Response to the Garling Report

Caring Together: The Health Action Plan for NSW is the first stage of the NSW Government’s response to the Garling Inquiry’s findings and recommendations. A second report, Caring Together: Government Response to Recommendations sets out the Government's response to each recommendation from the Garling Inquiry. The Report includes 139 recommendations and the Government is accepting 134 of these. Based on the consultation process, the Government is providing a three-stage response supported by an additional $485 million.

Throughout 2008, Commissioner Garling undertook the most significant inquiry ever of the NSW acute care system. His 1200-page Report was provided to the Government in November last year and it identified strengths and weaknesses of our health system and the need to re-focus on the patient as the centre of the health care system.
Both reports can be found here as well as the full Garling Report. A website has been set up where progress reports and the latest information can be found.

Writing Advice for Nurses

Nurse Author & Editor is an international publication dedicated to nurse authors, editors and reviewers. It was first published in 1991 as a print publication but it is now published as a free quarterly online publication.

Each issue of Nurse Author & Editor consists of articles offering advice on writing quality manuscripts, avoiding rejection, finding publishing opportunities, editing and reviewing. Each issue also has a section containing short articles to update readers on new developments in nursing journals and journal publishing. There are pages dedicated to reviewers, authors and editors.

In order to view issues of Nurse Author & Editor (from 2006) and to sign up for a table of contents alert, you will need to 'register' but it is free. Once registered you can 'sign in' using a user name and password.

Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event This very helpful website addresses the toll disasters can have on mental health and provides healthy ways to cope. The site includes information on how parents can talk to their children, teachers can talk to their students, and how adults can talk to each other about a disaster. One good place to start is the link "Tips for Talking About Disasters", which is located under the heading titled "Information for Individuals and Families".

Under the heading titled "Information for Specific Groups", at the bottom of the page, are three links to information for "Responders", "Health Professionals", and "States and Planners". [KMG]

More on climate change and health

Following on from our posting on 5 November last year, a new report on this topic has just been published published by the Nautilus Institute.

In Climate change in Australia: risks to human wellbeing and health, author Anthony McMichael writes that "climate change belongs to a wider range of human-induced global environmental changes that are now assuming great and urgent importance. Collectively, these changes signify that human pressures are weakening and endangering the planet’s life support systems. Climate change will have many, and diverse, effects on human biological processes, risks of injury, and hence on health." McMichael discusses the adverse health impacts of climate change on those most likely to bear the greatest burden: low-income, poorly-resourced and geographically vulnerable populations.

In a similar vein, ABC Radio National's Health Report on 2 March included a report about malaria and climate change from the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, which was recently held in Chicago.

Mental Health and Homelessness

A new report from the Mental Health Council of Australia presents ten ‘Home Truths’ about what must be done to ensure people with a mental illness have access to adequate and affordable housing. Home truths: mental health, housing and homelessness in Australia also highlights the need for support if stable housing is to be maintained, and points out the costs of inaction.

Home Truths calls for the national implementation of specialist housing models that are designed to provide the support that some people with a mental illness need to live in the community.

Aspirin for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

An update of US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines on aspirin and cardiovascular disease is published in the latest Annals of Internal Medicine, based on new evidence published since 2002. The guideline focuses on new evidence on the benefits and harms of aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction and stroke.
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death and it is the underlying or contributing cause in over 50% of deaths per year. In 2003, 1 of every 3 adults had some form of cardiovascular disease and in adults older than 40 years, the lifetime risk is 2 in 3 for men and more than 1 in 2 for women.

First Physical Activity Recommendations for Older Australians

For the first time, the Australian Government has developed physical activity recommendations specifically for older Australians. Choose Health: Be Active, a new booklet produced by the Australian Government will help older Australians improve their health and well-being. The free booklet outlines a variety of ways to include appropriate forms of physical activity into everyday life. For many older Australians, particularly those with poor health, remaining physically active could be a challenge, but this booklet provides solutions. Choose Health: Be Active is designed to help older people choose the types of activity that best suit them no matter how old, able or active. The booklet has sections on strength and balance exercises that can be integrated into everyday living, and gives practical advice on coping with health problems and overcoming setbacks.

Diversity Health Institute

The Diversity Health Institute is a coalition of public health organisations that work together to improve the health and wellbeing of Australia's culturally and linguistically diverse community. The units of DHI provide health promotion, education and training, research and clinical services.
The Transcultural Mental Health Centre (TMHC), part of DHI, is an acknowledged leader in clinical consultation and assessment, transcultural mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention, publication and resource development and education and training. Under the Resources link you have access to a large number of fact sheets many focusing on children and families.

Podcasts for medical education

Learn while you drive, jog or cook the dinner with the free podcasts available at the Rural Health Education Foundation website.

There are over 170 programs available for download, divided into dozens of speciality areas from Behaviour Disorders, to Eye Health, to Neurology, Nursing and Women's Health. All are professionally produced and authoritatively researched. You need to register on the site to begin with, but that only costs a few minutes of your time.

New Cardiovascular Risk Guidelines

The NHMRC has just approved the first Australian Guidelines for the assessment of absolute cardiovascular disease risk. These guidelines "reflect a person’s ‘individualised’ risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), as opposed to the traditional method that considers various risk factors, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure, in isolation."

The guidelines are aimed at general practitioners, Indigenous health workers and other primary health care professionals to assist them in assessing the absolute risk of cardiovascular disease in adults without known cardiovascular disease.

The link above will also take you to a useful quick reference guide, risk charts and a risk calculator, as well as some useful patient fact sheets.

Measuring and reporting mortality in hospital patients

'Measuring and reporting mortality' aims to develop national indicators of in-hospital mortality and was one of several projects conducted as part of the National Indicators Project commissioned by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. The project has two parts: a literature review focussing on methods for analysing and reporting in-hospital mortality, and a modelling project aimed at identifying national indicators of hospital mortality that can be implemented now and in the future.

Authored by AIHW

Indigenous in remote areas are healthier

Indigenous people in the remotest parts of Australia have better health outcomes than those in less remote, or outer regional, areas.
A study that recently was published in MJA looked at deaths from chronic disease across the Northern Territory found 'strikingly higher' mortality rates among Aborigines in less remote locations.
Using Australia's general population as a baseline, the death rate among indigenous people in outer regional areas like suburban Darwin was about three times higher.

Check out the full text article at the Medical Journal of Australia website
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/190_06_160309/contents_160309.html

International Centre for Human Resources in Nursing

This website addresses one of the more pressing issues in healthcare worldwide: the nursing workforce. The website of the International Centre for Human Resources in Nursing (ICHRN) addresses the shortage of nurses, the underemployment of nurses and the migration of nurses, as well as the challenges of nursing education availability and poor workforce planning. Visitors can click on "Knowledge Library" at the top of the page to download many of their publications. The library can be browsed by subject or searched by keyword. Some of the subject areas include "Workforce Assessment, Planning and Policy", "Work Environment" and "Good/Promising Practices in Nursing Recruitment and Retention". The "Helpful Links" tab at the top of the page will take the visitor to over two dozen links concerning the nursing crisis in world healthcare.

Identifying the Deteriorating Patient Literature

The issue of identifying the patient at risk of deteriorating is gaining momentum in health care including the recognition that many factors contribute to the failure to rescue a deteriorating patient. One of the Clinical Excellence Commission projects focus on recognition and appropriate management of inpatients, whose condition is deteriorating; "The lack of recognition and appropriate management of inpatients, whose condition is deteriorating, has been identified as a contributing factor for many adverse events worldwide. Review of information gathered through analysis of data from the NSW Incident Information Management System (IIMS) and from Root Cause Analyses and from deliberations of the NSW Department of Health Reportable Incident Review Committee confirmed that this is also a significant issue for the NSW Health system. In NSW there is state-wide agreement that this is a high priority for all Area Health Services (AHS)". See the report Between the Flags Project - The way forward, October 2008, Clinical Excellence Commission.
Joanne Rowley, Nurse Researcher at Coffs Harbour Health Campus has compiled a short up to date list of literature relating to the topic. Contact Joanne at joanne.rowley@ncahs.health.nsw.gov.au for a copy.

National Institute on Aging

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is the research arm of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) that focuses on aging research. Their website is geared both toward researchers and laypeople, particularly seniors. Visitors can click on the ks,such "Publications", "Alzheimer's Disease Information" and "Clinical Trials" next to the "Health Information" heading, on the right side of the homepage. To see the numerous publications the NIA has available to order or download free, visitors can click on the Publications" link on the homepage to browse the categories of ublications available, including, "Caregiving", "Conditions & Diseases", "Medications/Supplements" and "Safety".

Asthma and Children - new website

A new interactive, kid-friendly website, Kids with Asthma, has been launched by the National Asthma Council Australia to give kids with asthma and their parents the low down on all-things asthma-related, including basic facts, diagnosis, asthma medications, management and FAQs.
Specifically designed to be fun and informative, the site uses simple facts and an interactive asthma-themed Game Zone to appeal to younger patients, backing up the messages with more detailed information on key topics for parents.
Health professionals can register to receive Kids With Asthma seasonal update emails at:

Forwarded from GWAHS Libraries Blog

Health and the Economy

An interesting paper has just been published by Joann Wilkie and Adam Young, from the Australian Treasury, entitled Why Health Matters for Economic Performance.

The authors argue that the good health of a population not only leads to social and individual wellbeing, but that it drives labour and capital investment. This in turn can raise economic growth and increase GDP. They say that the efficiency of health care resources leads directly to health outcomes and that this impact on our economy should provide a framework for healthcare policies.

National Mental Health Policy 2008

The Australian Health Ministers have just announced the launch of the National Mental Health Policy 2008.
"The policy represents a renewed commitment by all health ministers and ministers with responsibility for mental health to the continual improvement of Australia's mental health system. It works towards ensuring that Australia has a mental health system that detects and intervenes early in illness, promotes recovery, and ensures that all Australians with a mental illness have access to effective and appropriate treatment and community supports to enable them to participate in the community fully. It also recognises that certain groups in the community, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, homeless and disadvantaged people, those exposed to traumatic events, and those with serious or chronic health problems are at heightened risk of mental health problems and mental illness.

Policies for Healthy Ageing: an overview

This paper reviews policies in the area of healthy ageing. With the ageing of OECD countries’ population over coming decades, maintaining health in old age will become increasingly important. Successful policies in this area can increase the potential labour force and the supply of non-market services to others. They can also delay the need for longer-term care for the elderly. A first section briefly defines what is meant by healthy ageing and discusses similar concepts – such as “active ageing”. The paper then groups policies into four different types and within each, it describes the range of individual types of programmes that can be brought to bear to enhance improved health of the elderly. A key policy issue in this area concerns whether such programmes have a positive effect on health outcomes and whether they are cost effective.
Click here to link to OECD Working Paper No. 42

New Australian alcohol guidelines released today

The NHMRC has today launched its new guidelines for alcohol consumption for Australians. Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks From Drinking Alcohol recommends that both women AND men drink no more than two standard drinks a day over their lifetime if they want to reduce their risk of being harmed by an alcohol-related injury or disease.

The Guidelines come after three years of research and consultation by a committee chaired by Professor Jon Currie, Department of Addiction Medicine, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, and Melbourne University.

Professor Currie said “The guidelines aren’t telling you what you can or can’t do. They aim to help Australians make their own informed choices about alcohol and how much risk they want to take with their health. Two standard drinks a day keeps your risk below 1 chance in 100 of dying as a result of drinking. This is slightly less than your risk of dying in a car accident one day.”

Young people under 18 are advised not to drink, as are pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Rheumatoid Arthritis in Australia

A new report has just been released by the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare entitled A Picture of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Australia. This diseases affects around 400,000 Australians and is the second most common type of arthritis, after osteoarthritis. It is more common among females and in older age groups. The underlying cause of rheumatoid arthritis is not well understood but genetic factors play a key role.

The report is aimed at anyone who wants to know more about this type of arthritis and it covers topics such as:

• A description of the disease and how it affects the body
• Who is at risk
• How it can best be managed and prevented
• The financial and social impacts of rheumatoid arthritis
  

Transferring Research to Our Work and Organizations

Lost in Knowledge Transfer? Research Transfer Network of Alberta conference September 28 to 30, 2008, Banff, Alberta, Canada - Proceedings

This conference attempts to move past the theories and models of knowledge transfer to explore the practical tools and strategies that will help to incorporate knowledge transfer into our work and organizations.

Summary of the workshop
Presentations from 2008 RTNA Conference
Abstracts

Australian Indigenous Health Bulletin

The latest issue of Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin is now available online. This is the electronic journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet and it aims to facilitate access to information of relevance to Australian Indigenous health. It also has links to some of the latest reports and publications relevant to indigenous health. Check out all the great articles here.

Closing the Gap

Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs has just published "Closing the Gap on Indigenous Disadvantage: the Challenge for Australia", which outlines the Commonwealth Government’s progress in ’Closing the Gap’ and addressing Indigenous disadvantage. Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, promised during his apology to Indigenous Australians in 2008, to deliver a report card each year on the Government’s efforts to close the gap. In this first year, measurable targets have been stated, efforts have been made to reset relationships with Indigenous people and initiatives to improve service delivery have been suggested. The main components of ‘Closing the Gap’ policy include the all-of -government approach and a commitment of the broader community and corporate sector.
The evidence gathered shows the extent of some aspects of Indigenous disadvantage in health, education and employment. The report sets out priorities for the future to achieve lasting change and ensure that future generations of Indigenous Australians have all the opportunities enjoyed by other Australians to live full, healthy lives and achieve their potential.
Click here to open the full report.