Headlines on health

Endometriosis affects one in every seven women. It's a disease causing tissue similar to uterus lining to grow in other parts of the body, often resulting in symptoms like period pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, fatigue, pain during sex and reduced fertility. Australian women will now have access to cheaper medicine to treat the condition, after the federal government listed a treatment on the Phar...

More than one third of those suffering with an eating disorder are male, and yet there's a common misconception that it's a women's issue. While there are often similarities between how men and women experience eating disorders, there are also gendered aspects to unhealthy body image ideals among men. Iin this episode of Weekend One on One, Catriona Stirrat speaks with Dr Zac Seidler - clinical ps...

A new free vaccine program from the Federal Government is expected to protect pregnant women and babies from the potentially-deadly respiratory syncytial virus or RSV. Health Minister Mark Butler says it could reduce hospitalisations due to the disease by 90 per cent.

Pregnancy loss is something thousands of women have to bear leading to intense grief and isolation. Gidget Foundation Australia - an organisation that provides specialist support for new and expectant parents - says early intervention is key in the healing process. But with the stigma around pregnancy loss still prominent, especially in migrant communities, this can be a challenge.

Fatima El-Assaad lost her daughter Aya in 2021 after she was born still at 27 weeks, but felt like she wasn't given the appropriate support to navigate her grief. It wasn't until Fatima started speaking to other Muslim parents, that she began to recognise a gap in culturally safe bereavement support. In fact, Fatima's advocacy group The Still Nest, contributed one of thousands of submissions to a...

Children under the age of 16 are to be banned from using social media, under a government proposal that will be introduced to Parliament this year. Advocates have welcomed the move, but experts warn there could be unintended consequences and loopholes in the ban. And a warning, this story includes stories of death and eating disorders.

A review of Australia's COVID-19 response has revealed a major erosion of trust by the Australian public and health systems. It found inconsistent messaging from state and federal governments and heavy restrictions contributed to the decline. In response, the federal government has committed more than 250 million dollars to establish a national public health body, by the start of 2026.

New research has found that an enlarged prostate gland is causing serious problems for more than 2.8 million Australian men and people assigned male at birth over the age of 50. The research by YouGov for Boston Scientific found most men fail to recognise the seriousness of what is a common health condition. The problems include increased frequency to urinate, and the risk of obstruction, bladder...

Revised drinking water guidelines in Australia have been released for public consultation. The update includes more stringent standards on the allowable level of the so-called forever chemicals or PFAS in tap water - based on the latest scientific evidence and international guidance on human health considerations.

Severe burns victims could be treated with better skin grafts, after clinical trials of an advanced version of artificially-grown skin. The tests through Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital have had positive results, with trials to be expanded across the country.

Bianca Millroy lives with functional neurological disorder, or FND - a condition that encompasses a range of neurological symptoms, including limb weakness, tremor, numbness or blackouts, and related to the movement and sensation parts of the nervous system. In this bonus episode of 'Hysterical', Catriona Stirrat speaks with Bianca who shares how her condition was undiagnosed and untreated for 12...

The federal government is planning to introduce a mandatory code of conduct around the marketing of infant baby formula and toddler milk in Australia. Public health groups are welcoming the move, saying it will help parents and caregivers make more informed choices in the early stages of a child's life.

From measuring a woman's health based on her attractiveness, to studies showing women have to prove themselves to be sicker than a man to receive treatment. In this bonus episode of 'Hysterical', Cattriona Stirrat speaks with Dr Lea Merone, a researcher in women's health. She breaks down concepts such as Yentl syndrome and the 'beauty myth', but also shares her own story of confronting the very is...

Not having enough money to buy period products is a major problem for women and girls around the world. The Kenyan government is considered a global leader in access to sanitary products repealing added taxes on pads and tampons in 2004, and passing a law in 2017 to make period products free for school girls. And one charity is helping disabled women in the coastal city of Mombasa earn a living by...

Public health experts are calling on the government to make good on its election promise to institute a permanent centre for disease control to ensure we're prepared for the next pandemic. While the final report from an independent inquiry into Australia's pandemic response has been delayed, health professionals say the government needs to act with urgency to ensure a coordinated prevention effort...

One in five Australian children suffer from chronic pain. But new research shows the problem is often ignored, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment. That can affect their physical and mental development.

A free community laundry service has seen encouraging results in reducing the prevalence of skin infections and scabies in remote Northern Territory communities. Untreated scabies infestations can lead to dangerous secondary infections, which can then be a factor in causing rheumatic heart disease.

It's Dementia Action week, and Alyssa Gamaldo-Roddy is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Institute for Engaged Aging at Clemson University in South Carolina in the United States. Her research focuses on identifying adverse and protective factors associated with cognitive functioning, particularly in populations at risk for Alzheimer’s and related dementia. She also discusses how agin...

There is no link between mobile phone use and brain and head cancers - that's according to a new Australian-led systematic review - commisioned by the World Health Organization. The researchers say the study provides the strongest evidence to date that radio waves from wireless technologies are not harmful to humans.

Australian scientists have made a world-first breakthrough creating lab engineered blood stem cells that closely resemble those found in the human body. They say the discovery could one day put an end to the search for 'perfectly matched' bone marrow donors that are often needed to treat those with leukaemia serious and blood disorders.

A researcher says most Australians support the use of supervised drug injecting rooms with more than 50 per cent of people in every jurisdiction backing the public health measure. A drug injecting room has operated at Kings Cross in Sydney for the past 23 years and a similar facility at North Richmond in Melbourne has been operating since 2018. But efforts to set up additional centres have been pr...

Health authorities across Australia are encouraging at risk people to get fully vaccinated for mpox as the number of cases grows. There have been more than 340 cases this year which is more than double the number during the last outbreak in 2022. The outbreak in Australia is less severe than the one causing serious illness and deaths in parts of Africa. Dr Tom Morley is a sexual health doctor at T...

Researchers at a university in Perth have developed an immersive virtual reality program to assist frontline healthcare workers in managing aggressive patients. The idea is to expose clinicians and students to realistic simulations, without placing them at risk of actual harm.

The New South Wales government has pledged support for all the recommendations of a world-first birth trauma inquiry. But mothers and advocates in the space say they are disappointed by a lack of urgent commitment to continuity of midwifery care models.

For many in Australia the fear of one day being diagnosed with cancer is something they dread. But there is something perhaps even more dreadful for those diagnosed; discrimination during cancer treatment, because of who you are or where you come from. A new campaign by the Leukaemia Foundation aims to face that issue head on: