Opinions

A Gold Card for children in care would represent a step toward the kind of coordinated, child-centred healthcare we all strive for, writes Dr Suzanne Packer, AO FRACP.

Suzanne Packer

Health services research must become a frontline service in Australian health care, to provide prompt solutions to pressing system-wide problems. Chief among these is inadequate access to care, where Australia ranks ninth out of ten countries in a recent report.

John Savill, Lauren Wallis, Harriet Hiscock

Children’s mental health is no longer a taboo topic. We’ve moved past questioning whether children can experience mental health challenges to focusing on how best to support them. It’s increasingly recognised that fluctuations in emotion, behaviour and functioning are a normal part of child development, and that promoting mental health is as important as responding to mental illness. This article explores the emerging shift in how we conceptualise and discuss children’s mental health.

Simone Darling, Sarthak Gandhi, Cat Johnson, Frank Oberklaid

Many vulnerable people are excluded from the support they need by administrative red tape that leaves them overwhelmed and disempowered, writes Dr Louise Stone.

Louise Stone

Clinical schools and educational institutions have a social responsibility and contract to contribute to strengthening the capacity of the rural workforce

Susanne Tegen

The United States used to be a leader in vaccine research, development and policymaking. Now US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr is undermining the country’s vaccine program at the highest level and supercharging vaccine skepticism.

Julie Leask, Catherine Bennett

Incorporating Indigenous perspectives into strategies for bone health is crucial for addressing the unique health needs of Indigenous people.

Annika Howells

Have you had a tonsillectomy (your tonsils taken out), appendectomy (your appendix removed) or lumpectomy (removal of a lump from your breast)? The suffix “ectomy” denotes surgical removal of the named body part, so these terms give us a clear idea of what the procedure entails.

Theresa Larkin

In medicine, we’re good at showing up to do the work no matter what. But we’re far less skilled at saying, “I’m not okay.”

Andrew Tagg