Caring Places: planning for aged care

This report analyses the impact of the ageing population and projected dementia rates on every federal electorate in Australia from 2010 to 2050. Caring Places Volume 2 released on 25 February was commissioned to project the future requirements for aged care places and packages at the jurisdictional level, Aged Care Planning Regions (ACPRs), and Commonwealth Electoral Divisions (CEDs). The key figures that came out of the report include: *There will be a shortfall of 279,000 aged care places by 2050 *Dementia is a key driver of this increased demand *There will be shortages in both community and residential care places

The impact of social media use on children, adolescents and families

Using social media Web sites is among the most common activity of today’s children and adolescents. Any Web site that allows social interaction is considered a social media site, including social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter; gaming sites and virtual worlds such as Club Penguin, Second Life, and the Sims; video sites such as YouTube; and blogs. For this reason, it is important that parents become aware of the nature of social media sites, given that not all of them are healthy environments for children and adolescents. Pediatricians are in a unique position to help families understand social media sites, and to urge parents to monitor for potential problems with cyberbullying, “Facebook depression,” sexting, and exposure to inappropriate content. Read the full text PDF The impact of social media use on children, adolescents and families

Website offers hope to carers of people with bipolar disorder

A new information website for the caregivers of people with bipolar disorder has been launched to help the thousands of families and friends who live with and look after sufferers of the condition. Developed by researchers at Orygen Youth Health and the University of Melbourne, the information was gathered with the help of an international consortium of 143 carers, consumers and clinicians with experience in dealing with bipolar disorder. The website http://www.bipolarcaregivers.org includes information on bipolar disorder, ways to treat and manage it, suggestions for ways caregivers can provide support and take care of themselves as well as helpful resources.

International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare

The International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare is giving free access to the top 10 downloaded articles for 2010:

• Cognitive leisure activities and their role in preventing dementia: a systematic reviewCindy Stern, Zachary Munn


• Systematic review of practice guideline dissemination and implementation strategies for healthcare teams and team-based practiceJennifer Medves, Christina Godfrey, Carly Turner, at al.


• Knowing is not enough!Justin Beilby


• Summaries of Nursing Care-Related Systematic Reviews from the Cochrane Library: Individual patient education for people with type 2 diabetes mellitusPeter Norrie


• Summaries of Nursing Care-Related Systematic Reviews from the Cochrane Library: Early discharge hospital at homeRasika Jayasekara


• Grandparents and grandchildren: a grand connectionJudy Lumby


• Summaries of Nursing Care-Related Systematic Reviews from the Cochrane Library: Compression for venous leg ulcersEmily Haesler

Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust

Advances in medical, biomedical and health services research have reduced the level of uncertainty in clinical practice. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) compliment this progress by establishing standards of care backed by strong scientific evidence. CPGs are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care. These statements are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and costs of alternative care options.

The book Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust examines the current state of clinical practice guidelines and how they can be improved to enhance healthcare quality and patient outcomes. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust shows how clinical practice guidelines can enhance clinician and patient decision-making by translating complex scientific research findings into recommendations for clinical practice that are relevant to the individual patient encounter, instead of implementing a one size fits all approach to patient care.

The book can be read online for free.

The ignored majority – The Voice of Arthritis 2011

A new report estimates there are 2.6 million Australians with inadequate care, who are needlessly suffering pain, have difficulty getting about and are being disadvantaged at work. They feel let down by general practitioners, specialists and the health care system. Arthritis Australia has commissioned a survey of Australians living with arthritis and found that you can compare three people with the same kind of arthritis, of the same severity, who’ve had it for the same length of time and have the same level of education and income – yet their arthritis has very different effects on their lives at home and work. The study shows clearly that the impact of arthritis on a person’s life and work is not understood.

New heart health initiative for female patients

Heart disease is the number one killer of women in Australia and kills four times as many women as breast cancer. Yet awareness is low. In 2010, only 31% of women reported knowing that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in Australia.
As part of this year’s Go Red for Women campaign, the Heart Foundation is launching a Healthy Heart Challenge as a practical way for women to improve their heart health behaviours. This free 10-week Healthy Heart Challenge starts on 1 June and has been designed to provide small and realistic steps to help women improve their lifestyle. Participants will be asked to sign up to one of six goals including:• be active everyday• improve everyday nutrition• increase knowledge of heart health• quit smoking• lower high blood pressure• lower high cholesterol levels.

For more information and pre-registration go the the Go Red For Women site.

How! Not how much: Medicare spending and health resource allocation in Australia

Jeremy Sammut from the Centre for Independent Studies has written a report which traces the evolution of Australian health policy and its consequences across half a century. The report discusses how the public hospital ‘crisis,’ a political nightmare for all Australian governments, is a legacy of the health policy upheavals of the 1970s and early 1980s, which culminated with the start of Medicare in 1984. Long waits for hospital treatment in Australia are caused by the structural funding inefficiencies at the heart of Medicare, which is a ‘reverse insurance’ system that provides ‘inverse care’ for Australians.
Download or read the report here.

Diabetic foot problems - inpatient management

NICE has published a guideline for the care of people with diabetic foot problems in hospital , as the number of people with diabetes continues to rise. These include foot problems such as ulcerations and gangrene, foot deformities, and infections which, if left untreated, can have a significant impact on a patient's quality of life.The guideline aims to help overall management of diabetic foot problems and to reduce variations in practice. Download the guideline here.

BCG World Atlas

Because vaccination policies and practices for tuberculosis vary across time and countries, the first searchable, online, open access database of global BCG vaccination policy and practices, the BCG World Atlas (http://www.bcgatlas.org/), which contains detailed information on current and past BCG policies and practices for over 180 countries has been created.
The Atlas is for clinicians, policymakers, and researchers and provides information that may be helpful for better interpretation of tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics as well as design of new TB vaccines.

Safety and Quality Framework for Health Care

The Australian Safety and Quality Framework for Health Care has been developemd by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and specifies three core principles : that care is consumer centred, driven by information, and organised for safety. The Framework provides 21 areas for action that all people in the health system can take to improve the safety and quality of care provided in all healthcare settings over the next decade. Endorsed by Health Ministers, it should

• be used as the basis of strategic and operational safety and quality plans
• provide a mechanism for refocusing current safety and quality improvement activities and designing goals for health service improvement
• be used as a guide for reviewing investments and research in safety and quality
• promote discussion with consumers, clinicians, managers, researchers and policy makers about how they might best form partnerships to improve safety and quality.

Depression in the perinatal period - practice guidelines

Beyondblue has also undertaken research showing that up to 10% of pregnant women develop antenatal depression and this increases to about 16%following the birth (postnatal depression). Anxiety is also common in the ante- and post-natal periods. Given these facts, beyondblue has worked since September 2008 to develop the first Australian guidelines for the treatment of mental health problems in women during in the perinatal period. "Detecting and treating mental health disorders in the perinatal period is critical. There is clear evidence that if left untreated, there can be serious consequences for mothers, their infants and their families."

Clinical Practice guidelines for depression and related disorders - anxiety, bipolar disorder and puerperal psychosis - in the perinatal period is aimed at all health professionals working with women in the perinatal period (pregnancy and the first year after birth).

Depression in adolescents - Practice guidelines

Depression and anxiety, together with substance use disorders, are the most common mental illnesses in young people. Despite improvements in the understanding of mental health of young people, conditions such as depression are often undiagnosed and untreated in this age group.

Clinical Practice Guidelines: Depression in Adolescents and Young Adults, developed by beyondblue - the national depression initiative, brings together the best available evidence in the diagnosis, treatment and management of depression and anxiety in adolescents and young people aged 13-24. The guidelines will benefit general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health professionals, nurses and primary health care workers.

Biomechanical work hazards survey report

Safe Work Australia has just released it's report on a survey conducted in 2008: National Hazard Exposure Worker Surveillance: Exposure to biomechanical demands, pain and fatigue symptoms and the provision of controls in Australian workplaces.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are collectively one of the eight priority occupational diseases for Australia. They account for the largest proportion of occupational disease workers’ compensation claims in Australia. Exposure to biomechanical demands at work, such as repetitive hand or arm movements, and awkward postures are one of a number of work-related factors that are associated with the development or worsening of WMSDs.

The aims of this report are to describe the employment and demographic factors that distinguish workers who are highly exposed to biomechanical demands as a result of their work, to investigate the relationship between biomechanical demands and pain and fatigue symptoms, and to assess the provision of controls for biomechanical demands in Australian workplaces.

Personalised medicine - NHMRC

Clinical Utility of Personalised Medicine is a paper published by the NHMRC to explain one of the most significant outcomes of the acceleration in genomic science. Personalised medicine is defined as "the capacity to predict disease development and influence decisions about lifestyle choices or to tailor medical practice to an individual." This includes targeting drugs and treatments based on a detailed understanding of the genetic bases of disease. In addition to the promise of improved patient care and disease prevention, personalised medicine has the potential to lower the ever increasing cost of health care.

NHMRC has developed this paper with the assistance of its Human Genetics Advisory Committee (HGAC) to support health professionals in understanding the applications, utility and limitations of personalised medicine in clinical care.