Monthly Archives: December 2011

See you in 2012

December 23, 2011 – 6:00 pm

                    Croakey will be back online around 9 January.

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

The health story of the year (if not in the mainstream media) and other end-of-year assessments

December 23, 2011 – 5:51 pm

It’s that time of the year: for making lists of media lists. (After the list of lists below, the bottom section of this post covers recent discussions about social media and health). In recent times, we’ve had: • An insight into the world of health PR, from US health journalism watchdog Gary Schwitzer, who has [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in Government 2.0, Media-related issues, Medicare Locals, social determinants of health, social media and healthcare | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

The latest wrap of health and medical reading from The Conversation

December 23, 2011 – 9:05 am

Below is the final wrap for this year of health and medical reading at The Conversation. Thanks to Froncesca Jackson-Webb and Reema Rattan for compiling these wraps for Croakey readers. Vaccinations in the news in 2011 By Dr Julie Leask, National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance, a conjoint Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in child health, childbirth and maternity services, Food, health and medical education, Health inequalities, Indigenous health, National Preventive Health Agency, public health, TGA, The Conversation, tobacco control, vaccination | Comments (2)

Health reform: The Musical (with insights from Dylan, The Who, Meatloaf et al)

December 23, 2011 – 8:39 am

In keeping with the holiday vibe, the article below is full of song, inspired by a recent post on the future of Medicare Locals, in which the University of Queensland’s Philip Davies managed to drop references to Leonard Cohen and David Byrne. Croakey contributors were asked what song title best sums up the current state [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in health reform | Comments (0)

A response to critics of organ and tissue donation reforms

December 23, 2011 – 8:03 am

Anne Cahill Lambert writes: The festive season is always a good time to pause and reflect upon the year’s achievements.  As I’m a person who gets out of bed for three causes each day, my key performance indicator (KPI) assessment is quite easy.  I want: Free oxygen for all Australians who need it. Improved organ [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in health reform, Media-related issues, transplant issues | Comments (1)

Why we need healthy housing policy (and introducing Croakey’s first intern)

December 22, 2011 – 7:51 pm

Housing stress is in the headlines as a result of this new report from The National Housing Supply Council, which was established by the Australian Government in 2008 “to monitor housing demand, supply and affordability in Australia, and to highlight current and potential gaps between housing supply and demand from households”. Meanwhile, recent research highlights [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in health and medical research, Journal articles, mental health, social determinants of health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Place-based approaches to supporting children and families: what are they, and why do they matter?

December 22, 2011 – 6:32 pm

What are “placed-based” approaches to improving health? What is “social climate change”? And why might these concepts matter for the health and wellbeing of children and families? The Centre for Community Child Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne has just released a policy brief examining these issues. I’m sorry I don’t have time [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in child health, Health inequalities, public health, social determinants of health | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Falling through the gaps – the unmet mental health needs of people with intellectual disability

December 20, 2011 – 8:55 pm

Continuing a Croakey series on mental health reform…. Sophie Howlett writes: Access to, and quality of, mental health care for people with intellectual disability is very poor.  This results in great human cost to people with intellectual disability and their families, as well as considerable financial cost to the health, mental health, and disability service [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in disabilities, health reform, mental health | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

What is the single best thing you could do for your health? (On the eve of New Year’s resolutions…)

December 20, 2011 – 8:34 pm

Perhaps it’s a little early in the festive cycle to be thinking of New Year’s resolutions…but the clip below offers an excellent suggestion: can you limit your sitting and sleeping to just 23 and a half hours a day? It is also a clever, creative use of social media to promote the benefits of physical [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in Media-related issues, physical activity, public health, social media and healthcare | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

The cycle helmet debate continues….

December 19, 2011 – 5:43 pm

In a recent Croakey post, public health researcher Professor Chris Rissel reported on new research which found that one in five adults say they would cycle more if they didn’t have to wear a bicycle helmet. Tim Churches, a Sydney-based epidemiologist with a personal interest in active transport and urban re-design who has previously critiqued [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in health and medical research, physical activity, public health, road safety | Tagged , , | Comments (12)