Category: Chronic Disease
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Playing the long game: 40 years of Quit
Thomas Kehoe Australia is lauded for its leadership in the global fight against tobacco. This is exemplified in passing new tobacco control interventions to tackle tobacco induced disease, which began on 1 July. Measures include graphic health warnings on cigarette packs and sticks, and a ban on menthol and other…
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Australian CDC: one giant leap for public health
Professor Paul M Kelly Last week saw a largely under reported but important milestone for public health in Australia and beyond. The draft legislation was introduced in Parliament to establish an Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) as a statutory agency under the Minister for Health. The Public Health Association…
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It’s time to talk seriously about preventing obesity
Lily Pratt and Professor Caroline Miller Obesity is a major driver of the rising diabetes rates in Australia, and is responsible for over 55% of the total disease burden of type 2 diabetes. Around two thirds of Australians currently live with overweight or obesity; further exacerbating existing inequities. Earlier this…
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Learn from different worldviews, says PHAA Mentor of the Year, Professor Rob Moodie
By Rob Moodie, PHAA Mentor of the Year Rob Moodie, Professor of Public Health at the University of Melbourne, was recognised for his commitment to mentorship at the 2023 Australian Public Health Conference. We chatted to him about his career and the importance of mentorship in public health. What was…
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Striking before it’s El Nino hot: raising awareness of older people’s heat health risks
Ella Jackman (Project Coordinator & Research Assistant), Mehak Oberai (Senior Research Assistant), Ethos (Extreme Heat and Older Persons) Project, and Associate Professor Shannon Rutherford, Griffith University Global temperatures have increased and are expected to continue increasing, due to the ongoing consequences of climate change. This warming will have unprecedented harms…
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Can social media help people living with Endometriosis during Awareness Month?
Lauren Goodwin, PHAA Member Wednesday 1 March marks the start of Endometriosis Awareness Month, dedicated to amplifying the voices of the thousands of people in Australia who are living with this condition. PHAA member Lauren Goodwin explores the role social media can play. Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition characterised by…
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Creating systems of leadership in prevention research
Dr Melanie Pescud The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre’s systems case studies project explores how researcher leadership practices can boost the positive influence of research into chronic disease prevention. Dr Melanie Pescud investigates the systems leadership qualities needed to make a difference. What makes a good systems leader? In The…
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Public health research highlighted during NAIDOC Week
Dr Michelle Kennedy and Dr Leanne Coombe PHAA celebrates this year’s NAIDOC Week theme, as outlined on the official NAIDOC site: “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! with us to amplify our voices and narrow the gap between aspiration and reality, good intent and outcome. It’s also time to celebrate…
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A Centre for Disease Prevention and Control – let’s work together to be clear on the problems it must solve
Professor Andrew Wilson and Professor Lucie Rychetnik The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre Co-Directors With apologies to Acca Dacca fans – we encourage resisting the temptation to get too excited about an ACDC (Australian Centre for Disease Control) and champion the focus on an Australian CDPC (Centre for Disease Prevention…
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More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living longer
Malcolm Baalman, PHAA Senior Policy and Advocacy Adviser Australia’s population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is 25% larger in the 2021 Census data than the result recorded five years ago. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals make up 3.2% of the national population recorded in the 5-yearly…
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Why Australia needs a National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (NCDPC)
OzSAGE Independent Expert Panel OzSAGE has convened an independent expert panel to produce a report on an Australian Centre for Disease Prevention and Control by July 1 2022. The panel has expertise in public and occupational health and prevention, and includes past chief health officers and others with substantial depth of…
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Questions of scope and governance: A northern Queensland perspective on the proposed Centre for Disease Control
Stephanie Topp1, Alexandra Edelman1, Sue Devine1, Tammy Allen1, Paul Horwood1, Julie Mudd2, Emma McBryde3, Jeff Warner1 College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville and Cairns, Queensland. College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville and Cairns, Queensland. Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine,…
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Action needed on prevention and collaboration implementation research
Professor Luke Wolfenden, The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre The Prevention Centre’s Leadership Executive and several key partners have reflected on the importance of a coordinated, collaborative national approach to prevention practice, research and policy. Our 17 co-authors have published a call to action in the Australian and New Zealand Journal…
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No butts about stopping tobacco damaging the environment
On this World No Tobacco Day, we remember another victim of the tobacco industry – the environment Dr Michelle I Jongenelis, University of Melbourne, Dr Sarah L White, Quit Victoria, and Kate Noble, WWF Australia May 31st marks World No Tobacco Day. An initiative of the World Health Organization, World No…
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55 years since the 1967 Referendum, what’s changed?
Malcolm Baalman, PHAA Senior Policy and Advocacy Adviser Today is the 55th anniversary since Australians voted in the 1967 Referendum on ‘Aboriginal people’. Widely regarded as a turning point in the nation’s relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the 1967 vote changed our national Constitution. It meant that…
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An election campaign bereft of prevention efforts that could save lives: Daube
Emeritus Professor Mike Daube AO, PHAA President (2007-2010) Another day, another election spending announcement. Both major parties are promising funding for all manner of purposes – billions for national programs, millions for local projects – even $4.5 million for a Tasmanian distillery. In recent times politicians from all reputable parties…
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The key to our future: increased investment in prevention
Allyson Todd, former PHAA intern, University of Sydney It is well known that investing in preventative health is necessary to reduce Australia’s disease burden, improve health equity, and build a resilient health system. The importance of public health and investing in prevention has been well recognised throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.…
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Rural Health Mythbusters
Author’s note [1] Kristen Glenister, Claire Quilliam, Olivia Mitchell, Lucinda Aberdeen, Carol Reid, Brahmaputra Marjadi. In Australia, approximately one third of people live outside of major cities, that is, in rural or remote locations. ‘Rural health’ emerged as a recognized field in the 1990s and focusses on inequities in health…
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Advocating for protection against unethical marketing of unhealthy products
PHAA Intern Allyson Todd, University of Sydney The unethical marketing of unhealthy products is an increasing concern within the digital age, from both a public health lens, and a human and child rights perspective. The Australian Government’s National Preventative Health Strategy 2021-2030 recognised the digital and commercial influence of promoting…
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Universal access to oral healthcare needs national leadership
Tan Nguyen and Associate Professor Amit Arora, Co-convenors, PHAA Oral Health Special Interest Group and Linda Doherty, Croakey Introduction by Croakey: There’s a strong economic argument for providing free – or at least affordable – dental healthcare as poor dental health is linked to chronic conditions such as stroke, heart and…
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Sick governance risks all our health
Malcolm Baalman – PHAA Senior Policy and Advocacy Adviser We saw a disappointing Budget this week, with virtually no new investment in population-level prevention of diseases. What governments decide to do – or not do – makes a huge difference to the population’s health. Governments make laws about environmental health,…
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Before hitting the brakes on unhealthy products, let’s take our foot off the accelerator
Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin, CEO PHAA This post is the fourth in our series of articles exploring the PHAA’s 2022-23 pre-Budget submission, The Public Health Crisis Budget. Read the first post here, the second, and the third. “The commercial determinants of health are defined as factors that influence health which…
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PHAA salutes the positive health impacts of Australians of the Year 2022
Jeremy Lasek – PHAA The Public Health Association of Australia congratulates our 2022 Australians of the Year, four remarkable individuals who have dedicated their lives to improving the health of our nation. Your 2022 Australians of the Year 🙌 It was such an inspiring evening having all our state and…
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Creating Change: A Systems Change Framework to Drive Action on Chronic Disease
Dr Melanie Pescud, The Australian National University, and Professor Lucie Rychetnik, The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre The Difficulties of the Search for Solutions Research about chronic disease prevention can fall short of achieving positive change – not because it isn’t relevant, but because it too often describes problems, rather…
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Collaborating to take an active role to improve heart failure: Heart Foundation and NPS MedicineWise
Brooke Atkins & Amanda Buttery, National Heart Foundation of Australia PHAA’s Note: This article does not constitute medical advice. If you have heart failure, please see your doctor before starting exercise or physical activity. Heart failure is a serious condition where the heart does not pump blood to the rest…