawrence
When eating for health and the environment, not all foods are created equal. The consumption of seafood has led to the over-exploitation of three quarters of the world’s oceans. Meat and dairy foods require…
The value of medical research extends beyond pure economics.
Flickr/left hand
The Federal Government’s main medical research funding body, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), last week announced its 2011 program and development grants, and postgraduate scholarship…
Cutting down on processed food means less rubbish in the bin.
poopee shmoopee/Flickr
The NHMRC’s new Australian dietary guidelines recommend eating more fruits, vegetables, legumes, beans and wholegrains and eating fewer starchy vegetables, refined cereals, red meat (unless you are a young…
In 2009, 180 years worth of time was used up preparing grant applications instead of doing research.
US Army
Chance is something researchers feel could be important when their applications for scientific research funding are assessed and discussed in peer review.
Now this hunch has been supported by an analysis…
Francis Crick (right) and James Watson (far left) started a revolution in medicine.
AAP
By Warwick Anderson, National Health and Medical Research Council
Medical science has changed the human health and lifespan in the last century and now another revolution is coming in health.
This revolution will entail closing the chasm between what medical evidence…
Anyone expecting undying gratitude from scientists should think again.
MacGeekGrl/Flickr
The post-budget political rhetoric to me reinforces the underlying, ongoing, disdain that this, and indeed many previous, governments have for science-related matters in Australia.
Minister Carr is reported…
Why is writing grant proposals the bane of scientists' lives?
Fotolia
Getting research money, especially the no-strings-attached kind that government agencies give out, is difficult. Researchers spend months on each proposal with only a small chance of getting funded.
Winning…
Are we a step closer to equality in Australian laboratories?
Argonne National Laboratory/Wikimedia Commons
Yesterday, April 11, should be remembered as the day the Australian science community agreed to change. Specifically, it agreed to change the way we work to enable women to fully participate, and to prevent…
