Headlines on health

Maree McCabe is the CEO of Dementia Australia, an organisation that offers advocacy and support to people living with dementia, as well as their families and carers. She has spoken with Deborah Groarke on the importance of understanding how a person living with the condition sees the world. For more information on dementia, contact Dementia Australia's hotline on 1800 100 500.

Dementia currently affects more than 400,000 people across Australia and is the country's second leading cause of death for women. The numbers of those affected are only expected to grow as the population ages. A national training organisation has now developed an online portal to help people find the training they need to better care for their patients and loved ones.

In Australia, the misuse of prescription opioids has been a longstanding problem. At one point the nation recorded the world's ninth highest per capita consumption in the world. But changes to prescribing rules in 2020 appear to have been effective in reducing their use.

This week marks World Oral Health Day but for many Australians, cost of living pressures are putting a trip to the dentist out of reach. A new Victorian initiative is bringing dental care to schools, and fast-tracking the recognition of qualifications for overseas-trained dentists.

Lung and cervical cancer are in the spotlight at a global First Nations health conference underway in Naarm, Melbourne. The World Indigenous Cancer Conference aims to foster better working relationships and collaboration between experts from across the globe.

Ten years ago, a world-first procedure gave an Australian cancer survivor the gift of motherhood. It took a frozen ovarian graft, a then-experimental transplant, and 17 rounds of in vitro fertilisation. Now, in the third and final episode in our series on the Future of Fertility, we hear how researchers are investigating what other ways ovarian grafts could be used to help patients.

New Zealand is banning them, the EU is phasing them out, and a growing number of states in the US are restricting the use of PFAS chemicals in cosmetics. But experts say Australia is 'way behind' when it comes to limiting exposure to so-called 'forever chemicals.'

IVF success rates used to be less than 10 per cent, but today around a third of women will have a baby in their first IVF cycle. Now, as artificial intelligence transforms our world, researchers hope it'll help further improve outcomes for people hoping to start a family. This is the second part in our series on the Future of Fertility.

A series of papers by Australian researchers suggests the medical establishment may be over-medicalising menopause. The authors say viewing the natural decline in female reproductivity as a health problem to be solved with hormone treatment is a simplification not based in evidence. They are calling for a broader understanding of the condition which empowers women experiencing menopause to navigat...

A health advocate says 1 in 3 eligible Victorians is not getting screened for cervical cancer, with the intimate procedure creating barriers to access. Cancer Council Victoria’s Kate Broun says an increasing number of people are screening from home, particularly older women and new arrivals to the country. But despite this, new data from group’s cancer registry shows that more than 200 Victorians...

Australia is one of few countries in the the world to allow psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat specific types of mental illness, under strict conditions. But use of the therapy, approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration last year, has so far been very limited and more research is needed to understand the potential benefits and long-term effects. One study, by Monash University, is consid...

A new survey has exposed a lack of awareness of shingles amongst older Australians. The survey, by GlaxoSmithKline, has found many people think shingles is serious - but also that it won't happen to them. And that's far from the truth.

"A wicked problem": former New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency head and CEO Barry Buffier speaks to SBS about waste management and asbestos. He explains to Dijana Damjanovic how the current crisis, that has seen properties and schools close across NSW and the ACT, came about and says it's an unintended consequence of the state's waste management policy.

Australia's sun safety guidelines have been updated for the first time to include advice for diverse skin types. The new guidelines also acknowledge and balance the harms and benefits of sun exposure for different risk groups. From getting enough vitamin D and UV to reducing the risk of melanoma, there's something for all Australians to learn.

A Victorian government inquiry into women's pain is looking to address issues around disproportionate levels of chronic pain suffered by women, including barriers to women being believed in the health system and receiving appropriate care. Women from different backgrounds confront different barriers within the health system and are calling for immediate reforms.

Australia has one of the world’s highest measured rates of mesothelioma – an asbestos related cancer. Each year it claims more than 700 lives. Australian scientists are working on earlier, non-invasive detection methods to help those affected.

Measles cases are soaring in Europe, Asia and Africa, prompting concerns about potential outbreaks in Australia. With New South Wales, Victoria and the A-C-T now on alert after several cases were recorded, we explain who is at risk - and how best to protect yourself.

Cameroon has launched the world's first routine vaccine programme against Malaria for children under five, in what experts are calling a forward stride in the global fight against the mosquito-borne disease. But health organisations say raising awareness will be crucial to the vaccine’s success.

A common childhood asthma drug has been linked to three suicides in Australia and hundreds of other medical episodes. Concerned parents are calling on the Australian pharmaceutical regulator to follow Europe and the United States, and add a ‘box warning’ to the medication.

Ancient DNA helps explain why northern Europeans have a higher risk of multiple sclerosis than other ancestries according to a major study. Researchers say it’s a genetic legacy of horseback-riding cattle herders who swept into the region about 5,000 years ago.

From gadgets for the elderly to selfie mirrors that can predict the risk of heart attack, health tech is a big trend at this year’s CES tech show. The innovations make monitoring health simpler and more portable than ever – with AI powering many of the devices.

Public health researcher and physiotherapist Professor Cathie Sherrington shares insights on what the research reveals about how to make physical activity a habit.

A study has just been published by the journal Neurology on the tragedy of sudden unexplained deaths in childhood (SUCD). Researchers believe at least some of those deaths might be linked to seizures.

Wireless devices which transmit blood glucose levels to your phone are becoming more widely used by people with type 1 diabetes,and they're beginning to be marketed to everyone as a general health tool. Manufacturers of the so called “flash” monitoring systems say they help create good eating habits, but doctors say there's more to a healthy life than that.

New South Wales Health is urging people who visited the Sydney CBD in the last 10 days to be on the lookout for symptoms of Legionnaires disease. There are concerns the scores of people who flocked to the area for New Years Eve and Boxing Day sales may have been exposed.