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New research shows engaging with music is linked to better cognitive function and a reduced risk of dementia and heart disease in later life.
Dementia represents one of the greatest public health challenges of our time. It encompasses a range of neurodegenerative disorders marked by progressive cognitive decline, memory loss and loss of independence. Among these diseases, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent, accounting for approximately 60–70% of all dementia cases worldwide.
Upskilling GPs with the support of paediatricians could reduce the number of children referred onto lengthy public hospital waiting lists, a new study has found.
Despite reductions in consumption, particularly among young people, Australia has seen a rise in alcohol-related harms and avoidable costs. To decrease alcohol’s enormous burden on individuals, families and communities, it is important that all drinkers ease their alcohol consumption, not just heavy drinkers and other risk groups.
The launch of Australia’s National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP) is a step forward in preventive healthcare — but screening thousands of high-risk Australians with low-dose CT scans will inevitably uncover a far greater number of people with undiagnosed chronic respiratory disease, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Despite ongoing efforts to improve the communication of medicines information across the health system, medication errors at transitions of care persist. Each year in Australia, 250 000 hospital admissions are due to medication-related errors, costing our healthcare system an estimated $1.4 billion. More than half of medication errors occur at transitions of care.
People may take up or drop exercise habits during the life course, but these long-term patterns of activity may be associated with different risks of early death.
Australia’s health and medical research sector is a global leader in innovation and discovery. Yet, a hidden ethical problem in how research grants are funded threatens to undermine this reputation and the researchers it relies on.
Why is it that different states and territories have different policies on meningococcal B vaccination?
