Category Archives: disabilities

Plenty of challenges and opportunities ahead for the community mental health sector

February 13, 2012 – 1:32 pm

Amongst all the talk about mental health reform and health reform more broadly, we haven’t heard much about the role of the community mental health sector. But the sector is facing profound challenges as a result not only of national health reform, but also disability sector reforms, suggests a recent paper from VICSERV, which represents [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in health reform, Indigenous health, Medicare Locals, mental health | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Social inclusion: what is it (and why some people just don’t get it)

January 19, 2012 – 6:09 pm

The importance of social inclusion for mental health is highlighted in the draft mental health reform roadmap (which was covered in the previous post). But what exactly is “social inclusion”? And what are the gripes of its critics? Thanks to the FlagPost blog of the Federal Parliamentary Library for providing some background and context… *** [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in mental 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 | Also posted in health reform, mental health | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

The Ministerial reshuffle and health: plus analysis of Roxon’s tenure and advice to Plibersek

December 13, 2011 – 1:18 pm

Much of the post-shuffle focus in health has been on the new Minister, Tanya Plibersek (The Australian has her prioritising dental reform, while the Sydney Morning Herald has her bedding down the health reform agenda). But let’s not forget that many portfolios are important for health (some of which are mentioned at the bottom of [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in cancer, child health, childbirth and maternity services, dental care, e-health, education, general practice, health reform, Indigenous health, Medicare Locals, mental health, NHMRC, pharmacy, prevention, primary health care, private health insurance, public health, social determinants of health, TGA, tobacco control | Tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

Latest health and medical news from The Conversation

October 25, 2011 – 11:27 am

Continuing a series of regular updates of health and medical reading at The Conversation… Thanks to Reema Rattan for providing this summary, which covers articles about the safety of vitamin supplements, health financing, humane approaches to preventing crime, disability services, ghostwriting of research articles, patenting of stem cell inventions, and the latest legal developments in [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in adverse events, complementary medicines, conflicts of interest, evidence-based issues, health and medical research, health financing and costs, Health inequalities, health reform, Indigenous health, pharmaceutical industry, public health, quality and safety of health care, social determinants of health, The Conversation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (1)

A wrap of recent health news at Croakey

October 5, 2011 – 5:40 pm

Hola – I am back on deck. A large thanks to Jennifer Doggett for driving Croakey while I was away, and to Ben Harris-Roxas for looking after the Twitter feed. As previously mentioned, Croakey readers are welcome to sign up for (rather irregular) summaries of posts. If you’d like to join the mailing list, please [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in aged care, alcohol, cancer, chronic diseases, climate change, Cochrane Collaboration, complementary medicines, Croakey Register of Influencers in Public Health, diabetes, evidence-based issues, health and medical education, health and medical research, health financing and costs, Health inequalities, health reform, health regulation, health workforce, Indigenous health, Journal articles, Media Doctor Australia, Media-related issues, Medicare Locals, mental health, obesity, pharmacy, prevention, primary health care, private health insurance, public health, quality and safety of health care, rural and remote health, social determinants of health, The Conversation, Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Young people STILL in nursing homes

September 17, 2011 – 7:33 am

It seems obvious that aged care facilities are not an appropriate place for young people, yet it appears frustratingly difficult to provide accommodation for this small but very important group of people which meets their needs. A new study in the most recent Australian Health Review reveals the barriers that have prevented a government program [...]

By Jennifer Doggett | Also posted in aged care, Journal articles | Comments (1)

It’s time to refocus health debate on the issues that really matter

August 26, 2011 – 2:44 am

During the last four years of health reform debate, how many mainstream media articles did you see about the “social determinants of health”? Admittedly, no headline writer in their right minds would use such jargon but even so, we hear very little in mainstream debate about the powerful influence of social, economic, environmental and cultural [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in Australian Medical Association, health reform, Indigenous health, Media-related issues, mental health, poverty, prevention, primary health care, public health, rural and remote health, social determinants of health | Tagged , , , , | Comments (4)

Disability reforms are an advance for health

August 22, 2011 – 3:54 am

As has been widely reported, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has agreed to move forward on disability reform, following the recent release of recommendations from the Productivity Commission. A Select Council of Ministers from Commonwealth, States and Territories is to start work immediately on developing a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and is due [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in chronic diseases, social determinants of health | Tagged , , , | Comments (4)

Why an overhaul of disability care is needed: the Productivity Commission

August 11, 2011 – 8:45 am

Here is where you can find the Productivity Commission report recommending an overhaul of disability care and support. Just to give you a quick taste from the executive summary: “The current disability support system is underfunded, unfair, fragmented, and inefficient. It gives people with a disability little choice, no certainty of access to appropriate supports [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in Health inequalities, health reform | Tagged , , | Comments (3)