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Disadvantaged Mum receive a helping hand

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Should culture & religion limit your dreams?

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How much is the government willing to put into health

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It comes as the fight over how health funding should be shared between federal, state and territory governments rages on, with NSW Premier Mike Baird pushing for a rise in GST to cover Abbott-era cuts to hospitals and schools.

The commission found that government spending on GP care, public hospitals and mental health services had all grown between 2004/05 to 2013/14, with the total spend on health reaching about $154.6 billion in 2013/14.

Federal funds for GPs rose from about $299 per person in 2012/13 to $312 per person in 2014/15.

Federal expenditure on mental health services grew from about $169 per person in 2005/06 to $210 in 2013/14. This also rose for public hospitals during this time, from $1431 in 2004/05 to $1905 in 2013/14.

The Australian Medical Association last week also warned that public hospitals face a funding "black hole" from next July, when the government plans to limit funding increases to population growth and indexation.

Alison Verhoeven, the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association's chief executive officer, said the Turnbull government should revisit this formula, as the report showed it was not suited to measuring the changes in demand for services.

"There is more driving the demand in growth than population growth and the consumer price index," she said. "It's also about the growing burden of chronic disease...and the shift in the demographic profile in Australia."

Tax reform also needed to ensure patients, particularly those with lower socio-economic backgrounds had good access to health services, she said.

The Grattan Institute's Stephen Duckett said that as the government invested more in health care, it also became more expensive as new drugs and medical diagnostic tools became available. Australians of all ages had increasingly gone to hospital over the past decade.

"That's not to say there's not money being wasted in the health system...there are still opportunities for savings,"he said.

The report also showed that there were fewer beds available in public hospitals and longer waits for elective surgery.

One in five people who saw a GP for any reason waited longer than they felt was acceptable to get an appointment. In 2004-05 there were 2.8 beds per 1000 people in the population, slipping to 2.5 beds in 2013-14.

The proportion of patients who were seen on time within emergency departments improved slightly, rising from 69 per cent in 2005-06 to 74 per cent in 2014-15.

Health Minister Sussan Ley said the government was working with states and territories to progress a series of health system reforms based on the Reform of the Federation White Paper.

She said that funding for public health increases by around 21.5 per cent, or $3.3 billion over the next four years.

Yet real expenditure on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme dropped from $7.9 billion ($350 per person) in 2011-12 to to $7.1 billion ($299 per person) in 2014-15.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "Price disclosure continues to reduce the price of medicines for consumers and supports the capacity of the system to list new and innovative medicines, such as those used in the treatment of cancer."

He said that over the forward estimates period, long-term growth remained about three per cent.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the public cost of Australian health care has grown to $6248 per year. In fact that is the total cost per person - spent by government, individuals and private insurance - in 2014. Federal, state and territory expenditure grew from $3361 to $4284 per person in that time.
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australian healthcare and hospitals association

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Jane Lee, Julia Medew, Harriet Alexander

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Health expenditure grows year on year to $6248 per person

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It comes as the fight over how health funding should be shared between federal, state and territory governments rages on, with NSW Premier Mike Baird pushing for a rise in GST to cover Abbott-era cuts to hospitals and schools.

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What does the 'perfect' woman look like?

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What does it mean to be beautiful - and how does that differ across cultures?

After journalist Esther Honig who sent her picture out to designers in forty countries around the world with the instruction "make me beautiful", Superdrug asked designers in 18 countries to retouch a stock image to fit with their culture's perception of what it means to be beautiful.

The brief was:

Photoshop her form. The idea is to Photoshop and retouch this woman to make her more attractive to the citizens of your country. We are looking to explore how perceptions of beauty change across the world. Multiple designers are involved. You can modify clothing, but her form must be visible. No nudity. All other changes, including those to her shape and form, are up to you.

The results were as varied as they are fascinating, with Spain barely retouching the model and the Netherlands going as far as to Photoshop her shoes.

Scroll below to see results of the 'perceptions of perfection' project across five continents:

More: These women in China had a beautiful and totally illegal wedding

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This is what it means to be beautiful, in 18 different countries

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What does it mean to be beautiful - and how does that differ across cultures? After journalist Esther Honig who sent her picture out to designers in forty countries around the world with the instruction "make me beautiful", Superdrug asked designers in 18 countries to retouch a stock image to fit with their culture's perception of what it means to be beautiful.

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What does a healthy man look like?

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Six months ago, a journalist sent a picture of herself to designers in forty countries around the world, with the brief being to "make her beautiful".
The results came back and varied drastically, which was seen by some as indicative of the perception of the "ideal" woman's body in different cultures.

The team at Superdrug have now done the same with a male body, sending this image...

...to designers in 19 different countries, with the same brief.
Here is what they sent back:
Australia:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Bangladesh:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

China:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Colombia:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Croatia:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Egypt:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Indonesia:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Macedonia:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Nigeria:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Pakistan:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Philippines:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Portugal:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Russia:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Serbia:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

South Africa:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Spain:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

UK:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

US:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

Venezuela:

Picture: NYPhotoNY/Self-Portrait

While photoshoppers from Egypt, the US, South Africa and the Philippines went for more chiselled men, designers from Serbia, Australia and Pakistan saw a less toned body as ideal.

The changes, of course, are only symptomatic of 19 different people's opinions and their varying abilities with photoshop, but are interesting nonetheless in how they alter an image.

To see the results in more detail, visit the campaign website, which seeks to combat pressures for an ideal body type.

Denise Hatton, Chief Executive of YMCA England, said:

Superdrug's second 'Perceptions of Perfection' report shines a much-needed light on the pressures men across the globe face regarding body image.

Men suffer equally with women around low body confidence as many strive to attain a standard of 'attractiveness' that is both often unobtainable and, as this report shows, driven by cultural perceptions and advertising ideals.

Our own research found that 40 per cent of men in the UK felt pressure from television and magazines to have a 'perfect' body and this has negative effects on how they view themselves and others.

More: What the ideal woman looks like in 18 different countries

More: What the ideal woman has looked like throughout history

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What the ideal man looks like in 19 different countries

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Six months ago, a journalist sent a picture of herself to designers in forty countries around the world, with the brief being to "make her beautiful". The results came back and varied drastically, which was seen by some as indicative of the perception of the "ideal" woman's body in different cultures.

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One-punch attack in Sydney CBD - are the laws protecting people?

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Man charged after one-punch attack outside McDonald's in Sydney CBD

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A 41-year-old man has been charged after an alleged assault on two men in Sydney's CBD on Saturday morning.

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Is it important to teach teenagers how to deal with mental health issues?

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We started teaching aspects of positive psychology at St Catherine's in 2008, when we realised we could contribute to building the wellbeing of our students. Since then we have developed a K-12 program that underpins educating girls to be young women who are strong in both character and learning.

Seligman's 2012 book, Flourish, gave us the PERMA model (2), the five elements that comprise wellbeing:

* Positive emotions such as joy, optimism and love are linked to long life, health and happiness.

* Engagement is the experience of being so involved in something that we lose track of time.

* Relationships are vital so that we can share our good and bad times with other people.

* Meaning in life comes from belonging to and serving something bigger than ourselves.

* Accomplishment is our ability to achieve or master something for its own sake.

This model was easily incorporated into our school and, like many schools, we used it to enhance our daily interactions.

We built positive emotions through events and carnivals, saw engagement and accomplishment as key to learning, developed relationships through class interactions and gave girls a sense of meaning through our house structure, service education and by their being part of a strong community.

But we wanted to go further. We wanted our girls to understand the theory and practice of positive psychology, and we wanted to build their skills and strengths so they could flourish.

So we developed programs around four key areas: building positive emotions; mental toughness; academic tenacity and building strong relationships - and made positive psychology lessons a regular part of the school week. (3)

To build positive emotions, girls keep a "hunt the good stuff" journal in which each day they record three things that went well, why they went well and what they or others did to enable it.

Doing this helps them focus on what goes right in their lives and encourages them to appreciate the small moments.

It also helps them counter their negativity bias - an evolutionary inheritance from the "fight or flight" age.

But it does more than make them feel good in the moment; research shows that completing the journal for one week increases happiness and lowers depression for up to six months. (4)

In lessons on mental toughness teachers focus on developing flexible thinking as a way to strengthen resilience.

Using the ATC model (activating event; thought; consequence) girls think through events that have happened and the responses they have had, and unpick how those responses may have been counterproductive.

In essence, they learn to identify underlying emotions and behaviours in themselves and others, and so take more control of their thought processes.

Building academic tenacity is an area that we spend a lot of time on. We want girls to understand that IQ is not fixed, and that the most accurate predictor of success is persistence, not intelligence. We teach girls about the importance of a growth mindset (5) and discuss research about the role of grit and self-control to a successful life. (6)

Finally, we teach girls about the importance of building strong relationships, the most significant protective factor in a resilient mindset. Through role play, girls analyse responses to situations and learn the importance of active-constructive dialogue to deep, trusting relationships.

We are delighted with how positive psychology has become an integral part of our school. It has enabled us to have a common focus, with grit, determination, gratitude and optimism central to how we operate.

And we believe we are preparing girls for the world that lies ahead. In 1947, Dr Martin Luther King Jr said that, "We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." (7).

Today, his words ring truer than ever. Despite political, social, and economic advance, mental health is declining and fulfilment eludes far too many people. I would like to see a day when all schools teach character development alongside academic development so that we can give all students the strengths and skills to eschew the superficial goals of money and power, and to focus on leading meaningful, fulfilled lives.

Dr Julie Townsend is headmistress of St Catherine's School, Waverley.

FOOTNOTES: 1. See, for example J Twenge et al, 'Birth cohort increases in psychopathology among young Americans, 1938-2007: A cross-temporal meta-analysis of the MMPI, Clinical Psychology Review 30 (2010), pp145-154.

2. Martin Seligman, Flourish (William Heinemann), 2011, pp.16-20.

3. Training by a team from the Positive Psychology Centre at the University of Pennsylvania gave us the resources to develop this program.

4. Seligman, Flourish, p.33. Many of the exercises outlined above can be found in this book.

5. See Carol Dweck, Mindset: How you can Fulfil your Potential, Constable and Robinson, 2012.

6. Angela Lee Duckworth: The Key to Success? Grit (TED talk, 2013).

7. 'The Purpose of Education', address to Morehouse College, February, 1947.

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We started teaching aspects of positive psychology at St Catherine's in 2008, when we realised we could contribute to building the wellbeing of our students. Since then we have developed a K-12 program that underpins educating girls to be young women who are strong in both character and learning.

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How does the increasing population impact health

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How does the increasing population impact health

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As the population increases - will this be a positive or negative impact on our health services?

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On Tuesday morning, Australia's population will officially tick over 24 million people. It's a big milestone so we thought we'd use the occasion to find out how Australia's population has grown in the past and whether it will continue to grow into the future.

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We spoken about it - but do you actually know what it is?

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For the past few weeks, the world has worried about the threat of the Zika virus. The World Health Organisation has declared it a global health emergency. And in the lead up to the Rio Olympic Games, Brazilian authorities are worried the virus might affect visitors and athletes.

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2016 review - video

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community and society:indigenous (aboriginal and torres strait islander) health

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The Government has released its latest report on Closing the Gap. That's the name of a plan that aims to help Indigenous Australians to live as long as non-Indigenous Australians. But the report shows that it's not going very well. So what's the issue? Here's Matt.

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Is Indigenous Health improving?

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Posted February 11, 2015 15:26:24

Aboriginal people have become the scapegoats of bad decision making in Canberra. We must not allow another generation of Indigenous children to become victims of our inability to shift route, writes Patricia Karvelas.
It has become a yearly ritual, a moment where the nation pauses to face the national shame which is our continuing incapacity to close the gap between black and white Australians.

Every year, during the first week of Parliament, the Prime Minister of the day delivers a national report on progress toward the Closing The Gap targets. This year it reveals we are stalling on half of its benchmarks. It is unthinkable, seven years after this effort began, that we could be getting it so wrong.

A short burst of embarrassment matched with platitudes about the need to do better is part of the formula on Closing The Gap day. This year is no different. There have been dramatic statements that we must work harder. Tony Abbott has expressed a "profound" disappointment about the nation's efforts to lift Indigenous Australians out of disadvantage. But where does this leave us? How can we continue the same strategies when we know they are demonstrably failing?

The Prime Minister told Parliament that the Closing The Gap statement is crucial because it forces us to "stay committed":

It forces us to stay focused, and as far as I'm concerned there is no more important cause than ensuring that Indigenous people enter fully into their rightful inheritance as first Australians and as first class citizens of this great country.

But what are we committed to? We need a rethink about the way we move forward, or our ambitious goals will fail and another generation of Indigenous children will be the victims of our inability to shift route.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten used his reply to the Prime Minister's statement this morning to argue against cuts to essential services and preventative health programs. Some Liberal MPs walked out, accusing him of politicising a bipartisan event. But since when does a bipartisan commitment to closing the gap mean politicians are required to stay mute on debating the way forward?

Silence is the last thing we need in this area.

Last year's budget cuts of $534 million from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs are rightly being scrutinised by the Opposition. The Government will tell you that while we are spending billions on Indigenous affairs nationally, we are not getting the outcomes we need. So why have they failed to take on the recommendation of their chief Indigenous advisor, Warren Mundine, to conduct a proper audit of spending?

The current Indigenous grant process - which has been delayed - is not the evidence-based audit Mr Mundine recommended. The cuts cannot be justified without a robust strategy for where the money should be spent.

Aboriginal people have become the scapegoats of bad decision making in Canberra. The narrative that they are the recipients of Commonwealth largesse is flawed given the system is failing them on so many levels.

Today's report paints a grim picture. There has been no progress in halving the gap in Indigenous employment outcomes, small gains in Indigenous life expectancy, and no overall progress on halving the reading and numeracy gap. There's been slower progress on the infant mortality gap. On the bright side, we are on track to halve the gap in Year 12 attainment.

The area of Indigenous affairs is not short on good strategies and even groundbreaking ideas. There are successes across the country. Without a rethink on a range of issues, including the strategy to get children to school and the employment gap, the eighth Closing The Gap report will be the same again and our collective depression will become an annual feature for decades to come.
Tonight, RN Drive will air the first of a 4-part series called Behind The Gap. Host Patricia Karvelas will be joined by Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and Labor's shadow spokesperson on Indigenous affairs Shayne Neumann. Listen from 6pm on Radio National. Patricia Karvelas is the presenter of RN drive has been a prominent senior journalist in the Australian media for 15 years.
Topics: indigenous-policy, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, federal-government, federal-parliament

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Closing the Gap: how are we getting it so wrong?

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It has become a yearly ritual, a moment where the nation pauses to face the national shame which is our continuing incapacity to close the gap between black and white Australians. Every year, during the first week of Parliament, the Prime Minister of the day delivers a national report on progress toward the Closing The Gap targets.

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Health-discipline-disadvantage