The Art of Healing

In this issue we have our huge Feature on Dementia and Aged Care. Find out about the new Aged Care Act and how it will affect you, and how better medication management is needed in hospitals. And did you know that 4 out of 10 aged care residents in aged care are malnourished, or that 65% of health and care professionals still believe that dementia is a normal part of ageing – or that robots might be the future of aged care? We also shine the light on toxicity in this magazine: a decade-long investigation using mapping and spatial intelligence has raised red flags over more than 260,000 sites that could be toxic hotspots in Australia; and an international study by Monash University and the University of Tuscia show that pharmaceutical pollutants discharged in wastewater and thereby our rivers, lakes and oceans, have definitively been found to alter behaviour and reproductive traits in fish .. and for humans ….? We also have more on the repercussions of too much social media in this magazine, with a piece on “chroming,” where youth are inhaling toxic fumes from household items after seeing this practice featured on Tik Tok. And doomscrolling we know about, but we need to keep the pressure up to these big social media companies to change their algorithms so they are more safe. So it is great to report that ReachOut, Beyond Blue and Black Dog Institute are calling for evidence-based measures to help improve the safety of social media platforms for young people. And we have lots more books for you to look at in this issue, and our usual wonderful recipes – the Oxalis & Lime Tarts – an extract from From the Wild by Heidi Merika, look delicious!

Mysteries, Yes

The Art of Healing

CONTRIBUTORS

EDITOR'S NOTE

INNOVATIVE AND NOVEL • Melbourne Airport Opens First Health and Wellbeing Club

Red Flags Raised Over Toxic Hotspots Across Australia • A decade-long investigation by mapping and spatial intelligence experts raises red flags over more than 260,000 sites that could be toxic hotspots.

What Should You Do If Your Wearable Heart Rate Variability Changes? • It may be surprising when your wearable informs you that your heart rate variability is high or low, but what does it mean?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners Continue to Break Barriers • The health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples has received a boost with the number of registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners hitting 1,000 across the country.

Cranberries Really Do Have Benefits For UTI • A new meta-anaylsis of 20 studies by researchers at Bond University in Australia suggests cranberry juice may be effective for combating urinary tract infections (UTI). Consumed regularly in randomised controlled trials (RCT), the risk of developing a UIT has been found to drop.

A Better Way to Restart Hearts • It's no exaggeration that knowing how to use a defibrillator properly can save someone's life. However a new study shows that where the pads are placed significantly effects how likely they will get the heart beating again.

Weak Evidence Behind Antidepressants for Older Adults • Antidepressants are frequently prescribed to manage pain in older adults, but emerging research highlights that the evidence supporting this practice is surprisingly weak.

Older Cancer Survivors Face Elevated Risk of Stroke and Heart Attack • Older cancer survivors face a higher risk of stroke, heart attack and hospital treatment for heart failure, especially if they have had chemotherapy, Monash University research study data has revealed.

Teens Risk Brain Damage in New Tik-Tok “Chroming” Trend • A resurgence of youth seeking a high from “chroming” - the act of inhaling toxic fumes from household items such as nail polish or permanent markers - could be due to videos featuring...