Chronic diseases are responsible for nine out of ten deaths in Australia, and for much of the public health expenditure that’s causing governments so much concern.
Graeme Jackson, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
Saying someone has epilepsy is a little like saying they’re ill. Its cause can vary from a brain tumour to an inherited genetic condition, the consequence of injury or a disorder affecting the brain.
Economic modelling shows that policies to reduce chronic diseases can have large economic benefits –A$4.5 billion a year for diabetes alone – by reducing health costs and boosting the workforce.
Any health reform proposals should start by addressing public hospitals and chronic care. But successful change in these areas requires getting the state-Commonwealth funding and incentives right.
Pregnant women get all kinds of advice but reliable, evidence-based information on what they should eat for their good health as well as that of their developing child is often sorely missing.
Abbott’s claim that people in remote communities are making a “lifestyle choice” reveals an underlying view that social circumstances are the responsibility of individuals, rather than societies.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said he wants to develop “integrated care organisations” in the English NHS, with NHS hospital trusts taking a lead role in forming them. This has been challenged, quite…
Australians have one the longest life expectancies in the world but are living with growing levels of lifestyle-induced chronic illness, according to the latest national health report card. The Australian…
Erection problems are common but they can be embarrassing for men to discuss with partners and doctors. The sales of erection drugs on the internet or billboard advertising are boosted by keeping erectile…
As a medical student in India in the early 1980s, the biggest problems I encountered were under-nutrition, sanitation, high burden of infectious diseases and woefully inadequate vaccination of children…
Antioxidants are a commonly promoted feature of health foods and supplements. They’re portrayed as the good forces that fight free radicals – nasty molecules causing damage thought to hasten ageing and…
**A more sustainable Australia* As we hit the half-way mark of the 2013 election campaign, we’ve asked academics to look at some of the long-term issues affecting Australia – the issues that will shape…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne
Chercheur au Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec et Professeur titulaire au Département de médecine, Université Laval