Category Archives: trauma

Efforts to minimise harm from media reporting of Breivik trial may have wider application

April 23, 2012 – 2:14 pm

The trial in Norway of Anders Behring Breivik for the murder of 77 people is generating some useful reflection about the role of media at times like this, and what can be done to minimise the suffering of those exposed to related coverage. If you’ve been following the tweets of Trygve Sorvaag (see a selection [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in child health, Media-related issues, mental health, The Conversation | 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, health and medical research, mental health, social media and healthcare, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Community connections and social capital: especially important in times of disaster

February 1, 2012 – 8:59 pm

How well do you and your neighbours know each other? In the season of fires and floods, this is an important question, as research shows that well-connected communities do better at responding to and coping with disasters, according to public health researcher Professor Penny Hawe. In the article below, she explains why social capital is [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in disasters, mental health, rural and remote health, social determinants of health | Comments (2)

Time to Act – How many quad bike deaths will manufacturers allow?

September 14, 2011 – 8:10 am

Tony Lower, Director of the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety within the Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, writes…. Its been just on seven months since my first blog regarding quad bikes and the perils of their design. Since that posting there have been a further 11 quad bike deaths in Australia, taking [...]

By Jennifer Doggett | Also posted in evidence-based issues, legal issues, occupational health, prevention, rural and remote health | Comments (1)

Some useful resources re Japan, journalism and radiation

March 17, 2011 – 3:53 pm

Below are some resources that may be of interest/use in relation to the disaster in Japan, including advice for journalists, fact sheets on radiation and risk perception more broadly, and some historical context from the Three Mile Island accident of 1979. *** From the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma • Gavin Rees, a journalist [...]

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

On media, trauma and the Christchurch earthquake

February 24, 2011 – 2:51 pm

Discussion about the rights and wrongs of media coverage of the Christchurch earthquake is already underway. See: Jonathan Green at The Drum on the media’s exploitation of victims and intrusion into suffering David Penberthy at The Punch offers another perspective …and there is more critique from ANU academic and blogger Jonathan Powles and Mr Denmore [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in Media-related issues, mental health | Tagged , , , | Comments (6)

Raising the drinking age, road safety and other questions

February 10, 2010 – 7:13 pm

Recent posts at Croakey have highlighted questions about road safety policies, and also looked at what the road safety field can learn from public health perspectives. In today’s Crikey bulletin, Dr Alex Wodak weighs into the discussion, following recent Prime Ministerial interest in the notion of raising the legal drinking age to 21. Rudd said [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in alcohol, public health | Tagged , , | Comments (4)

The guidelines controversy: what do the experts think?

April 23, 2009 – 11:18 am

Following the recent controversy about Australian and NZ guidelines for preventing blood clots, Croakey asked some relevant parties for their views on: • whether  health departments, hospitals,  safety and quality groups be reviewing their support for these particular  guidelines in response to the concerns raised in the MJA and elsewhere? • whether such agencies also [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in adverse events, conflicts of interest, evidence-based issues, health & medical marketing, Hospitals, Journal articles, Media-related issues, prevention, quality and safety of health care, surgery | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

Reporting on bushfires and other trauma is a health issue…for all concerned

February 11, 2009 – 9:37 am

In the past few days, I’ve swung between devouring stories of bushfire trauma and turning away from them, unable to bear any more. I read not only because I want to know but because I feel I ought to. There is a duty to attempt to understand something of what people are experiencing and suffering. [...]

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