Christmas stories

Merry Christmas to all the supporters of our blog.  We will be having a little break now to enjoy the festive season with our families and friends but will be back with more health news, reports and online research tools in 2012.

Here are a few interesting stories to leave you with:
Feeling under the weather?  You've got Christmas Tree Syndrome, is an item in Britain's Telegraph reporting on an article in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, about how Christmas trees  might be making you sick, due to mould.

Christmas tips to reduce stress - on the Victorian Government's Better Health Channel.  Lots of ideas on staying calm and dealing with relationships, meals, shopping, budgeting, and more.

Try the BMJ's Christmas picture quiz.  This journal always has fun articles in their Christmas issue - have a look as well at What the Three Wise Men have to say about diagnosis and, for the new year perhaps, Neo-evolution : is Homo sapiens ready?

Australia's mothers and babies, 2009

The Australian Institute of Health & Welfare has just released Australia's mothers and babies 2009, a report which shows that Australian women continue to wait longer to have children. The average age of women who gave birth in Australia has increased steadily from 29.0 years in 2000 to reach 30.0 years in 2009.  Approximately 41.6% of women were having their first baby and the average age for first time mothers was 27.


In 2009, 294,540 women gave birth to 299,220 babies in Australia. The increase in births continued, with 2,295 more births (0.8%) than reported in 2008. Smoking while pregnant was reported by 14.5% of all mothers, by 37.0% of teenage mothers and almost half (49.6%) of Indigenous mothers.  In 2009, 863 women had a homebirth, representing 0.3% of all women who gave birth.

Cost of poor dental health - report

The Brotherhood of St Laurence has released a report analysing the costs of poor dental health on the economy and those least able to afford dental care. Millions of people are financially locked out of Australia's expensive dental health system, undermining their capacity to gain and keep employment and at an annual cost to the economy of more than $1.3 billion.

End the Decay: The cost of poor dental health and what should be done about it, analysed existing data to estimate the disease burden of untreated dental conditions - and the resulting economic burden. The report's authors, Professor Jeff Richardson from Monash University and Bronwyn Richardson from Campbell Research and Consulting, found that the direct and indirect costs to the economy are significant.

Health Statistics NSW

Health Statistics NSW is an interactive, web-based application that allows users to access data and tailor reports about the health of the New South Wales population for their own use. Health Statistics NSW is a NSW Government initiative and provides information on:

• the health status and demography of the NSW community


• health inequalities and the determinants of health


• the burden of disease and current health challenges


• trends in health and comparisons between age groups and geographic locations.

Case management: What it is and how it can best be implemented

Case management is a well-established way of integrating services around the complex needs of people with long-term conditions. "Case Management: What it is and how it can best be implemented" examines how delivery of integrated care for people with long-term conditions can be improved. The authors explore the questions:
What is case management?
What are the core components of a case management programme?
What are the benefits of case management when it is implemented effectively?
What factors need to be in place for successful case management?
One of the authors, Nick Goodwin of the Kings Fund, has also made available a slide presentation of the highlights of the publication.

2010 Australian national infant feeding survey: indicator results

The 2010 Australian National Infant Feeding Survey is the first specialised national survey of infant feeding practices in Australia. The survey also collected information on attitudes towards, and enablers for and barriers against breastfeeding. This report by AIHW provides baseline data on key infant feeding indicators, including: most babies (96%) were initially breastfed, but only 39% were exclusively breastfed for less than 4 months, and 15% for less than 6 months; overall 35% of infants were introduced to solid foods by 4 months of age and 92% by the recommended age of 6 months; around 7% of infants drank cow's milk by 6 months, with most not starting until the recommended age of 12 months.

List of 56 best interventions will help to reduce maternal and child deaths

A study has identified 56 essential interventions which are most likely to improve the health and safety of mothers, infants, and young children and help countries to meet Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. The list of evidence based interventions includes screening and treating pregnant women for anaemia and hypertension, preventing and managing post-partum haemorrhage, immediate thermal care for newborns, and antibiotics for the treatment of pneumonia in children.
Every year 358 000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth and 7.6 million children die before the age of 5, says the study. More than half of maternal deaths are caused by excessive bleeding (35%) and hypertension (18%). Half of newborn babies die during the first 24 hours of life and 75% during the first week of life, mainly from preterm birth, severe infections, and asphyxia.The list will help policy makers set priorities and decide where to put their funds and resources, say the World Health Organization, the Aga Khan University, and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, which supported the three year study.

Read or download "Essential Interventions, Commodities and Guidelines for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health".

Glen's story - hospital associated infections

The Victorian Infection Control Professionals Association (VICPA) has produced a video to show how hospital associated infections can have a serious impact on a person’s health outcomes.
In Australia each year, it is estimated there are 200,000 hospital-associated infections and many of these infections are preventable. The VICPA video, Glen’s story, aims to support healthcare professionals in their infection prevention and control initiatives. The video was produced with the assistance and support of a family who share their experience and the impact that acquiring a hospital associated infection has had on their lives.

Health Systems Evidence

Health Systems Evidence, an initiative of McMaster University, "is a continuously updated repository of syntheses of research evidence about governance, financial and delivery arrangements within health systems, and about implementation strategies that can support change in health systems. Over time Health Systems Evidence will also contain a continuously updated repository of economic evaluations in these same domains, descriptions of health system reforms, and descriptions of health systems."
It is a free access point for evidence to support policymakers, stakeholders and researchers interested in how to strengthen or reform health systems.
It is free to register to gain access to the site.

The Parental Brain

This special issue of the Journal of Neuroendocrinology is all about parenthood and the changes in the brain that facilitate successful rearing of the next generation. This special issue also provides insight into what we are now beginning to understand about the coinciding changes that occur in the 'parental brain'. It features a collection of original research articles and reviews submitted following the Parental Brain Conference, held in Edinburgh on 1-4 September 2010.
Click here to read all the articls for free.

Facilitating the use of research evidence

This free virtual issue of the Millbank Quarterly includes twenty-two articles and two commentaries that have been published in the Quarterly between 2001 and 2011. All of the articles in this issue pertain to facilitating the use of research evidence. The overall theme in the articles on this topic is that the practical use of health services research (broadly defined) is something that can be facilitated.

Interventions for preventing obesity in children

This review primarily aims to update the previous Cochrane review of childhood obesity prevention research and determine the effectiveness of evaluated interventions intended to prevent obesity in children, assessed by change in Body Mass Index (BMI). Secondary aims were to examine the characteristics of the programs and strategies to answer the questions "What works for whom, why and for what cost?"

Online Resource for Clinical Effectiveness Reviews

NLM's National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), in partnership with England's national Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, the Cochrane Collaboration, the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other agencies in the US and abroad, now makes available more than 18,000 clinical effectiveness reviews via PubMed Health. PubMed Health organizes these clinical effectiveness research results, including full texts as well as summary information, for consumers and clinicians.

Closing the Gap Clearinghouse

A new resource sheet for the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse (set up to publish evidence-based research on overcoming disadvantage for Indigenous Australians by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare), is  Effective practices for service delivery coordination in Indigenous communities This resource explores what is known about service delivery coordination activities in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia. It examines the principles that underpin service delivery coordination efforts to improve the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians.

There are now several resource sheets and papers on the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse site.

Aged care reform information sheets

The National Aged Care Alliance has published a number of information sheets designed to inform health professionals and the public about changes recommended by the Productivity Commission. Titles of the sheets are:

• Aged Care and Access to the Gateway
• Aged Care Services - Access and Consumer Protections
• The Aged Care Workforce
• Dementia and Aged Care Reform
• Entitlement to Aged Care Services and Greater Choice
• Health Reform and Aged Care
• Paying for Aged Care
• Quality Aged Care Services
• Special Needs Groups - Access and Consumer Protections

Australian dietary guidelines - NHMRC draft

Drafts of the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating have been released by the NHMRC for public comment.  The Guidelines provide information for health professionals and the general population to reduce the risk of diet-related disease, encouraging healthy dietary patterns to promote and maintain the nutrition-related health and wellbeing of the Australian population.

The revised Australian Dietary Guidelines have been updated with recent scientific evidence about the relationships between food, dietary patterns and health outcomes. They are based on foods and food groups, rather than nutrients as in the 2003 edition.  The evidence base has strengthened for:

• The association between the consumption of sugar sweetened drinks and the risk of excessive weight gain 
• The health benefits of breastfeeding
• The association between the consumption of milk and decreased risk of heart disease and some cancers
• The association between the consumption of fruit and decreased risk of heart disease
• The association between the consumption of non-starchy vegetables and decreased risk of some cancers
• The association between the consumption of wholegrain cereals and decreased risk of heart disease and excessive weight gain.

Submissions are invited on the guidelines until Wednesday, 29 February, 2012.  Supporting resources and submission instructions can be found here.

On be(com)ing a good doctor

Students are often resistent to thinking in new and different ways about the problems patients bring to them, but need to learn how, if medical care is to be genuinely caring, according to
Annette Braunack-Mayer who has written a very interesting article in Australian Review of Public Affairs. She addresses the question of "how do we train medical students to become morally sensitive doctors?"
Read the full article here.

Youth Mentoring

This report by Melanie Thomson and Lauren Costello of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, looks at national and international evidence on the value for investment of youth mentoring and identifies evidence regarding the social and economic benefits for youth of quality one-to-one relationship based mentoring. Youth mentoring is, according to the Australian Youth Mentoring Network, defined as ‘a structured and trusting relationship that brings young people together with caring individuals who offer guidance, support and encouragement’. The goal of youth mentoring is to enhance social engagement and thereby minimise negative behaviours through growth in social and developmental behaviours. .

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control TV

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has produced a number of short online videos on such topics as;

• Childhood Tuberculosis


• Influenza Epidemics


• Antimicrobial Resistance


• HIV

Click here to go to the website.

Australian Women’s Health Network

Read the latest AWHN newsletter and updates on women's health policy and women's health services here.

Australian guideline for treatment of problem gambling

The Problem Gambling Research and Treatment Centre (PGRTC) at Monash University has developed the first guideline to address problem gambling in Australia - Guideline for screening, assessment and treatment in problem gambling.  It has been developed in response to the need for problem gambling services, practitioners and policymakers to have evidence-based guidance in the design and delivery of treatments for people with gambling problems. The growing availability of a research base in problem gambling has helped make this possible.

An abridged outline of this guideline has been published by MJA.  MJA Online First, 22 November 2011 : doi: 10.5694/mja11.11088

Domestic violence in Australia: an overview of the issues 2011

This background note by Liesl Mitchell of the Parliamentary Library is a guide to research and resources on domestic violence in Australia. It includes an overview of research on the prevalence of domestic violence, attitudes and risk factors, at risk groups and communities and the costs of domestic violence to communities and to the economy. It also covers policy approaches designed to prevent domestic violence, a survey of current Australian Government programs and initiatives and a review of future directions in domestic violence prevention. Appendix A contains extensive links to sources of further information on domestic violence in Australia.

Shared Care in Mental Illness

"Shared care in mental illness : a rapid review to inform implementation" is recent article by Brian J. Kelly and others.  The authors present a review of the evidence on shared care models of ambulatory mental health services. It was found that shared care models resulted in improved social function, self management skills, service acceptability, reduced hospitalisation, greater access to specialist care and better engagement with and acceptability of mental health services in some clinical settings. Effective shared care models incorporated linkages across various service levels, clinical monitoring within agreed treatment protocols, improved continuity and comprehensiveness of services.

International Journal of Mental Health Systems 2011, 5:31 doi:10.1186/1752-4458-5-31

BreastScreen Australia monitoring report

AIHW has also released the BreastScreen Australia Monitoring Report 2008-2009.  More than 1.3 million women aged 50-69 participated in BreastScreen Australia in 2008-2009, equivalent to around 55% of the target age group. Deaths from breast cancer are at an historic low at 47 deaths per 100,000 women aged 50-69 in 2007.

In 2007, there were 6,297 new cases of breast cancer and 1,085 deaths.  In 2009, 11% of women screened for the first time were recalled for further investigation, whereas for women attending subsequent screens, 4% were recalled. For every 10,000 women screened for the first time, 80 had an invasive breast cancer detected, whereas for every 10,000 women attending subsequent screens, 45 had an invasive breast cancer detected.

Oral health and dental care in Australia

Oral health and dental care in Australia : key facts and figures 2011, has been released this week by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.  Some of the findings include the fact that:

• In 2010, approximately 21% of adults aged 65 and over were edentulous (without natural teeth).  Of these people, nearly half (47%) wore dentures.
• In 2010, around 15% of adults reported experiencing toothache in the previous 12 months, and 25% reported feeling uncomfortable about their dental appearance. 
• In 2010, 64% of persons aged 5 and over visited a dentist in the previous year, ranging from 78% in children aged 5–14, to 57% in adults aged 25–44. 
• The majority (54%) of persons aged 5 and over had some level of private dental cover, with those living in Major cities (59%) having higher rates of insurance than those in Inner regional (47%) and Outer regional areas (46%).  
• In 2009–10 the total expenditure on dental services was $7,690 million, a 13% increase from the previous year. 

The capacity for the dental labour force to supply dental visits is expected to range between 33.0 and 40.1 million visits by 2020, compared to a projected demand for between 33.6 and 44.1 million visits.

Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults in Australia

Cancer in adolescents and young adults in Australia presents the latest available incidence, survival and mortality statistics on cancer in young Australians aged 15 to 29. The incidence of cancer in this age group has become steady since the mid-1990s while cancer mortality has fallen between 1983 and 2007. Survival from cancer in adolescents and young adults has been relatively high and has improved with time, although cancer outcomes vary across population groups. Melanoma was the most common cancer diagnosed and brain cancer was the leading cause of cancer death.

Cancers in adolescents and young adults are uncommon but can cause a substantial disease burden. This is the first report to present a comprehensive picture of national statistics on cancer in young Australians and it provides an evidence base to underpin improvements in cancer outcomes.

International Profiles of Health Care Systems

This publication presents overviews of the health care systems of Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Each overview covers health insurance, public and private financing, health system organisation, quality of care, health disparities, efficiency and integration, use of health information technology, use of evidence-based practice, cost containment, and recent reforms and innovations.

Electronic Health Records: An International Perspective on "Meaningful Use"

This paper was published by the Commonwealth Fund in the US and describes the extent of meaningful use  of EHRs in three countries with very high levels of health information technology adoption—Denmark, New Zealand, and Sweden.  The United states is endeavouring to The U.S. has now embarked on a major effort to achieve "meaningful use" of health information technology by clinicians and hospitals and is hoping to take some lessons from these international examples.

Australia's Welfare 2011

Australia's welfare 2011 is the 10th biennial welfare report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It presents the latest national statistics on welfare services and factors influencing wellbeing in Australia. Topics include: children and young people; disability and disability services; ageing and aged care; informal carers; homelessness; housing assistance; community services workforce; welfare expenditure.  Australia's shifting geographic profile, changing workforce and education patterns, and developing trends in family structure means that welfare needs are complex and diverse.

Australia's welfare 2011 in brief presents selected highlights from the above report.