Disease labels and causal explanations for certain symptoms or conditions have been found to have both positive and negative outcomes. For example, a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome could conceivably motivate a person to engage in weight management, which is the recommended first line treatment. Furthermore, doctors [...]
Australian public hospitals’ energy choices are at odds with “first, do no harm.” The health care sector faces many of the consequences of climate change but is lagging behind in tackling its own contribution to this health threat. Increases in extreme weather are contributing to adverse physical, [...]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with lower risk thyroid cancer may have had to ‘sit’ with knowledge of their cancer for a prolonged period of time while awaiting surgery. For patients with higher risk cancers, surgical treatments including completion thyroidectomy, radioactive iodine therapy and use [...]
This study examined associations between common lumbar degenerative changes observed on MRI and present or future low back pain (LBP). It showed that the MRI degenerative findings examined, individually or in combination, do not have clinically important associations with LBP, with almost all effects less [...]
The Climate and Health Alliance, made up of Australian health and medical groups, has sent a letter to the prime minister calling for scaled up climate action to avoid escalating health threats.
The anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) test has been promoted as a way to inform women about their future fertility. However, data consistently show the test is a poor predictor of natural fertility potential for an individual woman. As fertility centre websites are often a primary source [...]
This study set out to explore clinicians’ and women’s views and experiences with managing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This is the first study to explore both clinicians’ and women’s experiences with managing PCOS, illustrating several challenges in managing this heterogeneous condition.
Antibiotics are overused for non-pneumonia acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs). This study set out to establish prevalence and explore associations of antibiotic prescribing strategies used by Australian early-career GPs for non-pneumonia ARTIs.
Promotional media coverage of early detection tests is an important driver of overdiagnosis. Following research evidence that global media coverage presents the benefits of testing healthy people far more frequently than harms, and gives little coverage to overdiagnosis, we sought to examine journalists’ views on [...]
Globally, approximately one in three adults suffers from a chronic condition. People with chronic conditions are at higher risk of requiring inpatient admission and increased length of hospital stay;1 however, a significant portion of hospital admissions may be preventable.