Opinions

Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide and Australia is no exception. Around 4 million Australians live with back pain and it is one of the most common reasons people see their GP or physiotherapist. The personal toll from chronic low back pain is significant and so too is the system impact with billions spent each year on health care and lost through reduced workplace productivity or early retirement.

Martjie Venter, Aidan Cashin

The climate crisis can feel overwhelming. During a busy workday as a clinician when you’re juggling time constraints, hygiene requirements, patient requests, and administrative demands, prioritising planetary health can feel like one thing too many. However, as we increasingly witness the predicted harms of the climate crisis manifest, it has become clear that clinicians who prioritise the health of their patients must prioritise the health of the planet. In this perspective piece we — a general practitioner (GP) and a climate health researcher — challenge all clinicians to understand, prioritise and practice planetary health. A rapid scan of the literature alongside GP clinical observations have identified four key reasons for this.

Jessica van den Heuvel, Nina Lansbury

The Healthy Start for Young Hearts Alliance brings together experts across public health and clinical care with the aim to prevent cardiovascular disease before it begins.

Rachel Climie, Jonathan Mynard, Sherly Li, Terry Dwyer

Delayed diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis remains a significant and preventable cause of harm for Australian children. With many waiting months, some years, for specialist assessment, earlier recognition in primary care is critical to reducing long-term disability and improving outcomes.

Jonathan Akikusa

From July 31, the United States will impose up to 100% tariffs on pharmaceuticals coming into the US. Some Australian-made exports look set to pay that highest rate, while some other countries – including the UK, Japan and the European Union – have negotiated lower rates.

Felicity Deane

Over the last decade, I have worked with a team of editors and authors on an international book on sexual harassment in medicine, which has been published by Cambridge University Press. It has been a long, sometimes surprising and deeply disturbing analysis of a complex problem with world-wide ramifications.

Louise Stone

A psychologist colleague recently described a session with a new patient. When she asked why the person had been referred to her, the patient replied: “My GP said you were such a lovely person.” I’m sure she is. But it raises a clinical question: is “lovely” really a sufficient basis for referral, given the range and complexity of presentations seen in general practice?

Robert Schweitzer

Many kids are scared of getting needles, and this can stop them getting vaccinations that protect that against the flu. Less than one in four Australian children were vaccinated against influenza in 2025.

Allen Cheng, Christopher Blyth

If you work in an emergency department, giving “tetanus shots” is routine. Dirty laceration, dog bite, gardening injury — we clean the wound, assess tetanus risk, check the record (or try to), and administer a booster when it is due.

Michael D. Nissen, Faye Jordan, Polash Adhikari, Megan Young, Alec Henderson, Sebastian Vernal, Luis Furuya-Kanamori