Ambulance Protocols now on CIAP

CIAP has recently published the the NSW Ambulance Protocols and Pharmacologies for the Ambulance Service of NSW (ASNSW). You will find these protocols under ‘Useful Links’ from the top of the CIAP website and you will need to use your facility’s CIAP username and password to access.
There are about 80 protocols divided into subgroups such as surgical, cardovascular, trauma and environmental, and a number of summaries of common therapeutic drugs.
CIAP has changed the look of its website over the past couple of weeks. I'm sure you'll find no problems using the site, but be sure to contact your Library or the CIAP helpdesk if you have any concerns.

National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has just released a summary from this 2007 survey. Their report provides information on the prevalence of three major disorder groups: anxiety disorders, affective disorders and substance use disorders. It also provides information on the level of impairment, the health services used for mental health problems, physical conditions, social networks and caregiving, as well as demographic and socio-economic characteristics.

Among the results are the disturbing facts that "of the 16 million Australians aged 16-85 years, almost half (45% or 7.3 million) had a lifetime mental disorder, ie a mental disorder at some point in their life. One in five (20% or 3.2 million) Australians had a 12-month mental disorder."

Read the report summary at http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/4326.0

Morbidity and Mortality Reports

The MMWR Recommendations and Reports contain in-depth articles that relay policy statements for prevention and treatment on all areas in CDC's scope of responsibility. Some of the reports this year include:
* Recommendations for Identification and Public Health Management of Persons with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection
*Prevention and Control of Influenza
*Prevention of Pertussis, Tetanus, and Diphtheria Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women and their Infants.

Food Ministers Consider Food Labelling Review

The twelfth meeting of the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council (Ministerial Council) was held in Adelaide on Friday. The meeting agreed in principle to commission an independent, comprehensive review of food labelling law and policy. The Ministerial Council received a report from the Food Regulation Standing Committee (FRSC) on front of pack labelling of food that provides consumers with easily accessible information on the health status of the contents. The Ministerial Council had asked for an investigation on whether a front of pack (FOP) labelling scheme would be an effective health strategy to guide consumer choice towards healthier food options.

ABC Health Report - Asthma and Primary Care

Just to follow up on our postings of yesterday and 20 October, the ABC Radio National Health Report featured the AIHW's Asthma study as well as the WHO Primary Health Care report on their program last Monday. You can listen to the whole show online, or download if for your later enjoyment if you missed the broadcast.

Primary Health Care – Now More Than Ever

This is the title of WHO's World Health Report 2008. The Report asks why the principles of Primary Health Care, put forward thirty years ago, are falling short even in the most developed countries. "Globalization is putting the social cohesion of many countries under stress, and health systems are clearly not performing as well as they could and should. People are increasingly impatient with the inability of health services to deliver. Few would disagree that health systems need to respond better – and faster – to the challenges of a changing world."

New patient e-health 2.0 sites

Two new websites have been launched featuring a collection of real life health stories and personal experiences of illness and health.
The two sites, Healthtalkonline, and Youthhealthtalk, have replaced DIPEx, a site created by Dr Ann McPherson, an Oxford GP, and Dr Andrew Herxheimer, former editor of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin.
The charity says the new sites include the UK’s largest collection of real life health stories and aim to support individuals who feel isolated as a result of a particular conditions featuring patients talking on videos and on audio clips as well as through transcripts. Topics covered include cancer, heart disease, chronic pain, bereavement, diabetes, epilepsy and women’s health.
Broadcaster Jon Snow and author Philip Pullman were among those who took part in the launch. Jon Snow, patron of the charity, said listening to the experiences of others could help people to better understand and cope with their illnesses.
“Healthtalkonline provides a medically endorsed forum for this kind of support,” he added.
All content on the site is based on research carried out by academics from Oxford University from interviews with almost 200 people. The charity says the sites are designed to be a useful resource for clinicians who want to better understand people’s perspectives as well as patients.
The dedicated site for young people, Youthhealthtalk, has been promoted by the singer Thom Yorke of the band Radiohead. It includes sections on epilepsy, sexual health and teenage cancer.
The charity said the new sites include greatly improved accessibility, enhanced navigation and comprehensive search facilities. DIPEx is funded by the Department of Health and charitable trusts.
Links
Healthtalkonline http://www.healthtalkonline.org/
Youthtalkonline http://www.youthhealthtalk.org/

Virtual special issue on mental health (Australian Journal of Rural Health)

Another compilation of research in a virtual special issue, this one 22 articles on rural mental health topics. Subjects covered include an overview of rural mental health, rural health-seeking behaviours, climate change and mental health, the role of rural financial counsellors in early intervention, traditional aboriginal health beliefs and lots, lots more ...

Asthma in Australia 2008 (AIHW)

Asthma remains a significant health problem in Australia, with prevalence and death rates that are high by international standards despite declines, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The report, Asthma in Australia 2008, estimates that asthma affects more than 1 in 10 Australians - equivalent to over 2 million people. This report brings together data from a wide range of sources to describe the current status of asthma in Australia. It includes information on the number of people who have asthma and who visit their GP, are hospitalised or die due to asthma. Time trends and profiles of people who receive various treatments for asthma are also presented, along with information on those who have written asthma action plans. In addition, comorbidities and quality of life among people with asthma are investigated. Also included is a chapter on asthma among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Evidence databases in allied health

If you're an Occupational Therapist or a Physiotherapist, I'm sure you already know about these free databases, developed in Australia. But just in case you don't, or for those in related professions who might find them useful, here's the lowdown...

PEDro, developed in the University of Sydney, has been around for many years now. It's aim is "to give rapid access to bibliographic details and abstracts of randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in physiotherapy."

OTseeker is relatively new, only beginning in 2002. The compilers have adapted the guidelines and methods used by PEDro to branch into the Occupational Therapy field and are based in the University of Queensland and the University of Western Sydney.

Health information on the Internet - a challenge for professionals

Louise Donnelly and others have recently published "eHealth as a challenge to 'expert' power: a focus group study of internet use for health information and management". J R Soc Med. 2008 Oct;101(10):501-6.
The numbers of households with access to the Internet has meant journal articles, medical information and medical libraries are increasingly accessible. In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified over 100,000 health-related websites in operation, with other generic sites totalling 60 million. What does this mean for health professionals? The authors conclude, "Our findings illustrate changes in patient identity and a decline in expert authority with ramifications for the practitioner–patient relationship and subsequent implications for health management more generally. "

New ear wax Guidelines

The American Academy of Otolaryngology has recently released a Clinical Practice Guideline : Cerumen Impaction. Essentially the guidelines reinforce what as patients we all know - nothing should be put in your ears by anyone who doesn't know what they are doing, as you risk damaging this delicate instrument. Syringing by a health professional is the go. I had this done after a particularly beachy summer a couple of years ago and it felt fantastic! The guidelines call for more research on different types of cerumen softeners and methods used to clear the ears, as well as a monitoring of the types of health care workers who perform the task.

Critical analysis for nurses

'A Nurses' guide to the critical reading of research' is an article by Rebecca Ingham-Broomfield in September's issue of the Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing. The author provides a framework for the systematic analysis of research papers in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of research methods and thus the worth of particular studies. This is a straightforward and useful guide to a subject we Librarians are often asked to help with.

An invitation to participate in 'Australia : Healthiest Country by 2020'

The Preventative Health Taskforce appointed by Health Minister Nicola Roxon has just released a major discussion paper - Australia: the Healthiest Country by 2020 - with supporting technical reports, and is keen to consult with as many organisations, groups and individuals as possible on this and the National Preventative Health Strategy, which is the next stage in its work. A national series of consultation meetings is planned over the next few months, including two in Sydney late in November.
Details of the consultations may be found at http://www.preventativehealth.org.au/

Primary and Community Care Discussion Papers

To assist in its work to develop a long-term health reform plan for Australia, the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) invited discussion papers from authorities in the key areas of Primary and Community Care, Prevention, Governance, and Public-Private Mix. These papers are now available free online on the NHHRC website under 'Discussion Papers' and include:
* New Models of Primary Care and Community Care with a Focus on Rural and Remote Care;
* New and emerging nurse-led models of primary health care by Professor Mary Chiarella.

Medicine 2.0 - the Interactive Web

Many of you will have heard of Web 2.0, which refers to changing trends in the use of the Internet that aim to enhance creativity, information sharing and collaboration. This trend has led to such innovations as social-networking sites (like Facebook), video sharing sites (like U-Tube), wikis and blogs.

Adaptation of Web 2.0 technologies in the area of Medicine are now emerging for consumers, health professionals and biomedical researchers. Google Health, which allows for Personally Controlled Health Records, is an obvious example of this. Gunther Eysenbach is the author of an editorial in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, entitled "Medicine 2.0: Social Networking, Collaboration, Participation, Apomediation, and Openness." If you're interested in where all this new technology is heading, it makes for intriguing reading.

Understanding of Prostate Cancer

"Knowledge and attitudes of men about prostate cancer", is an article in the most recent issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, 189 (6): 312-314, by Diane E Arnold-Reed and others.

The authors report on a survey of Australian men in the 40-80 age group and conclude that 80% of the men did not know the function of the prostate, and 48% failed to identify prostate cancer as the most common internal cancer in men. 35% had no knowledge of the treatments for prostate cancer and 53% had no knowledge of the side effects of treatments. They conclude that "there is a deficit in knowledge about prostate cancer among men in the at-risk age group, encompassing areas that could delay diagnosis and treatment."

There's more to searching the Internet than Google

Of course Librarians are going to tell you that! There is good reason for Google being the most popular search engine out there, but don't blind yourself to other avenues to find general information on the Internet.

Mary Ellen Bates is an American Librarian who travels the world teaching other librarians and special interest groups how to get the most out of the Internet. Read her article, Life Beyond Google: Some of the Best of the Rest for an insight into some other ways to find general information online.