As previously mentioned, Croakey readers are welcome to sign up for (rather irregular) summaries of posts. If you’d like to join the mailing list, please send your email or leave it below.
Here is the latest compilation, covering from 6 October – December 23, 2011. The latest readership figures are now also available, showing that more than 137,000 people visited Croakey in 2011, with 305,987 unique pageviews.
The links below have been grouped into these categories:
General public health
Climate change and health
Food, tobacco, alcohol
Indigenous health
Mental health
Rural health
Health reform
TGA-related matters
Evidence-based issues
Personal health and healthcare
Pharma industry and conflict of interest issues
The Medicines Australia deal with The Australian
Other media-related issues
Wraps of health and medical reading at The Conversation
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General public health
The GFC and global health: why Australia needs to step up to the plate
Mary Moran
The financial crisis and what it means for peoples’ health
Stephen Leeder
Why we need to transform Australia: leading public health expert
Bob Douglas
Uranium sales to India: a public health disaster?
Margaret Beavis
So we now have another international declaration on the social determinants of health. What difference will it make (or not)?
Sharon Friel
Has the WHO lost the plot, when it comes to tackling the social determinants of health?
Fran Baum
Public health experts take a stand against compulsory income management
Why we need healthy housing policy (and introducing Croakey’s first intern)
Caroline Chen
Is Victoria the pace-setter in health promotion?
Boyd Swinburn
Place-based approaches to supporting children and families: what are they, and why do they matter?
The Centre for Community Child Health
The Tax Forum: so much for “health in all policies”
Mike Daube, Ian Olver, Jan Barendregt, David Atkinson, Rob Roseby, Guy Maddern, AHHA, ACOSS
Some good news on childhood obesity (but who will act on it?)
Elizabeth Waters
New immunisation incentives are good policy, and merit sensible debate
Julie Leask
Why Meryl Dorey should stay on the Woodford Festival program
Jon Wardle
More people would cycle if helmets were not compulsory: new study
Chris Rissel
Cycle helmet debate continues
Tim Churches
The backlash against “pinkwashing” and breast cancer marketing
Becky Freeman
The backlash against universities offering complementary medicine courses
Loretta Marron
Some suggestions for the national and NSW reviews of health and medical research
Why do researchers donate their time and money to help private conference organisers make big bucks?
Simon Chapman
***
Climate change and health
A wrap of news on climate change and health: from Durban to Tuvalu and Martha’s Vineyard
Fiona Armstrong
Richard Smith: tweeting the news on climate change, health and security
Climate change is an “immediate, growing and grave threat” to health and security
***
Food, tobacco, alcohol
Who is supporting the push for pregnancy warnings on alcohol?
The supermarket grog wars are a health hazard
Michael Livingston
It’s time for a campaign to tackle media framing of alcohol and other drug issues
Laurence Alvis
Quit smoking, save money, feel better, and write a special book
Maxie Ashton
It’s a Knockout! ACMA report delivers blow to self-regulation
Jane Martin
The new draft dietary guidelines: look beyond the headlines
Warwick Anderson and Rachel Nowak
The latest news from the world of food policy and regulation
Michael Moore
The “fat tax”: some wide-ranging analysis
Rosemary Stanton, Jane Martin, Gary Sacks
***
Indigenous health
Why this Indigenous health project is an award-winner
Neil Thomson
How can health reform help Aboriginal and Islander health: a practical vision
Selwyn Button
Profiling some of the barriers to progress in Indigenous health
Judith Dwyer
***
Mental health
(Most of these articles were posted as part of an ongoing series associated with my articles on mental health reform that were jointly published by Crikey and Inside Story.)
Suggesting some long-term goals for mental health reform
Alan Rosen
Important for mental health: a fair society and a good start to life
Helen Keleher
Early childhood trauma and long-term health
Josey Anderson
Don’t rush the roadmap for national mental health reform: Alan Rosen
What matters for people living with psychotic illness
Sandy Jeffs
More effort needed to strengthen shared care arrangements for people with serious mental illness
Olga Anikeeva
Some lessons from rural innovation in mental healthcare
Charles Alpren
How we are dodging some important mental health issues
Matt Fisher
Falling through the gaps – the unmet mental health needs of people with intellectual disability
Sophie Howlett
A note of clarification about Croakey and coverage of mental health policy
***
Rural health
Physician assistants win support of rural/remote doctors – and a report from the coalface
Deborah O’Kane
Physician assistants: an update on the policy, politics and state-of-play
Sharon Barnwell and Allan Forde
Climate change and rural health: a GP’s call for action, plus an update on recent studies
Andrew Bracey
***
Health reform
Could spending less on healthcare be better for our health?
Patrick Bolton
How can we ensure a sustainable health system? Plus recent articles on surgery waiting lists, e-health and gambling reform
Ann-marie Boxall
Health reform: the musical
With contributions from Philip Davies, Carol Bennett, Prue Power, Gawaine Powell Davies, Paul Grogan, Alan Rosen, Andrew Gunn, Andrew Pesce, Peter Sainsbury, Ruth Armstrong, Simon Burrow.
The Ministerial reshuffle and health: plus analysis of Roxon’s tenure and advice to Plibersek
Tony Hobbs, Andrew Pesce, Stephen Leeder, Robert Wells, Mike Daube, Peter Sainsbury, Gavin Mooney, Alan Rosen, Paul Grogan, Ian McAuley, Gawaine Powell Davies, Mary Chiarella, Justine Caines, David Penington, Michael Vagg, Ron Batagol, Anonymous
Some more advice for the new Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek
Prue Power, Carol Bennett, Jon Wardle, Hal Kendig
An update on the state of health reform: the pros, the cons and the questions
Jane Hall and Jonathan Karnon
Is this the future for Medicare Locals? (With musical references)
Philip Davies
Next round of Medicare Locals announced
Health reform: in whose interests? And what happened to the vision for primary healthcare reform?
Lyn Morgain
The quality of health service managers is an important health issue
Daryl Sadgrove
Are Australians willing to pay more for better oral health?
Rachel Katterl
Pressure for abortion law reform in Queensland
Caroline de Costa
The argument for a federal takeover of health in Tasmania
Martyn Goddard
The devil in the detail: how Tasmanians lost out in Royal Hobart Hospital deal
Martyn Goddard
Your thoughts on the good and bad of eHealth in primary health care?
Olga Anikeeva
Some things you mightn’t have known about Mick Reid (on the occasion of the Sidney Sax medal)
A nurse was murdered. Questions are being asked about health service management
Jenny Haines
Why Mary, Kylie and I may prefer to be known as Doctor….
“Enrico Brik”
A response to critics of organ and tissue donation reforms
Anne Cahill Lambert
***
TGA and related matters
Statement from Australian Skeptics on the Ken Harvey and SensaSlim cases
Some VERY interesting reading: on the TGA, Ken Harvey, and pertinent questions for public health advocates
Rebecca Johnson
Consumers need much better information about complementary medicines
Ken Harvey, Carol Bennett
***
Evidence-based issues
New international project to support evidence in practice and policy
Andy Oxman
A new health book that is worth reading (and free online)
Hazel Thornton
Why the US Preventive Services Task Force is recommending against PSA screening for prostate cancer
***
Personal health and healthcare
We need more action on hospital infections: expert
Lyn Gilbert
For those with chronic illness, what helps encourage self-care?
Petra Bywood
GPs are getting older and working more intensively. And what about their patients?
Helena Britt
How to improve understanding of palliative care?
Erin Koop
Concerns continue about unsafe home birth practices: Dr Andrew Pesce
Home births: it’s time to broaden the focus of the debate
Hannah Dahlen
Crying babies: what parents need to know Vs what they are often told
Pamela Douglas
Some wide-ranging conversations on death and dying
A push to improve pain management
Lesley Brydon
A personal story of living with pain
Geri Badham
***
Pharma and COI-related issues
US wants to give pharma more power over our medicines policy
Deborah Gleeson
Our medicines supply is not as secure as you might assume
Simon Quilty
Should pharma industry fines be used in good works that create positive industry PR?
Andrew Roberts
Clock is ticking on the NHMRC and conflicts of interest policy
Conflicts of interest: the issue goes on, and on….
Conflicts of interest in health and medicine: calls for a culture change
Update on the links between public health and corporate interests
Some reaction to the news on the Pharmacy Guild and Blackmores
Andrew Podger, Ken Harvey, NPS, Richard Di Natale
Pharmacy Guild deal with Blackmores ends in tears
***
The Medicines Australia deal with The Australian
Concerns raised about pharma-sponsored health journalism at The Australian
Medicines Australia, Gary Schwitzer, Charles Ornstein, Amanda Wilson, Wendy Lipworth, Carol Bennett, Christopher Jordens, Peter Mansfield, Philip Davies
Adam Cresswell responds to concerns about Medicines Australia’s deal with The Australian
The pharma industry is also distributing The Australian’s health series…
The potential pitfalls of special deals between media and pharma
Tim Woodruff
Doing the dance: journalism and pharma
Medicines Australia: concerns about conflict of interest are overblown (and besides, we’ve got a great story to tell)
Brendan Shaw
No need to be so precious about conflicts of interest…the discussion continues
Ron Batagol
***
Other media-related coverage
Health story of the year (if not in the mainstream media): social media and health
New guidelines encourage nurses to embrace the potential of social media
Debra Cerasa
Social media and healthcare: recent news and developments
Carolyn Der Vartanian
Media Doctor Australia puts out a call for help
Amanda Wilson
An overview of changes at the health media watchdog, HealthNewsReview
Gary Schwitzer
What the news about health often leaves out
Amanda Wilson
What is the future of scientific publishing?
Ben Harris-Roxas
Does media coverage of health reflect the grant cycle of medical researchers?
Amanda Wilson
Medical writers: what do they talk about?
Justin Coleman
***
Wraps of health and medical reading from The Conversation
Reema Rattan, Froncesca Jackson Webb
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Previous summaries of Croakey coverage
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Thanks to Croakey’s supporters
And, finally, I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the organisations that have supported Croakey over the past year; particularly the Public Health Association of Australia, which organises the Croakey funding consortium, which also includes the Epidemiology Unit of the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory; the UNSW Research Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity; the Australian Health Care Reform Alliance; VicHealth; the Australian Health Promotion Association; and RaggAhmed. (More details here).
I would also like to thank Crikey, which provides logistical and other support and encouragement, and members of the Crikey Health and Medical Panel, who generously volunteer their time (often late at night) to contribute articles.
Thanks also to other contributors and, of course, to readers. I am looking forward to more healthy debate and discussions in 2012.
