Report: People with mental illness die up to 20 years earlier
People with mental illness experience a range of health disparities and face a gap in life expectancy of about 20 years in a plight classed as a “human rights scandal”, according to a new ground-breaking study. Led by Australian researchers, the report found a broad range of mental illnesses are connected to health problems including […]
Reducing low value and unnecessary care
A national scale-up of an initiative to reduce low value care and reduce unnecessary treatment was the focus of a nationwide meeting recently. The Choosing Wisely Australia national meeting was held in Melbourne in late May and showcased innovative projects both national and international. A nurse discontinuation protocol of telemetry implemented at Johns Hopkins Hospital, […]
Conversations on assisted dying: how involved are nurses?
A new study is being undertaken on the involvement of nurses when conversing with patients about assisted dying. The study is looking for nurse participants. If you were asked by a patient for information about voluntary assisted dying, how would you respond? Recent legislation in Victoria means that nearly 25% of Australians may have access […]
Midwife-led care could reduce C-sections
Having a midwife providing continuity of care throughout pregnancy and childbirth has the most significant effect on reducing the number of planned caesareans and overall C-section rate, a new study has revealed. The study also found following a policy of seeking second opinions on elective caesareans helped to reduce numbers and that midwifery-led care lowered […]
Gut Feelings: Your Mind, Your Microbes Exhibition
The fascinating world of faecal microbiota transplants and the research behind them are currently being explored in a new exhibition at Melbourne Museum. Gut Feelings: Your Mind, Your Microbes is open until February 2020. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in faecal microbiota transplants, which is taking the microbe-rich poo from a healthy […]
Pill testing at music festivals could reduce harm for first-time users the most
The introduction of pill testing at music festivals is likely to be more effective in reducing harm among people trying ecstasy for the first time than experienced users, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has revealed. The study also found regular ecstasy users do not have a better level of knowledge than novices regarding […]
Personal reflection on conducting nursing research in a regional emergency department
One of the initial challenges I faced with undertaking a Nursing with Honours degree was conducting scholarly research within my own workplace. I was confronted with, and surprisingly conflicted by, the anthropological concepts of Emic and Etic perspective. The thesis concept itself had its genesis in numerous Emic observations; defined as studying a culture from […]
Democracy improves health outcomes
Democracy is linked with decreases in mortality caused by cardiovascular disease and road deaths, as well as increases in government health spending. The global study published in international journal The Lancet found that democracy appears to play a bigger part in health outcomes than a country’s GDP. Democratic governance accounted for about 25% of the […]
Nursing and midwifery research makes impact
When the opportunity arose to lead the evolution of Australia’s innovative Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre three years ago, Professor Marion Eckert grabbed it with both hands. “The most exciting part is we’re really trying to foster an enthusiasm for nurses and midwives to lead and embrace research and in particular translational research to make […]
Leaders in person-centred care through practice and research
Nurses and midwives take the spotlight with a growing acknowledgement of the importance of nurses and midwives both in Australia and globally. International Midwives’ and Nurses’ Day fall on 5 and 12 May respectively. Further, 2020 has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), as ‘Year of the Nurse and Midwife’ coinciding with the […]