Culture

Seeing the same GP at every visit will reduce emergency department attendance

Attendances at emergency departments can be reduced by enabling patients to see the same GP every time they visit their doctor's surgery. This is just one of several recommendations made in a report published today, led by researchers at the University of Bristol.

Tempting people to move for work takes more than dollars

Sufficient financial inducements are one way of encouraging people to move to regional Australia for jobs, but other factors also play a part, according to a new report.

Moving workers from a region with high unemployment to a region with many job vacancies is an important aspect of labour markets. The Commission of Audit recently advised the government to "force" long-term unemployed people who are single and between the ages of 22 and 30 to move to areas of higher employment if they have been on the dole for 12 months.

Wives with more education than their husbands no longer at increased risk of divorce

WASHINGTON, DC -- For decades, couples in which a wife had more education than her husband faced a higher risk of divorce than those in which a husband had more education, but a new study finds this is no longer the case.

Monitoring pulse after stroke may prevent a second stroke

MINNEAPOLIS – New research suggests that regularly monitoring your pulse after a stroke or the pulse of a loved one who has experienced a stroke may be a simple and effective first step in detecting irregular heartbeat, a major cause of having a second stroke. The study is published in the July 23, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Combination antiretroviral therapy helps treat HCV in patients co-infected with HIV

CINCINNATI—Treatment of HIV patients co-infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with an anti-retroviral drug therapy not only tackles HIV, but also reduces HCV replication, according to a new study lead by a University of Cincinnati researcher.

The results were published Wednesday, July 23, 2014, in Science Translational Medicine.

Sleep deprivation may increase susceptibility to false memories

Not getting enough sleep may increase the likelihood of forming false memories, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

In a study conducted by psychological scientist Steven J. Frenda of the University of California, Irvine and colleagues, sleep-deprived people who viewed photographs of a crime being committed and then read false information about the photos were more likely to report remembering the false details in the photos than were those who got a full night's sleep.

Ketamine can be a wonder drug for ER patients and their physicians

WASHINGTON -- For critically ill patients arriving at the emergency department, the drug ketamine can safely provide analgesia, sedation and amnesia for rapid, life-saving intubation, despite decades-old studies that suggested it raised intracranial pressure.

Minimizing drag to maximize results

One of the most exciting parts of the Tour de France for spectators is the tactical vying for spots in the breakaway group at the front of the pack.

In trying to better understand the aerodynamic interactions between cyclists, researchers from Monash University and the Australian Institute of Sport studied how riders' drag was affected by the relative position of multiple cyclists (in a formation).

Linking television and the Internet

The panel discussion is getting heated -- but what exactly is in the new proposed law that the experts on TV are arguing about so vigorously? Up until now, spontaneous questions such as these that arise during a program had to be clarified through a viewer's own research on the Internet.

Physical work environment in hospitals affects nurses' job satisfaction

Job satisfaction is an important predictor of registered nurses' (RNs) job turnover, patient satisfaction, and nurse-sensitive patient outcomes (including pressure ulcers and falls), which can result in higher health care costs and penalties for hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid payments. Numerous studies have been conducted to assess nurses' job satisfaction, asking about nurse-physician relationships, opportunities for promotion, autonomy, and similar issues, but very few have addressed the impact of the physical work environment on RNs' job satisfaction.

HIV clinic-based audio project emphasizes the power of patient voices

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – July 22, 2014) The voice on the recording was low and calm as the speaker recounted the telephone call that brought the news he was infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS: "My heart just stopped for a little bit and next thing you know I was on the floor flat on my face boohooing, crying like a baby."

Psoriatic arthritis patients need better screening, warns panel of experts

Leading experts have joined together for the first time to call for better screening of psoriatic arthritis to help millions of people worldwide suffering from the condition.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) causes painful joint inflammation and can cause irreversible joint damage if left untreated.

PsA tends to affect people with the skin condition psoriasis, which causes a red, scaly rash, and affects approximately two per cent of people in the UK.

Around one in five go on to develop PsA – usually within ten years of the initial skin problem being diagnosed.

Activity level may predict orthopedic outcomes

According to a literature review in the July issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), patients' activity level is a strong predictor for how well they will do with certain treatments and how well they recover from injuries after treatment. Patients are encouraged to ask their orthopaedic surgeon if activity level is an important factor in their treatment decision.

Forty-five percent rise in diagnostic imaging tests by GPs -- new study

A 45 per cent rise in diagnostic imaging tests ordered by Australian GPs is being driven by increasing GP visits, a rising number of problems managed at consultations and a higher likelihood that GPs order imaging tests for these problems, according to a new University of Sydney study released today.

Based on a long term national survey of 9,802 GPs between 2002 and 2012, the report draws on data from more than 980,000 GP-patient encounter records to assess the extent to which GP's order tests in line with diagnostic imaging guidelines.

Clients of BMC's violence interventional advocacy program find experience supportive

(Boston)-- Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found that participants who received care through BMC's Violence Intervention Advocacy Program (VIAP)--an interventional program targeting the physical, mental, emotional and social needs of violently injured youths—were less likely to retaliate for their injuries and experienced life changing behaviors through connections to caring, steady, supportive adults who helped them feel trust and hope. These findings are reported in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine.