Perspectives

Alongside the current clinical approaches to reduce the duration of mental disorders, it is time to focus on a complementary approach to reduce their incidence.

Anthony F Jorm PhD, DSc · Nicola J Reavley PhD

Halloween is becoming increasingly popular in Australia, but what are the public health implications?The use of fictional characters and festivals to sell unhealthy commodities is well established. Both Santa Claus and the Easter bunny have been employed to influence people, especially children, towards unhealthy behaviour.1,2 Each year, on 31 October, an increasing number of witches and wizards darken the doors of Australian households, demanding free junk ...

Gillian P Porter MB BS, DCH · Nathan J Grills MB BS, DPhil, MPH

As the number of female soldiers and veterans increases, and their roles expand, it is important that medical professionals are aware of the gender-specific health effects of service.

Susan J Neuhaus MB BS, PhD, FRACS · Samantha L Crompvoets BSc(Hons), PhD

Australia needs to ensure that it can implement a health warnings scheme for wine and spirit containers that reflects the best available evidence.

Paula L O’Brien BA/LLB(Hons), LLM · Deborah H Gleeson BHSc, MPH, PhD

Airway surgery represents an important part of contemporary treatment paradigms in adult obstructive sleep apnoeaSurgery in adult obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is an option used when continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, the gold standard treatment, fails. CPAP failure usually occurs because of poor adherence or significant complications from CPAP or related devices such as a mandibular advancement splint. The best available evidence indicates that ...

Stuart G MacKay BSc, MB BS(Hons), FRACS · Edward M Weaver MD, MPH

It is time that the environmental cost of doing medicine is brought into the whole equation; that Big Pharma are brought on board; and that doctors are educated to give this some priority.

Peter M J Fisher BSc(Hons), PhD · David A Smith BSc · Peter J Collignon MB BS(Hons), BSc(Med)

If these methods are cost-effective and highly acceptable to women of all reproductive ages, why do so few Australian women use them?

Kirsten I Black FRANZCOG, MFSRH, PhD · Deborah Bateson MA, MSc, MB BS · Caroline Harvey MB BS(Hons), FRACGP, DRANZCOG

Embedding research into patient care and education for health-related professionals is the right approach, but it requires flexible and tailored solutions to funding and governance.

Garry L R Jennings MD, FRACP · Michael K Walsh MB BS, BHA, MPA

An incoming government must provide a full range of curative, rehabilitative, preventive and promotive health services and must take responsibility for the health impacts of every policy.

Fran E Baum BA(Hons), PhD

The quality and effective use of data must be strengthened if Australia is to meet the challenge of rising health care costs in the next electoral term.

Sally Redman BA(Hons), PhD · Robert W Wells BA

Spinal steroid injections are increasing in popularity, but not in therapeutic benefit; placebos work just as well, and the procedure itself carries risks, some quite serious.

Ian A Harris MB BS, MMed(ClinEpi), PhD · Rachelle Buchbinder MB BS(Hons), PhD, FRACP

Hospital governance that prioritises waiting times or patient throughput does not adequately address health care qualityAt the 2007 federal election, Kevin Rudd announced plans to reform the health system. The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) was established the following year to find solutions. In 2010, Rudd presented his response to the NHHRC’s report, proposing local hospital networks interfacing with primary health care, with governance ...

David G Penington AC, DM, FRCP

Overcoming the barriers and seizing the opportunities to provide more equitable health care for Australia’s rural populationAustralia’s rural population, which comprises a third of our total population, presents distinct challenges for health care delivery. The low population density of much of rural Australia, the great distances involved, and the limited number of larger centres offering high-level medical care make equitable health care delivery difficult to ...

Gabriel J Shannon BSc, MB BS, FRACP

In light of the increasing utility of novel oral anticoagulants, strategies to improve anticoagulation management in patients with atrial fibrillation must take patient factors into account

Basia O Diug BBioMedSci(Hons) · Judy A Lowthian PhD, MPH, BAppSc(SpPath) · Michael Dooley BPharm, GradDipHospPharm

Renal sympathetic denervation has shown promise in situations where antihypertensive pharmacotherapy has proved ineffective. Future research will focus on monitoring its long-term safety and durability, assessing its cost-effectiveness, and developing markers that predict its efficacy.

Sonny C Palmer MB BS, FRACP · Christopher Judkins MB BS, FRACP · Paul D Williams MA, BM BCh · Robert J Whitbourn MB BS, FRACP

Providing teaching skills training through peer-assisted learning can help students interact with patients as well as improve their own understanding of course content

Benjamin I Silbert MB BS(Hons) · Stephanie JP Lam MB BS · Robert D Henderson MB BS · Fiona R Lake MD, FRACP

In the face of crippling rates of chronic disease linked to unhealthy lifestyles, our governments may need to intervene more to ensure food and alcohol industry self-regulation maintains credibility

Roger S Magnusson BA/LLB(Hons), PhD, GradDipManagDevelop · Belinda H Reeve BA(Hons), LLB

As the costs of both medical care and clinical trials continue to rise, do our current research endeavours represent good value for money? In this article, the last in a series based on the MJA Clinical Trials Research Summit, the authors propose a new model for funding investigator-initiated studies.

Ingrid M Winship MB ChB, MD, FRACP · John McNeil AM, MB BS, PhD · R John Simes MB BS, SM, FRACP

Social media success stories in the Indigenous health sector include connecting young people with a public health initiative in sexual health and delivering mental health care online by empowering individuals.

Melissa A Sweet MA(SciTechStud), BA

A poorly addressed factor in the health and behavioural problems of Australian Indigenous children deserves more attention.

Sarah L Blunden BA(Hons), MSocSc, PhD · Danny Camfferman BA, GradDipPsych, PhD