Category Archives: health and medical research

What has social media got to do with blood transfusions, haematology and the like?

May 21, 2012 – 5:51 pm

How might social media help those working in haematology and blood transfusion services and research? This was one of the questions addressed at a recent Australian Red Cross Blood service meeting in Sydney by Carolyn Der Vartanian, Program Leader for the NSW Blood Watch program at the Clinical Excellence Commission. *** Scary new pathogens or a [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in social media and healthcare, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Some developments and opportunities in health and the media

May 21, 2012 – 4:26 pm

Below are details of some opportunities and developments in media and health: • A US course that aims to help journalists and editors do a better job of reporting on medical research (I have been assured that Australian journalists are welcome to apply). • A call for applications for the 2012 Dart Center Ochberg Fellowships (Declaration: [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in evidence-based issues, Media-related issues, rural and remote health | Comments (0)

A wrap of recent news on McDonald’s, marketing and health (and some parallel universes)

May 14, 2012 – 7:28 pm

When it comes to food and health, it seems that we are living in parallel universes. In one universe, there is a new report from The Institute of Medicine in the US, Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation, urging governments and decision makers (including those in the private sector) “to [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in child health, Food, obesity, public health | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

For patients to play a more active role in managing chronic health problems, some changes are needed…

May 11, 2012 – 4:01 pm

Patients with chronic diseases could benefit if there were better systems in primary care to help them develop their capacity to manage their own conditions. That is the suggestion from a recent Queensland study investigating some of the barriers to and enablers of self-management support (or SMS) for patients with chronic conditions. The study is [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in general practice, primary health care | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Out-of-pocket health costs: adding to the burden on patients

May 4, 2012 – 5:21 pm

Recent reports highlight the economic hardship facing many patients with chronic diseases, according to Kellie Bisset, editor of the HARC e-Bulletin and Communications Director at the Sax Institute.   She cites a suggestion that researchers and policymakers have been too complacent about the relatively high out-of-pocket costs faced by Australian patients. Time will tell whether the forthcoming [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in chronic diseases, evidence-based issues, Health inequalities | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Some tips re digging for useful health policy information on the web

April 27, 2012 – 11:35 am

If you want to influence health policy, it helps to be abreast of the latest relevant evidence (in all its forms). But this can be difficult to achieve as so much of the evidence never sees the light of day through publication in journals or other public places (hence the Croakey Register of Unreleased Documents - [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in Croakey Register of Unreleased Documents, evidence-based issues, health reform, nurses and nursing, primary health care | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Join a Twitter chat about involving children and parents in research and service development

April 11, 2012 – 11:41 am

Eva Alisic is a trauma psychologist, research fellow at Monash Injury Research Institute, blogger and Tweeter.  If you’ve ideas for how children and parents could be empowered to contribute to the design of mental health research and care, you might like to join her in a Twitter chat tomorrow afternoon. *** An invitation to contribute to [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in child health, mental health, social media and healthcare, trauma, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Using social media to engage young people in research

April 3, 2012 – 10:03 am

Social media channels offer new avenues for engaging young people in research, says Dr Yeshe Fenner, who is involved in a new study of young women’s health in Melbourne. *** Recruiting through social media – a brave new world Yeshe Fenner writes: The medical and health research community is facing a major challenge as traditional [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in social media and healthcare, women's health | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Do journalists actually read the research they’re reporting on?

April 2, 2012 – 4:12 pm

Continuing the media-related theme of the previous post… Rather than simply sending out press releases to promote new research articles and publications, it would be better if universities, research institutions and journals sent the full articles to journalists. That is the suggestion of informal surveys of journalists that have been conducted in the UK and [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in evidence-based issues, health & medical marketing, Media-related issues | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (4)

What helps GPs provide better care to patients with mental disorders? And what doesn’t?

March 30, 2012 – 3:59 pm

A Canadian study investigating the factors that help and hinder GPs in providing care to patients with mental disorders also rings many bells locally. Facilitators included being paid a salary or hourly fees, having longer time slots for consultations, having psychosocial mental health care teams based on site, and having access to multidisciplinary assessment, meetings and [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in general practice, Medicare Locals, mental health, primary health care | Tagged , , | Comments (0)