World

What actually is palliative care? And how is it different to end-of-life care?

Retrieved on: 
Friday, August 4, 2023

Palliative care aims to prevent and relieve physical, social, emotional, spiritual and existential distress.

Key Points: 
  • Palliative care aims to prevent and relieve physical, social, emotional, spiritual and existential distress.
  • Palliative care also supports family caregivers during the disease journey and bereavement phase.
  • It is not just for people who are about to die and seeking palliative care does not mean “giving up”.

Not just for someone’s final days

    • The full benefit of this holistic approach can only be realised if people are referred early to palliative care – ideally from the time they are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
    • Unfortunately, this rarely happens and palliative care tends to blur with end-of-life care.

Palliative care can involve difficult conversations

    • Palliative care can be provided at home, hospital, hospice or residential aged care facility, depending on the preference and circumstances of patients and their family carers.
    • Patient preferences for care and what matters most to them are discussed with their doctor or other health professionals and with their loved ones with advance care planning.
    • These discussions can include information on their preferred place of care, preferred place of death, personal care needs such as dietary preferences and religious and spiritual practices.

How palliative care delivery has changed

    • But research indicates a solely clinical model of palliative care (mainly symptom management funded through the health system) is inadequate to address the complex aspects of death, dying, loss and grief.
    • A public health palliative care approach views the community as an equal partner in the long and complex task of providing quality health care at the end of someone’s life.
    • It promotes conversations about patients’ and families’ goals of care, what matters to them, their needs and wishes, minimising barriers to a “good death”, and supporting the family post-bereavement.
    • Read more:
      Passed away, kicked the bucket, pushing up daisies – the many ways we don't talk about death

Tailored to need

    • Palliative care should be tailored to each person, rather than a one-size-fits-all clinical model that doesn’t respect autonomy and choice.
    • Palliative care hospitalisations have increased in recent years compared to all hospitalisations, with 65% of such admissions ending with the patient dying in hospital.

Settlement with family of Henrietta Lacks is an opportunity to reflect on inequalities in genetic research

Retrieved on: 
Friday, August 4, 2023

It was also the day the Lacks family reached a settlement with Thermo Fisher Scientific, the biotech company that used and profited from her “HeLa” cells.

Key Points: 
  • It was also the day the Lacks family reached a settlement with Thermo Fisher Scientific, the biotech company that used and profited from her “HeLa” cells.
  • Though the details remain confidential, this settlement is a long-awaited moment of justice and victory for Lacks and her family.
  • However, the inequalities suffered by Lacks remain problems of the present.

Henrietta Lacks’s story

    • Her cells were taken and retained for research purposes by white physicians and researchers at the hospital.
    • It was Rebecca Skloot’s 2010 book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks that drew attention to Lacks’s story and highlighted the racialized and patriarchal nature of medical ethics and research practices.
    • Advocates — mainly people of colour — used the pandemic and subsequent COVID-19 vaccine developments to bring Lacks’s story back to life.

Not just her: Other stories of inequality

    • Moore had hairy cell leukemia and, as part of his treatment, underwent a splenectomy at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Centre in 1976.
    • Like Lacks’s, Moore’s cells had been unknowingly and unlawfully processed and patented as the “Mo” cell line.
    • This violated the Havasupai’s consent agreement and had deeper repercussions, as these topics were considered taboo by the tribe.

The fight isn’t over yet

    • But it should also serve as a reminder that the fight for a fairer and more equitable framework of medical ethics and genetic research is not over.
    • Genetic materials are generally treated like any other objects and little to no consideration is given to the person.

US preterm birth and maternal mortality rates are alarmingly high, outpacing those in all other high-income countries

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 3, 2023

The report reflects a shameful reality in which maternal deaths have either increased or plateaued worldwide between 2016 and 2020.

Key Points: 
  • The report reflects a shameful reality in which maternal deaths have either increased or plateaued worldwide between 2016 and 2020.
  • On top of that, of every 10 babies born, one is preterm – and every 40 seconds, one of those babies dies.
  • The WHO has designated preterm birth an “urgent public health issue” in recognition of the threat it poses to global health.
  • We are maternal fetal medicine experts and scholars of women’s health who focus on treatments and programs to help women have better maternal health, especially those that reduce preterm birth.

Dire state of maternal health care

    • Bowie’s story drives home the devastating state of maternal health in the U.S. Maternal mortality is a sad and unexpected ending to the often beautiful journey of pregnancy and childbirth.
    • Unfortunately, the maternal and infant health crises are worsening in the U.S., and this association is far from being an unfortunate coincidence.
    • There is an important link between infant health and maternal health, as they both rely on the accessibility and quality of health care.
    • Worse yet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that about 84% of these maternal deaths are preventable.

Tragic rates of infant mortality and preterm birth

    • The U.S infant mortality rate was 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, in contrast to the 1.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in Norway, the country with the lowest infant mortality rate.
    • While preterm births lead to rising infant mortality rates, even those who survive can face health problems such as breathing difficulties, problems with feeding, significant developmental delay and more throughout their lives.
    • Preterm birth also presents additional risks for the mother, as women who deliver preterm are at higher risk for cardiovascular complications later in life.
    • Thus, preterm birth takes a significant toll on families and their communities, with serious ramifications in medical, social, psychological and financial contexts.

Maternal care during pregnancy is key

    • Maternal care appointments and screenings are essential to prevent prenatal complications and a women’s increased risk for developing long-term complications such as cardiovascular disease.
    • For that reason, patients should secure prenatal care as early as possible in the pregnancy and continue to regularly have prenatal care appointments.
    • It looks no different from the early signs of a typical labor, except that it occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Preterm birth prevention

    • The more that pregnant women take ownership of their health and ask their doctors to perform a simple cervical length screening during their pregnancy, the earlier preterm birth can be detected and prevented and the more lives will be saved.
    • Evidence has shown that patients with a short cervix face a greater risk of the cervix’s opening too early in pregnancy, resulting in preterm birth and other adverse outcomes.
    • Luckily, there are treatments available, such as vaginal progesterone, which can prevent preterm birth in women found by ultrasound to have a short cervix.
    • This treatment can reduce the risk of preterm birth by more than 40%.

The upside to Canada being knocked out of the FIFA Women’s World Cup

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Heading into the Canada versus Australia Women’s World Cup match on July 31, I thought about who I should cheer for.

Key Points: 
  • Heading into the Canada versus Australia Women’s World Cup match on July 31, I thought about who I should cheer for.
  • Canada faced Australia with a chance to advance to the knockout phase at the Women’s World Cup.

A 21st century powerhouse

    • They have been a 21st century powerhouse, winning bronze medals at the 2003 FIFA World Cup, as well as the 2012 and 2016 Olympics in addition to their 2020 gold medal.
    • Canada also has a relatively well-established women’s game, both in terms of participation and interest in the national team compared to most countries.
    • The national team’s collective success has also drawn significant attention to women’s sport in Canada and transgender rights in sport more broadly.

Australian women’s soccer

    • The professionalization of the A-League Women, Australia’s women’s soccer league, provides top players with a path for pursuing professional soccer.
    • As co-hosts of the first Women’s World Cup in the southern hemisphere, the performances of both Australia and New Zealand could have significant implications for the future of women’s soccer.
    • One aspect of this responsibility is continuing to promote women’s soccer to a wider audience.

Nigerian women’s soccer

    • The other team to advance from Group B are the Nigerian Super Falcons, who progressed after a draw with Ireland on July 31.
    • In fact, Nigerian team members threatened to boycott their opening match against Canada over the dispute.

Upsides and downsides

    • This is the most fascinating thing about sport — its layers.
    • Sport can be an escape and an ideological battleground, an arena that both brings us together and creates enemies.
    • But there’s still good reasons — maybe even better reasons depending on your vantage point — for Canadians to keep paying attention.

Nigeria battles a deadly diphtheria outbreak - what it is and how to control it

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Infectious diseases expert Dr. Oyewale Tomori explains what diphtheria is, its symptoms and how people can protect themselves against the disease.

Key Points: 
  • Infectious diseases expert Dr. Oyewale Tomori explains what diphtheria is, its symptoms and how people can protect themselves against the disease.
  • What is diphtheria?
  • Left untreated, diphtheria toxin spreads through the tissues of the nose and throat as well as tissues of the heart and nerves.
  • Symptoms of respiratory diphtheria usually begin 2 to 5 days after a person becomes infected.
  • Skin infections caused by C. diphtheriae typically consist of shallow ulcers (sores) and do not result in severe disease.
  • Nigeria must also enhance epidemiological surveillance to ensure early detection of diphtheria cases.
  • There must be early and prompt reporting of cases, timely management and treatment of cases, and adequate supply of diphtheria antitoxin.

Women's World Cup: The epidemic of ACL tears in female soccer players is about more than just biology

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Over 25 of the world’s top female soccer players are missing the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup because of ACL tears, including Canada’s Janine Beckie.

Key Points: 
  • Over 25 of the world’s top female soccer players are missing the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup because of ACL tears, including Canada’s Janine Beckie.
  • If we trust the research, we should brace ourselves for two to three ACL tears during the World Cup itself.

Dreaded aftermath of the ACL tear

    • People usually feel or hear a pop when they tear their ACL and experience significant joint swelling within a couple of hours.
    • For athletes, the treatment of an ACL tear involves physical therapy, exercise or surgery, where the ACL is reconstructed using a piece of tendon harvested from the quadricep or hamstring muscles.
    • Under ideal conditions, recovery from an ACL tear takes nine to 12 months.

Greater risk for female athletes

    • The environments in which female athletes learn and play sport also contribute to the risk.
    • For example, at the 2021 NCAA March Madness, male athletes had access to a full gym, while female athletes were provided with a few light dumbbells and yoga mats.
    • However, the sporting environment hasn’t kept up, lacking resources, facilities and coaching tailored to meet the needs of female athletes.

Addressing the epidemic

    • This means a national professional league, pay and resource equity, investment in long-term welfare and prioritizing training opportunities for female coaches, trainers and medical staff.
    • There is also an urgent need to fund research focused on female health, injury prevention and long-term health.
    • Only through collective effort and a commitment to addressing all the root causes of ACL injuries in female athletes can we build a future where all athletes have an equal chance to excel in the beautiful game.

Why American culture fixates on the tragic image of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the most famous man behind the atomic bomb

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Oppenheimer had many achievements in theoretical physics but is remembered as the so-called father of the atomic bomb.

Key Points: 
  • Oppenheimer had many achievements in theoretical physics but is remembered as the so-called father of the atomic bomb.
  • But he conveyed a sense of anguish – scripting his own tragic role, as I argue in my book about him.
  • “The physicists have known sin,” he remarked two years after the attacks, “and this is a knowledge which they cannot lose.”

‘Batter my heart’

    • As physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi later said, the bomb “treated humans as matter,” nothing more.
    • But Oppenheimer pointedly used religious language when talking about the project, as if to underscore the weight of its significance.
    • The atomic bomb was first tested in the early morning of July 16, 1945, in the arid basin of southern New Mexico.
    • Mathematician John von Neumann acerbically observed, “Some people profess guilt to claim credit for the sin.”

Describing the indescribable

    • On Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, these cities suddenly ceased to be.
    • Robert J. Lifton, an expert on the psychology of war, violence and trauma, called the Hiroshima survivors’ experience “death in life,” an encounter with the indescribable.
    • When it comes to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however, he chooses to represent the attack without portraying it.

The bomb to end all wars?

    • After the end of the war, many of the scientists who had worked on the Manhattan Project sought to emphasize that the atomic bomb was not just another weapon.
    • Among them, Oppenheimer carried the most authority as a result of his leadership of Los Alamos and his oratorical gifts.
    • The form it ultimately took, known as the Baruch Plan, was rejected by the Soviet Union.
    • Rather than seeing the bomb as the weapon to end all wars, the U.S. military seemed to treat it as its trump card.
    • The era of mutual assured destruction, when a nuclear attack would be certain to annihilate both superpowers, had begun.

Rate hikes may have slowed inflation in the US – but they have also heightened the risk of financial crises for lower-income nations

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

The campaign to fight U.S. inflation by upping interest rates has been going on for a year and a half – and its impacts are being felt around the world.

Key Points: 
  • The campaign to fight U.S. inflation by upping interest rates has been going on for a year and a half – and its impacts are being felt around the world.
  • On July 26, 2023, the Federal Reserve announced another quarter-point hike.
  • That means U.S. rates have now gone up 5.25 percentage points over the past 18 months.
  • While inflation is now coming down in the U.S., the aggressive monetary policy may also be having significant longer-term impact on countries across the world, especially in developing countries.

Ripples around the world

    • Many emerging economies rely on the dollar for trade, and most borrow in the U.S. dollar – all at rates influenced by the Federal Reserve.
    • And when U.S. interest rates go up, many countries – and especially developing ones – tend to follow suit.
    • Raising U.S. interest rates has the effect of making American government and corporate bonds look more attractive to investors.
    • Writing in May 2023, when he was still president of the World Bank, David Malpass estimated that some 60% of lower-income countries are in or high risk of entering debt distress.
    • Meanwhile, any fears that the Fed has pulled on the brakes too quickly and is risking recession will suppress consumer spending further.

The risk of spillover

    • When then-Fed Chair Paul Volcker fought domestic inflation in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he did so with aggressive interest rate hikes that pushed up the cost of borrowing around the world.
    • The current rate increases are not of the same order as those of the early 1980s, when rates rose to nearly 20%.
    • The World Bank’s most recent Global Economic Prospects report included a whole section on the spillover from U.S. interest rates to developing nations.

Widening the wealth gap

    • Income inequality is at an all-time high – both within individual countries and between the richer and developing countries.
    • And such a wealth gap is deeply corrosive for societies: Inequality of income and wealth has been shown to both harm democracy and reduce popular support for democratic institutions.
    • Worryingly, the World Bank has warned that developing nations face a “multi-year period of slow growth” that will only increase rates of poverty.
    • And history has shown that the impact of such economic conditions fall hardest on lower-skilled low-income people.
    • These effects are compounded by government policies, such as cuts in spending and government services, which, again, disproportionately hit the less well-off.

Conspiracy theories: how social media can help them spread and even spark violence

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

For example, some conspiracy theories claim that the Covid-19 pandemic is a hoax or a plot by a secret cabal to control the world population.

Key Points: 
  • For example, some conspiracy theories claim that the Covid-19 pandemic is a hoax or a plot by a secret cabal to control the world population.
  • Such beliefs can lead to a rejection of vital health measures, such as wearing masks or getting vaccinated, and thereby endanger the public.
  • False narratives about the 2020 US presidential election having been “stolen” underpinned the attack on the US Capitol, on 6 January 2021.
  • Social media, including forums, enable such groups to form and have continuous and repeated access to information that reinforces their beliefs and helps them forge a sense of shared identity.

Why and how conspiracy theories grow

    • In our recent study, we set out to understand exactly why and how conspiracy theories persist and persevere over time on social media.
    • We found that social media can help breed a shared identity toward conspiracy theory radicalisation by acting as an echo chamber for such beliefs.
    • Online networks also enable individuals to replicate conspiracy theories easily by simply sharing or copy/pasting related content.


    These stages actually constitute a spiralling loop, reinforcing a conspiratorial shared social identity and enabling a potential escalation to radicalisation.

Prevention, not more information

    • More than ever, developing media literacy and critical-thinking skills that can help citizens assess the credibility and validity of online information sources has become a critical challenge.
    • It is also important to address the underlying social issues that can contribute to the spread of conspiracy theories.

A drink each day or just on the weekends? Here's why alcohol-free days are important

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Many people extend these alcohol-free periods throughout the year by incorporating alcohol-free days into their weekly routines, while still enjoying a drink on the weekends.

Key Points: 
  • Many people extend these alcohol-free periods throughout the year by incorporating alcohol-free days into their weekly routines, while still enjoying a drink on the weekends.
  • But does drinking the same amount spread over the week versus just on the weekends, make any difference health-wise?

How much is too much?

    • Australian alcohol guidelines and the World Health Organization state there is no safe level of alcohol use.
    • For adults who do drink, the guidelines recommend a maximum of four drinks in one sitting or ten in a week.

But what about a wine each night?

    • Everyone processes alcohol at a different rate depending on age, gender, body shape and size.
    • Alcohol destroys the fine balance of the bacteria in the gut microbiome, which has been linked to brain health.
    • Read more:
      'I take it with a pinch of salt': why women question health warnings linking alcohol with breast cancer

So, no drinking then?

    • This is why alcohol-free days are becoming so popular, to balance health risks while also giving us the chance to enjoy social activities.
    • Alcohol-free days can also create a domino effect by encouraging other healthy behaviours like eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking more water, improved sleep patterns and getting up early to exercise.

6 tips for better drinking balance


    If you’re looking to incorporate more alcohol-free days into your routine you could try to
    Finally, it’s important to know everyone slips up now and then. Practice self-forgiveness if you do have a drink on a planned alcohol-free day and don’t give up.

    Read more:
    We’re getting really good at making alcohol-free beer and wine. Here’s how it’s done