Preventable chronic diseases need ‘urgent’ intervention Alarming new research shows the socioeconomic health gap is widening, leaving GPs to navigate systems that ‘do not account for complexity’.
Is prescription affordability impacting hospitalisations? Research has revealed patients unable to pay for medication are ending up in hospitals, as doctors call for cost-of-living relief.
Vaping numbers surge despite crackdown Almost 400,000 Australians took up vaping between December 2022–23, representing a 30% year-on-year increase.
GP support for changes that would help end ‘cycle of poverty’ An RACGP submission has recommended several initiatives aimed at improving access to dental care.
Project aims to deliver ‘new digital health workforce’ A new model will engage GPs, nurses and allied health via virtual care for chronic disease patients to help ease pressures off the hospital system.
How social determinants of health apply to clinical practice The second key plenary session at GP22 looks at the determinants of population health and the value of social health tools.
Socioeconomic status linked to dementia risk: Study Dementia and its risk factors do not affect all communities equally, write Associate Professor Yen Ying Lim and Dr Emily Rosenich.
‘Quite worrying’: Premature mortality inequality in Australia The continually widening gap may be exacerbated by COVID-19.
Data reveals the poor health of the disadvantaged The gap in the quality of health between the disadvantaged in Australia and those more affluent is continuing to widen, new research has found.
Targeting disadvantage in smoking cessation A program being trialled in Adelaide will take a new approach to an old, intractable problem – high smoking rates in low socioeconomic areas.