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 articles posted between 3 September, 2012 and 10 January, 2013. As always, thanks are due to the many contributors who generously volunteer their time to research and write articles.
The latest readership figures are available here, showing that in 2012 Croakey had 144,000 unique visits, 237,000 visits, and 319,000 page views.
You can also see snapshots showing the ten links that received the most hits over this period (including articles about cuts to public health in Queensland and SA, tributes to the late Professor Gavin Mooney, the Naked Doctor column profiling overdiagnosis and overtreatment, and one about primary health care).
The links below have been grouped into these categories:
- The late Gavin Mooney
- Recommended reading
- Indigenous health
- Climate change
- Cuts to public health
- Public health
- Mental health
- Social determinants of health
- Primary health care and Medicare Locals
- Healthcare
- Health policy and health reform
- Health and medical research
- Pharma related
- Media and social media
- Croakey news
****
The late Gavin Mooney
A compilation of tributes to Professor Gavin Mooney and Dr Delys Weston
With comments from many Croakey contributors and others
Taking a bite out of the Big Apple this New Year
Todd Harper
Vale Gavin Mooney and Delys Weston
The recent GST review – a missed opportunity for health
Gavin Mooney
How can architects, plumbers, builders and the unemployed contribute to a healthier society? A new Tasmanian group has some suggestions…
Miriam Herzfeld and Gavin Mooney
Do hospital clinicians have too much power?
Gavin Mooney
***
Recommended reading (blogs and books)
Holiday reading from the blogosphere
Jennifer Doggett
Recommended reading on the digital revolution and the changing media landscape
Dr Mark Bahnisch, Melissa Sweet
Recommended reading from Croakey contributors part one
Recommended reading from Croakey contributors part two
***
Indigenous health
Would more consistent, inclusive media coverage of Indigenous health lead to better policy?
Kerry McCallum and Lisa Waller
If the Federal Government really wants to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
Selwyn Button
The “reporting jungle” that constrains the Indigenous health sector
Beware the simplistic headlines on Indigenous spending
Jon Altman
Gains and gaps in improving access to care for Indigenous patients
Jill Dixon
What are the priorities of Aboriginal people and communities in alcohol control? A report from the NT summit
Sarah Barr and Chips Mackinolty
Fly in fly out healthcare fails remote Aboriginal communities (via The Conversation)
Stephen Duckett
New singers, old songs: alcohol bans in Aboriginal communities
Peter d’Abbs
The story behind the No Smokes multimedia campaign
Lanie Harris
Profiling online opportunities for Indigenous health discussions
Luke Pearson
Will Medicare Locals bring a new dawn or a dark night for Indigenous health?
James Lamerton
Some practical advice for Medicare Locals on engaging with the Aboriginal community controlled health sector
James Lamerton
GP conference to tackle the issue of racism in health services
Jill Dixon and Board members of the RACGP National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health write:
***
Climate change
When the bushfire smoke clears, who will step up for action on climate change?
Melissa Sweet
World Economic Forum calls for “climate-smart” decision making (and identifies other public health threats)
Melissa Sweet
Sandy puts climate change on the agenda
Some suggestions for how health services can help respond to climate change
Rosalie Schultz
***
Cuts to public health
New SA report shows why governments are failing to control health spending
Fran Baum (32 comments)
What the Government didn’t mention: cuts to public health spending
Lesley Russell
On budget day for Queensland, what can be expected from the health cuts?
Mike Daube, Jack Bulman, Vern Hughes, Peter Davoren, Tim Senior, Jane Barry
Queensland Health may be far from perfect but the changes are also problematic
Mark Bahnisch
Queensland health cuts are lazy, harmful and short sighted, to mention just some of the adjectives
Philip Darbyshire, Daryl Sadgrove
Some of the health stories the Qld Govt is trying to suppress
Amanda Lee
Mourning the demise of public health nutrition in Queensland
Dympna Leonard
Queensland cuts are devastating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
Suzanne Plater
An open letter to Qld MPs: moving against fluoridation will have serious health and financial consequences
Michael Moore
How to maintain influence and integrity in times of austerity
Naomi Eisenstadt
The Queensland commentaries: How NOT to defend health services
Philip Darbyshire
Is a single funder for health inevitable?
Daryl Sadgrove Julie Leask
***
Public health
One year on, what has the UN meeting on non-communicable diseases achieved? (Via The Conversation)
Phillip Baker, Alessandro Demaio and Rob Moodie
How Australia can learn from the Thai approach to better health
Rhonda Galbally
Unpicking some of the ongoing debate around breast cancer screening
Gary Schwitzer
Health experts excluded while pharma calls the tune
Deborah Gleeson
If we want more women in leadership positions, then it’s time to make a stand
Lesley Barclay
Generation Y, and what they bring to – and expect from – public health
Melissa Stoneham
Richard Eckersley responds to Bernard Keane’s attack on “preventative health wowsers”
Superbugs vs Antibiotics: are we facing a return to the pre-antibiotic era of medicine?
Fron Jackson Webb provides a wrap of a series at The Conversation
A new publication on immunisation
Sir Gus Nossal
New vaccines, drugs and diagnostics urgently needed to halt the spread of tuberculosis
Jamie Triccas and Ben Marais
Denmark scraps fat tax in another big food victory
Via The Conversation
Gary Sacks
Why Australia needs a junk food ad ban
Amanda Bresnan
Plain packaging for junk food? Health experts call for government intervention (The Conversation)
Charis Palmer
Journal Watch: Tackling the unhealthy food supply in disadvantaged communities
Melissa Stoneham
Journal Watch: Is it time for another instalment of Sid the Seagull?
Dr Melissa Stoneham
Journal Watch: Smoking at the movies: a global public health concern
Melissa Stoneham
Journal Watch: Sports clubs are winners when alcohol sponsorship is dropped
Melissa Stoneham
Why not a minimum price on alcohol
Louise Sylvan
Health and society fail to rate in planning blueprint
Peter Sainsbury
Dealing with dilemmas in health campaigning
Melissa Raven
Tweets of the week: from the population health congress to “areas of greed” in rural health
***
Mental health
The denial behind youth suicide (and some recent research that may be of interest)
Richard Eckersley
Delivering benefits to the mental health of children, families and societies during times of austerity: are we failing to grasp the nettle?
Dr Richard Williams
Time for action on smoking and mental illness
Mark Ragg
Why some patients remain stuck in institutional care – for decades
Melissa Sweet
After the first national mental health report card, what happens now?
Vern Hughes, Lesley Russell
Are we stuck in groundhog day when it comes to mental health and suicide prevention?
Jaelea Skehan
What’s missing from the first national mental health report card?
Sebastian Rosenberg
A detailed summary of the national report card on mental health and suicide prevention
Allan Fels and others
Drawing the line between mental illness and normal human emotion
Fron Jackson Webb wraps a series from The Conversation
***
Social determinants of health
Highlights of submissions to the Senate Inquiry
Jennifer Doggett
How some children miss out from the start: will telling their stories help make a difference
Vanessa Rose
Sharp rise in youth homelessness shatters stereotypes (via The Conversation)
James Farrell
Making the needs of the homeless a priority for health services
Tam Shepherd
Is this Australia’s first political campaign on the back of a social determinants of health agenda?
With Bo Li
***
Primary health care and Medicare Locals
Australian Medicare Local Alliance directors announced – and some creative thoughts on what we might expect of them
Stephen Leeder
The experience of one Medicare Local: local knowledge and solutions are essential for health reform
Lesley Barclay
What does the community want from after hours care?
Phil Edmondson
Medicare Local row exposes health jobs as a hot election issue
Mark Metherell
Medicare Locals a plus for health and economy, says Arn Sprogis
Mark Metherell
Medicare Locals are vulnerable
Mark Metherell
The future of Medicare Locals in the spotlight
Mark Metherell
Glib lines on Medicare Locals won’t resolve chronic ills
Stephen Leeder
North Adelaide Medicare Local crisis?
Jennifer Doggett, Paul Smith
Some Canadian lessons on primary health care reform
Jodie Oliver-Baxter
Expanding role of nurses improves patients’ access to medicines
Melissa Raven
An international context for the Australian experiment in primary health care
Lynsey Brown
Boosting the international capacity of primary health care research
Melissa Raven
Making primary care exciting again
Petra Bywood
Meeting global needs in primary care with nurse practitioners
Jodie Oliver-Baxter
***
Healthcare
Professional patient advocacy services – does Australia need them?
Jennifer Doggett
More on patient advocate services
Dr Mark Bahnisch
Busting some myths about consumer and community engagement in health decision making
Max Hardy
How patients use complementary and alternative medicines for a sense of control
Christina Hagger
Doctor, don’t make assumptions about your fat patients
Penny Wilson
How Australia can reduce diabetes-related amputations
Pete Lazzarini and Shan Bergin
Tackling the gap between where people want to die and what happens
Debbie Horsfall and Kerrie Noonan
The growing concern about medical over-diagnosis
Fron Jackson Webb wraps a series at The Conversation
Are there grounds of hope about renewal of healthcare?
Ray Moynihan
Distracting: an assessment of smartphone usage in health care work settings
Amanda Carne
***
Health reform and health policy
What can the world of Disney teach hospital leaders?
Fred Lee
A call for private obstetricians to publish their intervention rates
Hannah Dahlen and Bashi Hazard
Saving lives by keeping patients out of hospital
Gideon Caplan
Innovation saves lives and money
Mark Cormack
Health professionals training needs a radical re-design
Robert Johnson reports on Fran Thorn’s speech
A call for courage and health workforce reform
By Robert Johnson on behalf of HWA.
Medical intern crisis won’t be solved with just more hospital places
Stephen Duckett
Nation building health workforce planning needed
David Townsend
Why international medical students deserve a place in Australian hospitals
Lesleyanne Hawthorne
Intern crisis is damaging us internationally
Bruce Robinson
Targets alone won’t solve long waits for emergency care (via The Conversation)
Gerard Fitzgerald
E-health revolution begins with a whimper
Craig Fry
As WHO puts patient safety on the agenda, what are some of the barriers to open disclosure?
Kate Bower and Rick Iedema
Opioid deaths require a complex response
Lesley Brydon
Medicare Select and middle class welfare
John Menadue, Ian McAuley
After all the years of health reform effort and expense, what has been achieved?
Comments from many Croakey contributors
Have health reform efforts changed our perceptions and experiences of services?
James Gillespie
Happier days for doctors: is it because of health reforms?
Philip Davies
New research institute to bridge policy-practice gap
Prue Power
Links to Parliamentary Library articles on private health insurance, sugary drinks and obesity, and pricing of cancer drugs
Amanda Biggs, Rebecca de Boer
Links to Parliarmentary Library articles on oral health, private health insurance policy, and the changes to the baby bonus
Amanda Biggs, Luke Buckmaster
Do exclusionary private health insurance products need a rethink?
Jennifer Doggett
***
Health and medical research
Consumer driven medical research
Jennifer Doggett
Will the McKeon Review get the message about the need to prioritise research into health and climate change?
Dr Elizabeth Haworth, Dr Brad Farrant and Fiona Armstrong write:
McKeon confuses health and healthcare research
Lesley Russell
Public health: the gaping hole in the McKeon Review of health and medical research
Jon Wardle
More McKeon Malarkey….
Tony McMichael
Where are consumers in the McKeon Review?
Anne Cahill Lambert
As a funding freeze threatens, a call for health and medical research that makes a difference
Lesley Barclay
Complexity and consent: the ethics of researching youth (via The Conversation)
Kitty Te Riele
***
Pharma-related
Sign up for greater transparency around the ties between medical industry and health professionals
Ken Harvey
Pradaxa: Not so bleeding obvious
Mark Metherell
Government not responsible for all PBS delays
Jennifer Doggett
***
Media and social media
A mega wrap of news on social media and health
Melissa Sweet
Wrapping yet more reaction to AHPRA’s plans for social media policy for health professionals
More feedback to AHPRA on planned social media policy for health professionals: get with the times
Jill Tomlinson, Philip Darbyshire and others
What is the Australian National Preventive Health Agency doing with social media and social marketing?
Louise Sylvan
Social media: an opportunity for health professonals to contribute to wider social debates (and to help #destroythejoint)
Jill Tomlinson
Keep it Tame: making cyberspace safer for teenagers
Barbara Spears
Will the dumb ways to die campaign make a difference to train safety?
Hugh Stephens
As an erotic clip is used to promote Pap testing, how can health organisations strike the right balance on social media?
Amy Collie
Reporting on a recent summit on blogging, social media and diabetes
Angela Mallon
What does the launch of MSF.TV say about the future of global health reporting?
James Nichols
Another health journalist leaves the industry
Taking medical writing beyond spin (reporting on Australasian Medical Writers Association conference)
Justin Coleman
***
Croakey news
A note to readers about new faces and other developments at Croakey
***
The September 2012 Croakey wrap
