Article Types
Editorials
It is time for clinical guidelines to enter the digital age
Clinical guidelines can be easily updated with new evidence, continuously reviewed and widely disseminated if they are presented online on a MediaWiki platform which provides a collaborative website, similar to Wikipedia.
Ian N Olver MD, PhD, FRACP · Jutta J Von Dincklage BA, MA
Time trends in cancer incidence and mortality
Trends over the past three decades show that Australia has done vastly better in preventing cancer death than in primary prevention.
Bruce K Armstrong DPhil, FAFPHM, FAA
Parental mental illness is a family matter
A family-focused approach enables early identification and intervention to prevent mental illness in children and their familiesSince we first wrote in the MJA about children of parents with mental illness in 1995, there have been substantial developments in our knowledge of, and responses to, these families.1 At that time, prevalence rates for children living with ...
Vicki Cowling BSW, MA, ACSW(Clinical) · Patrick D McGorry MD, PhD
A plant-based diet — good for us and for the planet
Feeding and greening the world requires a fresh look at plant foodsThe current world food system is inequitable and unsustainable, and is creating huge and costly health problems.1 Of the seven billion people in the world, 1.5 billion are overweight or obese2 while almost a billion go to bed hungry each night.3 The poor are overrepresented ...
Rosemary A Stanton OAM, PhD(Hon), BSc, APD
The medical workforce of the future
Doctors training now will have a very different world of practice. They will need to understand team care, patient engagement in decision making and clinician leadership as well as the rapidly changing health system. But what an exciting environment to be entering, with all the advances in care available and expanding into the future — as long as we can afford them.
Bruce G Robinson MD, MSc, FRACP · Peter M Brooks MD, FRACP, FRCP(Glas)
Depression: an insider’s view
It is never too late to confront the black dogIt is two years since I started enjoying the best mornings I have had since childhood, after finally finding a treatment for my underlying depressive condition. I was 12 years old when I first recognised that something was hampering my ability to function properly early in the day. I would wake up feeling very negative, lacking confidence, indecisive, ...
Andrew J Robb MP, DipAgricSci, BEc(Hons)
Difficult-to-treat depression
What can GPs do when a patient with depression does not get better?Depression remains a leading cause of distress and disability worldwide. In the 1997 Australian National Survey of Health and Wellbeing, 7.2% of people surveyed had experienced a mood (affective) disorder in the previous 12 months.1 Those affected reported a mean of 11.7 disability days (when they were “completely unable to carry out or had to cut ...
David J Castle MD, FRANZCP, FRCPsych · Leon Piterman MB BS, MD, FRACGP · Michael Berk PhD, MB BCh, FRANZCP
Patient safety in hospitals — can we measure it?
Collection of data on adverse events is challenging, and part of the challenge is ensuring that the data are put to good use.
Neville Board RN, BA, MPH
Head injury prevention for bicyclists — helmets make a difference
Bicycling as a mode of transport has great health benefits, but the rate of serious injury to bicyclists is a concern in Australia. Recent research findings contribute to the evidence for promoting the wearing of helmets as one means of reducing serious head injuries and deaths.
Peter A Cameron MB BS, MD, FACEM · Frank McDermott MB BS, MD, FRACS · Jeffrey V Rosenfeld MB BS, MD, FRACS
WONCA inauguration speech 2013
New president of the World Organization of Family Doctors, Australian professor Michael Kidd AM, recently spoke about leading the response to the health and wellbeing needs of communities around the world.
Michael R Kidd AM, MD, FRACGP
Novel insights into the pathology of upper gut symptoms: new syndromes, new diseases
The importance of gut microflora in human health and immunity is just beginning to be realised.
Nicholas J Talley MB BS(Hons), MD, PhD · Marjorie M Walker BMedSci, BM BS, FRCPath
The tale of out-of-pocket spending on health care
We need to develop a process for assessing the social value of health care interventions, and to subsidise those services that provide more value relative to the societal willingness to pay.
Jane P Hall PhD, FASSA
Doctors, death certificates and reporting to coroners — room for improvement
Misunderstanding of requirements and jurisdictional differences may explain why some deaths that should be reported are not. While education of all doctors is required, reporting should be an explicit responsibility of senior doctors.
Stephen M Cordner MA, FRCPA, FRCPath
Can professionalism be taught?
Medical students’ values evolve over time, so a learning process involving meaningful feedback and immersion in a workplace culture that consistently promotes professional behaviour is desirable.
Ian M Symonds MD, FRCOG, FRANZCOG · Nicholas J Talley MD, PhD, FRACP
Pyoderma gangrenosum — a frequently misdiagnosed skin condition
A recent case report from the United Kingdom highlights a sequence of events that is repeated with often devastating consequences from this rare but serious condition.
Alan J Cooper BSc, MB BS, FACD · Frank C Powell FRCP
The history of insulin: the mystery of diabetes
Since ancient times, this disease has inspired mythology as well as discovery, and continues to challenge us today.
Stephen R Leeder MD, PhD, FRACP
Hand transplantation
A brief history of hand transplantation, and support for the team that performed Australia’s first successful transplant in what would generally be considered an unlikely recipient.
Warren C Breidenbach MD, FRCS
STORM, a new dimension for mammography screening
Evidence from a recent population breast screening trial shows improved detection with integrated 2D and 3D mammography. Will enhanced detection translate into improved outcomes for women?
Nehmat Houssami FAFPHM, PhD
Trauma and tranexamic acid
Is it jumping the gun to include tranexamic acid in trauma protocols? A forthcoming Australian trial aims to fill some of the evidence gaps.
on behalf of the PATCH-Trauma study investigators*
Can we avert a diabetes catastrophe in Australia?
Repeated warnings from health experts have fallen on deaf ears. So, yet again, strategy and action to prevent the looming diabetes apocalypse are being called for.
Paul Z Zimmet AO, MD, PhD, FRACP
Developing a global agenda for action on cardiovascular diseases
Australian health policy can and should address, as a core aim, cardiovascular health in less economically advanced nations
Stephen R Leeder MD, PhD, FRACP
The SNAPSHOT ACS study: getting the big picture on acute coronary syndrome
A “real world” audit comparing patient characteristics, patterns of investigation, treatment and patient outcomes can highlight variations in care and areas for improvement
Peter S MacDonald MB BS, MD, PhD · Phillip J Newton RN, BN(Hons), PhD · Patricia M Davidson RN, BA, PhD
The impact of industry self-regulation on television marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to Australian children
Industry self-regulation initiatives, introduced in 2009, have not reduced the overall number of unhealthy food ads that children see on television
Lisa G Smithers PhD, GradCertPublicHealth, GradDipHumNutr · Tracy L Merlin BA(Hons), AdvDipPM, MPH · John W Lynch PhD, MPH, MEd
How can we improve access to new (and old) antibiotics in Australia?
With very few new antibiotics in the pipeline, promoting their development is important, as is balancing priorities when treating patients
Allen C Cheng FRACP, MPH, PhD · Roger L Nation PhC, MS, PhD
Should we screen for lung cancer in Australia?
CT screening of high-risk individuals approaches acceptable cost-effectiveness. But is there a better way?
Mark Hew MB BS, PhD, FRACP · Robert G Stirling BSc(Hons), MB BCh(Hons), FRACP · Michael J Abramson MB BS, PhD, FAFPHM
