Category: Uncategorized
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Say it loud and clear: Climate change is a health problem
Alex Hewish and Remy Shergill – Climate And Health Alliance Climate change. The average Australian is aware that the world is warming up due to more greenhouse gases in our air, trapping heat. Yet many don’t know of the effects that climate change will have on our health – effects…
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The Code COVID19 International Update – 14 October 2021
Dr Priscilla Robinson The Code COVID19 International Update is a weekly snapshot of the COVID-19 pandemic, assessing efforts by nations around the world to test, track and fight the virus. It’s compiled by Dr Priscilla Robinson, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health at LaTrobe University, and an editor for…
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The Code COVID19 International Update – 7 October 2021
Dr Priscilla Robinson The Code COVID19 International Update is a weekly snapshot of the COVID-19 pandemic, assessing efforts by nations around the world to test, track and fight the virus. It’s compiled by Dr Priscilla Robinson, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health at LaTrobe University, and an editor for…
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Prof Tom Calma AO says COVID highlights racism, mental health, & smoking crises in Australia
Jeremy Lasek – PHAA The PHAA was privileged to have Professor Tom Calma AO, one of Australia’s leading First Nations human rights and social justice campaigners and the Chancellor of the University of Canberra, deliver the annual Basil Hetzel Oration at our 2021 Public Health Conference. Much of his address…
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The Code COVID19 International Update – 23 September 2021
Dr Priscilla Robinson This is a weekly snapshot of the COVID-19 pandemic, assessing efforts by nations around the world to test, track and fight the virus. It’s compiled by Dr Priscilla Robinson, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health at LaTrobe University, and an editor for the Australian and New…
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Access to dying with dignity approved for Queensland
Malcolm Baalman, PHAA From early 2023, Queenslanders will join Australians from four other states in having access to voluntary assisted dying arrangements, after the Queensland Parliament endorsed state laws yesterday. As with all cases of such law reform in Australia, the issue was declared a conscience vote of all members…
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Our public health workforce – Meet the Healthy Cities Illawarra (NSW) team
Jeremy Lasek – PHAA Introduction Since the pandemic began more than 20 months ago, Australia’s public health workforce has experienced its toughest test in a century. Our army of public health workers have pulled out all stops to save lives, and work against the odds to keep the nation as…
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A day in the life of a Contact Tracer
(This post is contributed by a PHAA member working in the NSW health contact tracing team) The phrase ‘contact tracer’ much like ‘epidemiologist’ or ‘Public Health Order’ is a term that previously was rarely used outside of Public Health circles. Now a year and a half into a worldwide pandemic…
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The CODE Update – 8 July
Priscilla Robinson View the latest spreadsheet here Worldwide, there are still in the region of 300,000 people identified as having COVID EVERY DAY, and about 10,000 fatalities. So, it’s not going anywhere just yet. First off, there has been something of a big upswing in Africa, especially South Africa, which…
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The CODE Update – 17 June
Priscilla Robinson View the most recent spreadsheet An interesting week for us in rural Victoria. A week ago today our power went off in a major storm, and we have yet to have it back on. The power company is doing its best – there are helicopters up assessing line…
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Urban heat islands: Darwin as a case study in climate change adaptation
Public Health Association Australia This Saturday, 5 June, is World Environment Day. Reimagine. Recreate. Restore. Together, these form the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, a day when the UN seeks to focus the attention of governments, investors, businesses and communities on the increasingly urgent need to restore the…
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The CODE Update – 27 May
Priscilla Robinson Click here to view the latest spreadsheet This has been a mostly much slower week in COVID-19 land, and many places have seen a reduction in new cases this week from last week. The fatality numbers are mostly also reduced although not by as much – presumably a…
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National Reconciliation Week: Supporting Indigenous-led public health responses
National Reconciliation Week 2021 ‘We’ve been successful because we’ve had a seat at the table, where we’ve had respect for our knowledge and community connection, and it’s been a true partnership, not just a brown face at the table.’ – Dr Lorraine Anderson, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services Our Reconciliation journey…
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More needs to be done to keep WA healthy, say public health advocates
Labor had a resounding win in the recent state election in Western Australia, but public health advocates argue that more needs to be done to keep the state’s population healthy, and COVID is far from being the only public health threat. The following series of questions was posed to Hannah…
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Covid-19 Vaccines: Ethics and Who is “Us”
Terry Slevin A pandemic is not a competition between companies, but a race between humanity and a virus. (Nature editorial, 30 March 2021) The Covid-19 vaccination program is the dominant health and political news story of the last few months. It is also becoming an ethical discussion of the difference…
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The CODE Update – Introduction
Priscilla Robinson The CODE Update is a new regular feature on the Intouch blog to keep readers informed of COVID-19 developments around the world. The CODE update originally began at the start of the SARS CoV-2 pandemic as a way of explaining it to my friends and family who happen…
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Preventive approaches needed to improve child and youth health and wellbeing
Tracey Oorschot and Jane Frawley Child, youth, Indigenous and social policy advocates have campaigned for improved health and wellbeing of Australian children and young people for years. Despite these efforts, Australia continues to underperform in a range of key benchmarks. Statistics reveal that 1 in 6 Australian children and young…
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Public Health in Queensland – a state election wrap
Paige Preston and Letitia Del Fabbro #QldVotesHealth #5percentforprevention #Qldvotes With only a few days left before the October 31st Queensland state election, a record number of voters have already cast their ballots. Queensland is transitioning to four-year fixed terms, following the 2016 referendum, and for the first time in Australia…
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Fact or Fiction? Debunking the myths around e-cigarettes
Michelle Jongenelis, Christina Watts and Maurice Swanson E-cigarettes have clearly made their way into Australian society. So, what’s the problem? Well, for a start, there’s a lot misinformation about them. According to reports this week, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has made an interim decision that nicotine-based e-cigarettes will be available for…
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International Safe Abortion Day 28th September – why do we keep celebrating it?
Suzanne Belton In the late European summer of 2018, I visited beautiful Portugal to meet with a lot of people from around the world who felt strongly about abortion and who wanted to develop an advocacy agenda. The exact location was secret, and I was only informed a few…
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We need to become healthier, faster
Terry Slevin The Australian Government is currently consulting on its National Preventive Health Strategy. The most important message they need to hear is that It’s Time for Action. The establishment of a process to develop the Strategy was announced with some fanfare at the PHAA’s Preventive Health conference in…
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New bushfire season prompts renewed call for action on climate
David Templeman, President of the Public Health Association Australia, former Director General of Emergency Management Australia With the start of spring and the weather warming, many areas of Australia have already entered the official start of a new bushfire season. Every Australian now knows the extreme dangers posed by…
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Victoria may not set the gold standard but its COVID numbers far from fail on a global scale
Terry Slevin Listening to much of the commentary as Victoria has battled to get on top of its second wave of COVID-19, you’d be forgiven for thinking the state had seriously embarrassed Australia and should hang its head in shame. It’s still too early for Victoria to start a…
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Timely COVID warning for millions of hay fever sufferers
With the arrival of spring, millions of Australians will experience the familiar sneezing, runny eyes and itchy throat associated with hay fever. As was experienced when COVID-19 took hold earlier this year in the Northern Hemisphere, with warming weather and higher pollen counts there’s a growing concern that the symptoms…
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Strengthening the public health workforce
Joel Negin A strong, effective public health workforce has been critical to Australia’s successes in preventing the worst of COVID-19. But gaps have been revealed – gaps that can be readily eliminated to help Australia fight off this – and any future – pandemic. The public health workforce at the…
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ACT offers hope in national campaign to raise the age of criminal responsibility
Toni Hassan The ACT government has committed itself to raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 in line with United Nations standards. In an emblematic victory for active minority government and cross-disciplinary advocacy, Labor this week voted for a Greens motion calling on it to commit to…
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Message to Territorians: don’t throw petrol on the fire, vote for climate action this Saturday
Rosalie Schultz Extreme heat is a critical health issue for Territorians, and its effects on our health are only worsening with global warming. As a doctor working and living in Alice Springs, I am very conscious of the impacts of extreme heat on people’s lives and health. Some people may…
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Alcohol and young Australian women: a not so healthy mix
Increasingly, young women have become a higher risk group due to a combination of factors. A new study just released in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health aims to fill the gap from previous research, and in particular the alcohol related harm that may increase from ‘pre-loading’…
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Last to know: the European Union knows more about our trade talks than we do
In the negotiations for an Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement at present underway, the European Union is pushing for longer monopolies on medicines for its pharmaceutical companies.
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Three things happened that show we need parliament urgently
Peter Tait Two things happened in late July that makes me worry for the future of the public’s health in Australia. First, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the National Covid-19 Coordination Commission (NCCC) was being brought under the National Cabinet. Second, the NCCC’s manufacturing working group leaked report blue…