College of Medicine and Public Health

Permanent URI for this community

https://hdl.handle.net/2328/26052

The College of Medicine and Public Health deliver clinical, population and lab based research, integrated teaching programs and high quality clinical services.

Our teaching footprint reaches out from our world class teaching hospital at the Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia to multiple rural clinical locations all the way to Darwin in the Northern Territory.

We promote research in health services, systems improvements, public and population health, improved clinical care and laboratory and precision medicine.

This approach has seen us investigate everything from community health problems to the smallest of molecules that influence human disease.

Our research and teaching equips the next generation of leaders and innovators with the skill, commitment and vision to protect vulnerable communities and truly advance health outcomes. It’s at the heart of everything we do.

It’s about improving the health and wellbeing for everyone in society.

Browse

Browsing College of Medicine and Public Health by Subject "1117 Public Health and Health Services"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Australian health system restructuring - what problem is being solved?
    (BioMed Central, 2004) Dwyer, Judith Margaret
    Background In recent years, Australian state and territory governments have reviewed and restructured the health systems they lead and regulate. This paper examines the outcomes of the most recent official published reviews of systems and structures; identifies the common themes; and addresses two questions: what problems are being addressed? And how would we know if the changes were successful? Results In all the broad, systemic reviews, the main health system problems identified were money, hospital utilisation and a weak primary health care system. The solutions are various, but there is a common trend towards centralisation of governance, often at state health authority level, and stronger accountability measures. Other common themes are hospital substitution (services to avoid the need for admission); calls for cooperation across the Commonwealth:state divide, or for its abolition; and the expected range of current efficiency and effectiveness measures (eg amalgamate pathology and support services) and ideas in good currency (eg call centres). The top-down nature of the public review process is noted, along with the political nature of the immediate catalysts for calling on a review. Conclusion The long-standing tension between the pull to centralisation of authority and the need for innovation in care models is heightened by recent changes, which may be counterproductive in an era dominated by the burden of chronic disease. I argue that the current reforms will not succeed in achieving the stated goals unless they make a difference for people with chronic illness. And if this is correct, the most useful focus for evaluation of the success of the reforms may be their impact on the system's ability to develop and deliver better models of care for this growing group of patients.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Depression: an important comorbidity with metabolic syndrome in a general population
    (2008) Davis-Lameloise, Nathalie; Philpot, Benjamin Joel; Laatikainen, Tiina K M; Bunker, Stephen; Best, James D; Vartiainen, Erkki; Lo, Sing Kai; Janus, Edward Denis; Dunbar, James Anthony; Reddy, Prasuna; Kilkkinen, Annamari
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Learning to prescribe - pharmacists' experiences of supplementary prescribing training in England
    (2008) Bissell, Paul; Guillaume, Louise; Hutchinson, Allen; Murphy, Elizabeth; Ratcliffe, Julie; Ward, Paul Russell; Cooper, Richard; Lymn, Joanne; Anderson, Claire; Avery, Tony
    Background The introduction of non-medical prescribing for professions such as pharmacy and nursing in recent years offers additional responsibilities and opportunities but attendant training issues. In the UK and in contrast to some international models, becoming a non-medical prescriber involves the completion of an accredited training course offered by many higher education institutions, where the skills and knowledge necessary for prescribing are learnt. Aims: to explore pharmacists' perceptions and experiences of learning to prescribe on supplementary prescribing (SP) courses, particularly in relation to inter-professional learning, course content and subsequent use of prescribing in practice. Methods A postal questionnaire survey was sent to all 808 SP registered pharmacists in England in April 2007, exploring demographic, training, prescribing, safety culture and general perceptions of SP. Results After one follow-up, 411 (51%) of pharmacists responded. 82% agreed SP training was useful, 58% agreed courses provided appropriate knowledge and 62% agreed that the necessary prescribing skills were gained. Clinical examination, consultation skills training and practical experience with doctors were valued highly; pharmacology training and some aspects of course delivery were criticised. Mixed views on inter-professional learning were reported – insights into other professions being valued but knowledge and skills differences considered problematic. 67% believed SP and recent independent prescribing (IP) should be taught together, with more diagnostic training wanted; few pharmacists trained in IP, but many were training or intending to train. There was no association between pharmacists' attitudes towards prescribing training and when they undertook training between 2004 and 2007 but earlier cohorts were more likely to be using supplementary prescribing in practice. Conclusion Pharmacists appeared to value their SP training and suggested improvements that could inform future courses. The benefits of inter-professional learning, however, may conflict with providing profession-specific training. SP training may be perceived to be an instrumental 'stepping stone' in pharmacists' professional project of gaining full IP status.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Melioidosis in Northern Australia, 2001-02
    (2003) Cheng, Allen C; Davis, Josh; Currie, Bart John; Hanna, Jeffrey N; Dowse, Gary; Hills, Susan L; Krause, Vicki L; Inglis, Tim J; Norton, Robert
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Otitis media in young Aboriginal children from remote communities in Northern and Central Australia: a cross-sectional survey
    (2005) Morris, Peter Stanley; Leach, Amanda Jane; Silberberg, Peter; Mellon, Gabrielle; Wilson, Cate; Hamilton, Elizabeth; Beissbarth, Jemima
    Background Middle ear disease (otitis media) is common and frequently severe in Australian Aboriginal children. There have not been any recent large-scale surveys using clear definitions and a standardised middle ear assessment. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of middle ear disease (otitis media) in a high-risk population of young Aboriginal children from remote communities in Northern and Central Australia. Methods 709 Aboriginal children aged 6–30 months living in 29 communities from 4 health regions participated in the study between May and November 2001. Otitis media (OM) and perforation of the tympanic membrane (TM) were diagnosed by tympanometry, pneumatic otoscopy, and video-otoscopy. We used otoscopic criteria (bulging TM or recent perforation) to diagnose acute otitis media. Results 914 children were eligible to participate in the study and 709 were assessed (78%). Otitis media affected nearly all children (91%, 95%CI 88, 94). Overall prevalence estimates adjusted for clustering by community were: 10% (95%CI 8, 12) for unilateral otitis media with effusion (OME); 31% (95%CI 27, 34) for bilateral OME; 26% (95%CI 23, 30) for acute otitis media without perforation (AOM/woP); 7% (95%CI 4, 9) for AOM with perforation (AOM/wiP); 2% (95%CI 1, 3) for dry perforation; and 15% (95%CI 11, 19) for chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). The perforation prevalence ranged from 0–60% between communities and from 19–33% between regions. Perforations of the tympanic membrane affected 40% of children in their first 18 months of life. These were not always persistent. Conclusion Overall, 1 in every 2 children examined had otoscopic signs consistent with suppurative ear disease and 1 in 4 children had a perforated tympanic membrane. Some of the children with intact tympanic membranes had experienced a perforation that healed before the survey. In this high-risk population, high rates of tympanic perforation were associated with high rates of bulging of the tympanic membrane.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Theoretical and conceptual issues around equity in healthcare: application to cervical cancer screening in South Australia
    (2006) Ward, Paul Russell; Kenny, Bernadette; Tucker, Graeme R; Luke, Colin