Reports
Communio Report, Review of South Australian Cancer Services (Apr 2009)
Communio Report Media Release and Summary of Recommendations (Apr 2009)
Delaney Review (2008) Independent review of radiotherapy underdosing treatment incident.
Kowalick Review (2008) An independent review into the way the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s management dealt with a report received in 2006 confirming the under-dosing of a number of patients undergoing radiotherapy.
Overview of Cancer Treatment Services in Western Australia (July 2008) Report by Uni NSW (Collaboration for Cancer Outcomes, Research and Evaluation CCORE)
Federal Health Budget 2009-2010 (Media Releases, 12 May 2009) including 'A world class cancer care system'.
National Preventative Health Strategy (obesity, tobacco, alcohol, 1 Sep 09)
European Patient's Forum -Patient Manifesto 2009 '150 Million Reasons to Act'
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Health
Understanding, beliefs and perspectives of Aboriginal people in Western Australia about cancer and its impact on access to cancer services.
BMC Health Services Research;(9):Article 132 Shahid S, Finn L, Bessarab D, Thompson SC (2009)
Aboriginal Australian understanding, beliefs and perspectives on cancer. Shaouli Shahid. Centre for International Health. Curtin University
Barriers to participation of Aboriginal people in cancer care: communication in the hospital setting Shaouli Shahid, Lizzie D Finn and Sandra C Thompson.
Med J Aust 2009; 190 (10): 574-579.
A healed and healthy country: understanding healing for Indigenous Australians Tamara Mackean. Med J Aust 2009; 190 (10): 522-523.
Closing the Gap - Aboriginal Women's Health and Wellbeing (Report, Mar 2009) on outcomes of a YWCA NSW community consultation day
Review of cancer among indigenous peoples
Cancer impact in Indigenous Communities Cancer Forum 2005, Cancer Council Australia
Aboriginal men's health and well being - a renewed focus (2008) WA Health
Holding Men - Kanyirninpa and the health of Aboriginal men (Review of book by Brian F McCoy, May 2008)
Developing, sustaining and evaluating health programs for aboriginal men. Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.
Closing the nutrition and physical activity gap in Victoria: Victorian Aboriginal nutrition and physical activity strategy (Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation). This Strategy is the result of a comprehensive review of the Indigenous health promotion literature and a state-wide consultation process to improve nutrition, physical activity and reducing the chronic disease burden among the Victorian Aboriginal Community. (Sep 09)
Breast cancer knowledge to support women in your communitites (Nov 2006, workshop for training Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers)
Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources - an international resource
Walking the path together (Ockham's Razor, ABC Radio National, 1 Aug 2010)
Consumer Participation
Turn the 2020 rhetoric into practical gains Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF), Media Release, 23 Apr 2009:
‘People-centred health care means recognising the lived experience of consumers. It means recognising that consumers have important insights into how the health system can improve based on their experience of health problems and their interaction with the health system.
It means giving consumers an equal voice with other health stakeholders when decisions are made about the research and policy that affects their health care and how it’s delivered. This equal voice can only happen when consumers are given a level playing field – that is, their participation is recognised, supported and funded in line with other stakeholders such as doctors, academics and government.'
People the key to health reform: Health Issues Centre media release 30 July 2009. Health Issues Centre CEO Michael Janssen applauded the Commission for making its first and most important principle thathealth reform must be ‘people and family-centred’. “These recommendations offer a chance to rebuild health around people, families and wellness,” said Mr Janssen. “For too long health has been built largely around illness, professions and institutions.” "resources must be made available for wide-spread, effective, and long-term consumer participation in these reforms.”
(Cancer Voices SA supports these CHF and Health Issues Centre principles – to value, recognise and reward consumer involvement in improving the health system.)
Consumer Participation Guidelines and resources from the Health Consumers Alliance of South Australia.
Consumer engagement in Australian health policy: Investigating current approaches and developing new models for more effective consumer participation, Australian Institute of Health Policy Studies. Dr Judy Gregory (2008)
PatientView is an independent, global, research-and-publishing organisation that works closely with patients and health and social campaigning groups worldwide. PatientView surveys the opinions of patients and health advocacy groups on healthcare delivery and disease-based issues worldwide, analyses trends, and places many of the resulting reports into the public domain eg.
• Understanding the Cancer Patient Movement: Facts, Figures, and Analyses, 60 pages, September 2005 (a PatientView report). For a PDF of the report.
• Information for Patients with Cancer, 92 pages, May 2003, ISBN 1-904394-06-X. For a PDF of the report.
• The Information Needs of Patients with Cancer, 3 pages, CancerFutures, volume 2, issue 1, February 2003 (article for, and published by, CF).
• Challenges Facing the Health Advocacy Community: a Europe-Wide Survey of Health Campaigners, 68 pages, April 2006 (first section of a report on the results of a survey for Health Equality Europe). For a PDF of the report, Click here
• Challenges Facing the Health Advocacy Community: the Views of Policymakers and the Media, 34 pages, April 2006 (second section of a report on the results of a survey for Health Equality Europe). For a PDF of the report, Click here
• Hospital-Acquired Infections: the Way Forward, 60 pages, June 2005 (report for the Irish Patients' Association)
European Cancer Patient Coalition - the voice of the European cancer patient community, uniquely representing the interests of all cancer patient groups from the major to the rarer cancers.
Sponsorship and Fundraising
Working Together - A guide to relationships between Health Consumer Organisations and Pharmaceutical Companies. A collaboration between Consumers Health Forum of Australia and Medicines Australia (2008, 2nd edition.)
Disclosure regimes for charities and not-for-profit organisations - Senate Standing Committee Report (Dec 2008)
Charities - how much of your donation is gobbled up by fundraising fees and expenses - Choice (Mar 2008)
Know where your donation goes! A list of charities registered in South Australia, and their financial disclosure.
Complementary Therapy Issues
Sanderson C, Koczwara B, Currow D (2006) The “therapeutic footprint” of medical, complementary and alternative therapies and a doctor’s duty of care. MJA 185(7) 373-376.
Complementary Medicines - Choice (Feb 2008)
Most complementary therapy practitioners in Australia are 'unregistered' eg massage therapists, acupuncturists, counsellors, naturopaths, herbalists. Unregistered practitioners - what to expect and what to do if you have concerns about an unregistered practitioner (information sheet, Oct 08).
'Bogus' CAM practitioners under spotlight in SA (June 2009)
Inquiry into Bogus, Unregistered and Deregistered Health Practitioners (South Australian Parliamentary Inquiry, June 2009). Terms of Reference:
a) their prevalence in South Australia;
b) the practices they use, and associated health and safety risks;
c) the methods they use to promote their services and the risks of
exploitation of sick and vulnerable people;
d) the measures, regulatory or otherwise, that can be taken to better protect
the public; and
e) any other related matter.
Media Engagement
·Media Fact Sheets: How to Write a Media Release, Getting the Media Interested, Undertaking Media Interviews
Cancer myths and stigma
·Cancer fatalism and health disparities (Medscape, Aug 09)
Safety & Quality in Healthcare
·Towards national indicators of safety and quality in health care. This report sets out recommendations for a set of 55 national indicators of safety and quality in health care. The report concludes the National Indicators Project, a major project funded by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) and undertaken by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) in close consultation with the Commission and a wide range of clinical and other stakeholders. (Sep 09)
·Patient Safety First, UK National Health Service (NHS) campaign
·Safer care, improving patient safety, UK National Health Service Institute for Innovation and Improvement
·Hand hygiene - Medical Journal of Australia (Supplement) Oct 09
oThe National Hand Hygiene Initiative
oStatewide hand hygiene improvement: embarking on a crusade
oCulture change for hand hygiene: Clean hands save lives, Part II
Free Text On-line Cancer Journals
·BioMed Search is a new site that contains all PubMed/MedLine publications, additional full-text journals and a database of theses and dissertations.
·Rare Tumors is a peer-reviewed international medical journal devoted entirely to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of rare cancers; for physicians and medical scientists interested in uncommon neoplasms.
Health News
