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Being a single parent is tough. Parenthood is hard even when you have a committed partner at your side to help cook, clean, and earn the money needed to keep your child’s ever-growing feet in shoes. To accomplish this and so much more when you’re flying solo is even more admirable.

Researchers at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have developed an online skin cancer test that can identify people at high risk of melanoma in 90 seconds. The free test is available online.

With increasing emphasis on preventative healthcare and public health, would nurses benefit from understanding the sociological influences on health and wellbeing? Although sociological education is currently limited within nurse education, there is a long-held argument for its relevance. With a growing emphasis on preventative and public healthcare, sociology may yet prove its usefulness.

The rapid pace of medical advancements 

Advancements in science and medicine have led to better understanding of the mechanism of diseases resulting in development of novel diagnostic tests and better targeted therapies. The unprecedented pace of emerging scientific discoveries and its transformative nature makes it imperative that these new advancements are quickly adapted into patient care. However, a significant delay exists in the translation of research evidence into clinical practice.

A toddler drinks a bottle of paracetamol. A grandmother is given another resident’s medication at her nursing home. A teenager falls unconscious after taking unknown pills at a festival. Poisonings come in many different flavours and are more common than many people might think. Worldwide they’re a major cause of morbidity and mortality and represent a significant public health threat, especially to children. 

Calcium supplements, taken with or without vitamin D, may increase the risk of small growths in the large bowel (colon) called polyps, suggest results from a large US trial.

Anyone confined to a bed or chair for a long time is at risk of developing a pressure injury, a painful and serious problem if inadequately untreated. But thanks to the state-wide Pressure Injury Prevention Program, pressure injuries have dropped in Queensland by over 77% since the program started in 2003.

The new second edition of the NSQHS Standards was released in November 2017, and assessment to the second edition will commence from 1 January 2019. The second edition addresses gaps identified in the first edition, including mental health and cognitive impairment, health literacy, end-of-life care, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. It also updates the evidence for actions, consolidates and streamlines standards and actions to make them clearer and easier to implement.

As scientists look for new ways to tackle the growing problem of drug-resistant bacteria that evolve to resist our strongest medicines, they've hit upon a new strategy: using modern-day drug analysis to re-evaluate antibiotics overlooked in the past. An antibiotic that's been forgotten since its discovery 40 years ago could now help develop new drugs against life-threatening infections caused by some of the world’s most dangerous superbugs.

Ovarian cancer is one of the top 10 killers of Australian women. Every day in Australia, four women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and three will die from the disease. Unfortunately, this has not changed in 30 years, but newly published research could open the door to more effective treatment and prevention options.