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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.

CKN is recruiting for the next wave of Clinical Champions. The CKN Clinical Champions program helps spread awareness of the wide range of evidence-based clinical resources that CKN contains, how to find them, and how to use the various tools CKN offers. Our Champions are clinicians who are enthusiastic about CKN and keen to help their colleagues make best use of the tools available to them.

When Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music sang that “Love is The Drug” in their 1970’s hit they weren’t far from the truth. And when Haddaway asked the world “what is love?” in 1993, he was pondering the same thing that has puzzled scientists in fields ranging from anthropology to neuroscience for decades. 

We collectively cringed at the recent news of a Sunshine Coast woman who contracted hookworm while holidaying at An Bang Beach in Vietnam, yet Queensland scientists have been voluntarily infecting themselves with the worms for the sake of medical research.

The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) is an integral part of the primary healthcare sector in Queensland through the delivery of timely, patient-focused ambulance services. The QAS operates as a statewide service with a significant presence throughout Queensland, delivering services from 290 response locations through 16 Local Ambulance Service Networks (LASNs) based around Hospital and Health Service boundaries.

By Associate Professor Will Cairns

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a violent activity. Many of those subjected to CPR suffer multiple broken bones or severe internal injuries. For otherwise healthy people who experience a heart attack or an accident, the benefits can outweigh the risks. However, for patients who are dying from life-ending and irreversible illnesses, or have chosen not to have their life prolonged, CPR offers no benefit.

It’s widely known that cancer is driven by the build-up of mutations in the DNA of cells. Everything from pollutants to cigarettes to exposure to everyday chemicals can alter genes, and continued exposure over a lifetime can lead to a critical mass of mutations. Research now shows that the same process can cause heart disease and stroke.