Monthly Archives: December 2009

My favourite story for the year

December 23, 2009 – 9:11 am

Of all the stories that I wrote this year, here is an edited version of the one that I most enjoyed doing – about a small rural community in Victoria that is taking small but great strides to improve the health and wellbeing of its members. The full version appeared in Australian Rural Doctor, and [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in public health, rural and remote health | Comments (1)

Missing from the Christmas stocking: health reform

December 22, 2009 – 8:43 am

If 2009 was the year of health reform talk, will 2010 be the year of health reform action? I wouldn’t bet my Christmas stocking on it. The mental health sector is watching the state of play in health reform closely, and no wonder. The sector potentially has the most to gain from reform – but [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in health reform, mental health | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Manufacturers & regulators urged to get serious on quad bike safety

December 21, 2009 – 12:00 pm

A recent Croakey post raising concerns about the safety of quad bikes has been generating quite a bit of discussion around the traps. Its author, Dr Yossi Berger, the National OHS Co-ordinator for the Australian Workers Union, returns to the fray today, arguing that an effective regulatory mechanism is needed. He suggests we call it [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in health regulation, occupational health, rural and remote health | Tagged , , | Comments (22)

Helping low income smokers to quit is a winning investment

December 21, 2009 – 11:38 am

So many public health initiatives end up doing most good for the better off.  So it’s nice to hear of one that’s brought plenty of payoff to people at the other end of the socioeconomic spectrum. Croakey’s North American correspondent, Dr Lesley Russell, reports below on new findings suggesting that targeting anti-smoking initiatives to the [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in Health inequalities, poverty, public health, tobacco control | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

What will it take for pharmacy to realise its primary care potential?

December 18, 2009 – 9:42 am

Yesterday’s Croakey post about a study examining whether pharmacists could play a greater role in community mental health care has brought a few responses. One of the study’s authors, psychiatrist Professor Alan Rosen, has replied to some of Croakey’s queries about the barriers to wider implementation of such initiatives. And Ron Batagol, a pharmacy and drug [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in Hospitals, mental health, pharmacy, primary health care | Comments (4)

Can climate policy learn from tobacco control?

December 17, 2009 – 12:11 pm

Around the world, more than 100 million people have died prematurely because the world took so long to act upon evidence about the dangers of tobacco. And even then, the action has been pretty patchy, with the result that smoking still kills more than five million people each year. If this is the only lesson [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in climate change, Journal articles, public health, tobacco control | Comments (1)

Pharmacists as mental heath professionals?

December 17, 2009 – 10:35 am

Croakey has been asking some tough questions about the pharmacy profession in recent posts (here and here, in case you missed them). Not surprisingly, some in the profession may have felt a little miffed that the critique didn’t acknowledge that good work is being done. Thanks to Dr Simon Bell, a pharmacist with connections to [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in adverse events, Journal articles, mental health, pharmacy, quality and safety of health care | Tagged , , | Comments (5)

Australians poorly informed about health, and other research news

December 17, 2009 – 9:26 am

An overview of recent major studies and developments in health care and health policy has arrived via the Hospital Alliance for Research Collaboration’s latest bulletin. You can download the full bulletin here.  Dr Mary Haines, the bulletin’s editor and Health Services Research Director at the Sax Institute, says it showcases some important research findings that [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in consumer health information, evidence-based issues, health reform, Hospitals, quality and safety of health care, surgery | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

A smorgasbord of good reading

December 15, 2009 – 11:55 am

Below is an assortment of articles and resources from recent weeks that may be of interest to Croakey readers. They cover everything from Indigenous health policy, to pharma marketing, swine flu, sexual assault, and developments in evidence-based practice and transparent government.

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in evidence-based issues, health & medical marketing, health reform, Indigenous health, infectious diseases, influenza, Media-related issues, pharmaceutical industry, public health | Comments (0)

Pissed and stoned at work? There are more important things to worry about…

December 15, 2009 – 9:23 am

The enthusiasm for drug and alcohol testing of workers is misplaced, argues Dr Yossi Berger, the National OHS Co-ordinator for the Australian Workers Union. He gives some chilling examples of other threats to workers’ health and safety that he would like to see receive far more attention.

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in alcohol, illicit drugs, occupational health | Tagged , , | Comments (1)