Category Archives: NHMRC

Where should health and medical research be heading? Now is the time for speaking up

March 8, 2012 – 7:36 pm

If you’ve a concern for the direction of health and medical research in Australia, you have until the end of this month to make a submission to the Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research. The review, which is due to produce a final report later this year, plans to conduct public consultations from April to [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in health and medical research | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Is antibiotic resistance the “greatest failure of modern medicine”?

December 14, 2011 – 1:18 pm

(Following on from the previous post on infection control in hospitals.) The Centre for Research in Critical Infection held a meeting recently at the University of Sydney, where the threat of antibiotic resistance was a major topic of discussion. In the article below, the Centre’s director, Dr Jon Iredell, suggests that the lack of policy [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in infectious diseases, influenza, quality and safety of health care, swine flu | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The new draft dietary guidelines: look beyond the headlines

December 13, 2011 – 5:03 pm

As you may have heard, drafts of the revised Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating are now available for public comment, with a view to their finalised release next year. Clearly, translating more than 55,000 scientific journal articles into clear, simple messages and advice is no small task. In a nutshell, [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in Food, Media-related issues, public health | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

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, disabilities, e-health, education, general practice, health reform, Indigenous health, Medicare Locals, mental health, pharmacy, prevention, primary health care, private health insurance, public health, social determinants of health, TGA, tobacco control | Tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

Clock is ticking on the NHMRC and conflicts of interest policy

November 30, 2011 – 5:26 pm

Update 1 Dec: A response from the NHMRC has been added to the bottom of the post. Note: If you want to comment on the NHMRC’s draft guidelines for identifying and managing conflicts of interest in clinical guideline development (and, as the post below suggests, they do need help) – the deadline is COB this [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in conflicts of interest, evidence-based issues, health and medical research | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

The latest news from the world of food policy and regulation

November 30, 2011 – 9:08 am

Michael Moore, CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, writes: The debate over food regulation is set to escalate.  Governments across Australia are readying to respond to Labelling Logic, the Hon Dr Neal Blewett’s report on labelling of foods.  On the issue of front of pack labelling, health and consumer groups have narrowed the [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in chronic diseases, Food, public health | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Fingers crossed: the role of randomness in medical research funding

September 30, 2011 – 7:48 am

Anyone who has ever been involved in applying for academic or research grants knows how time consuming preparing the application can be. In this thought-provoking piece Nicolas Graves (QUT), Adrian Barnett (QUT) and Philip Clarke (Uni of Syd) speculate on whether those thousands of hours of highly-trained academics’ time could be put to better use than [...]

By Jennifer Doggett | Also posted in health and medical research, The Conversation | Comments (1)

Advanced Health Research Centres – what can they offer Australia?

September 21, 2011 – 3:57 pm

Croakey strongly believes that the best health care occurs when it is informed by rigorous research and that the best research is that which is informed by clinical practice.  However, bringing these two often disparate worlds together is  a continual challenge in the Australian health care environment. A new proposal, modelled on a successful UK [...]

By Jennifer Doggett | Also posted in education, health and medical education, health and medical research, health financing and costs, health workforce, Hospitals, medical education, primary health care, The Conversation | Comments (0)

Does Australia need a version of the Institute of Medicine?

June 15, 2011 – 10:32 am

Croakey has often been grateful for the work done by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the US. The IOM, established in 1970 as the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, aims to provide unbiased and authoritative advice to decision makers and the public, and “asks and answers the nation’s most pressing questions [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in adverse events, cancer, conflicts of interest, health literacy, infectious diseases, lesbian gay bisexual transgender issues, men's health, National Preventive Health Agency, prevention, primary health care, public health, quality and safety of health care, rural and remote health, social determinants of health, Uncategorized, women's health | Comments (7)

What can we expect from the Budget for health?

May 10, 2011 – 10:00 am

Rebecca de Boer, from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, has been investigating the backdrop to tonight’s budget announcements. Thanks to the Library’s FlagPost blog for allowing this republication. Rebecca de Boer writes: On Budget eve, the Government has already made several announcements about the contents of the 2011-12 health Budget. There have been some announcements regarding [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in dental care, Federal Budget 2011, health and medical research, health reform, Indigenous health, Medicare Locals, mental health | Tagged , | Comments (2)