19 May is not just Malcolm X Day in the United States, Ho Chi Minh Day in Vietnam and rugby league legend Andrew Johns' birthday, it's also World Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Day. In fact, the whole of May is ...
More »Author Archives: Patrick Avenell
Exploring risks of using wearables and apps for fitness pursuits
Connected health technologies such as wearables and apps are designed to increase individual engagement in self-care and health management. For example, wearables, such as Fitbit, and apps, such as Couch to 5K, promote walking and running as a form of exercise ...
More »What nurses can do to understand and prevent youth suicide
Imagine your busy household, on a Tuesday evening. Your children are watching TV, you are tidying away the dishes after the evening meal. Your mind drifts to the pile of laundry waiting from the weekend sports, the homework that needs ...
More »Law offers no protection: when unplanned pregnancy leads to litigation
A man sues his partner after she falls pregnant and gives birth, alleging she lied about her contraception. The birth of a child is usually a joyous occasion for both parents. But what if the father did not plan for ...
More »Getting the skinny on dietary fat: the good, the bad and the fantastical
Learn to separate the fat from fiction with this quick guide. Once upon a time, fat was the enemy. Eating as little of it as possible was supposed to keep us trim and free of heart disease and diabetes. For ...
More »Power to the people: training the healthcare trainers in Myanmar
The story of one nurse’s mission to empower communities in conflict zones by teaching them first aid. My name is Jean-Philippe Miller. I am an emergency and trauma nurse, currently based at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. During my time ...
More »No place like home: exploring the potential of community nursing
Could community nursing be the solution to the ever-growing hospital bed shortage? Many hospitals across Australia regularly struggle to cope with the number of patients versus the number of beds available. Beds are in high demand, and doctors and nurses ...
More »Keyhole surgery boosts survival rates for endometrial cancer
A 12-year trial headed by University of Queensland Centre for Gynaecological Cancer Research lead surgeon professor Andreas Obermair has concluded that keyhole surgery should be the preferred standard of care for women needing a hysterectomy as a result of endometrial ...
More »From Ghana to Australia: one nurse’s journey to help others
Bernice Anokye is the director of nursing at Shangri-La Aged Care Home, a Hall & Prior facility in Hurstville, in Sydney. In this profile, she relates the story of her time growing up in Ghana, traveling to Australia to study nursing ...
More »Implantable brain technology is revitalising but comes with side effects
Dr Frederic Gilbert is a philosopher and ethicist in the School of Humanities at the University of Tasmania. He has been studying the positive and negative effects of implantable brain technologies, which are used to treat conditions including Parkinson’s disease ...
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