Following the COVID-19 pandemic, humanity reverted to the small world behaviours that leave us vulnerable, perched as we are on our increasingly dynamic and unpredictable planet. Late last year, we watched the climate conference, COP28, continue the slow walk of humanity’s response to the changing…
Death in older people can be a consequence of the natural processes of their decline in biological old age, and there is no need to impose a pathological explanation, writes Dr Will Cairns. Several weeks ago the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released How long can Australians live?,…
We must urgently allocate more resources to upskilling general practitioners to better diagnose and manage Parkinson disease, particularly in regional areas, writes Dr Shanna Fealy. Parkinson disease is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease globally, trailing only Alzheimer disease. In…
With Queensland health care workers facing alarming levels of workplace violence and aggression, it is essential for health organisations to adopt a safety culture to stop this bad behaviour in its tracks, writes Dr Elise Witter. A recent night shift I completed in the emergency department (ED) ended…
The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Tenth Conference of the Parties will discuss next generation tobacco control policies, as the incoming New Zealand Government receives strong international condemnation for repealing recent tobacco control measures. In November, the…
New research has found notable inconsistencies in how different medical schools approach the teaching of women’s cardiac health, prompting calls for more comprehensive education on this topic. Ischaemic heart disease ranks as the second leading cause of death among Australian women (here),…
Wood heater smoke in the Australian Capital Territory is estimated to cause similar mortality to the extreme smoke of the Black Summer Bushfires of 2019–20, new research has found. The alarm has been sounded about the dangers of wood heater smoke, with new research showing just how deadly exposure…
Despite endometriosis being common among women in Australia, it remains unknown which patients will benefit from surgery, prompting the need for more local research, write Dr Samantha Mooney and Associate Professor Sarah Holdsworth-Carson. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining…