Australian Family Physician December 2002 - Lifestyle Changes
Vol 31 (12):1057-1152
In time for New Year resolutions, our December issue
focuses on lifestyle change including diet and exercise, cannabis
control, smoking cessation and alcohol dependence.
Editorial: A time of change
Steve Trumble
It is a great honour to be writing this editorial as the recently appointed Editor in Chief of Australian Family Physician, the journal of record of Australian general practice.
Eat less, walk more: Enjoyable eating for type 2 diabetes
Melissa Carapetis, Patrick Phillips
Lifestyle management is the basis of diabetes treatment. In most cases, healthy eating, activity and weight loss can result in significant improvements in blood glucose, lipids and overall health. General practitioners have a key role in encouraging and supporting patients with diabetes to make lifestyle changes.
Cannabis control: An approach to cannabis use and dependence
Matthew Y Frei
Cannabis use is widespread in our community. Dependence on cannabis may be associated with significant mental and physical harms.
Alcohol misuse and dependence: Assessment and management
Noeline Latt, John B Saunders
General practitioners play a vital role in the prevention of alcohol related morbidity and mortality. The earlier an alcohol problem is diagnosed, the better the treatment outcome.
How to provide effective smoking cessation advice
John Litt
General practitioners have the opportunity, credibility and authority to provide smoking cessation advice and are effective in assisting smokers to quit. Despite their potential, GPs identify just over half the smokers in their practice and counsel approximately one-third to quit. Implementation of smoking cessation advice has not improved in the past 10 years despite the availability of evidence based guidelines.
The identification and management of the drug impaired doctor
Eric Khong, Moira G Sim, Gary Hulse
Problem drug use occurs within the medical fraternity as it does in other parts of the population. However, doctors have traditionally been discouraged from admitting vulnerability and frequently fail to recognise or respond to early signs of problem alcohol and drug use.
The art of dealing with complaints
Sara Bird
Complaints against medical practitioners are relatively frequent. Appropriate management of complaints is an important part of good practice management. This article provides some guidelines for general practitioners on how to respond to patient complaints.
Compassion and patient centred care
Anthony C T Stevenson
The essence of medicine is a relationship based upon a concern for suffering. Western medicine, arising from a modernistic philosophy, has a tradition of paternalistic ‘doctor centred’ care. There are significant criticisms of this approach.
Clinical challenge
Earn 2 CPD points per issue
Questions for this month's clinical challenge are based on articles in this issue. The style and scope of questions is in keeping with the MCQ of the College Fellowship exam.
Brain teaser: An itchy skin lesion
Gordon Clunie
A 28 year old man presents with a series of slightly raised pigmented plaques over the trunk, complaining of itching in one lesion which is situated in the epigastrium.
Reducing falls in community dwelling elderly
Sharon Monagle
Falls in the elderly are common and often result in injury. A large body of evidence has identified the risk factors for falls, and indicates that strategies to prevent falls need to be targeted and multidisciplinary.
Longevity: does what goes up always have to come down?
Craig Hassed
I have heard it said that a life without indulgences is not actually longer, it just feels longer. Sophie Tucker, when asked the secret to longevity, replied: 'Keep breathing'.
Allied health professionals providing psychological treatments in general practice settings
Eleanor Jackson-Bowers, Chris Holmwood, Victoria Wade
This article is based on a literature review and discussion document developed for the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging to assist in its deliberations on the structure of the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Program (BOMH).
Psychiatry's missing link - mental injury
Rosie Saxton
The study of medicine is largely based on categorisation of clusters of symptoms and deviation from a state of health is generally described according to the type of derangement such as disease, illness, inflammation etc. It seems ironic that an area of medicine that is as subjective as psychiatry should have the most rigid of all diagnostic criteria.
Editorial: Complementary therapies in general practice
Stephen P Myers
The utilisation of complementary medicine by the Australian community is widespread. A 1993 survey by MacLennan et al found that in the previous year, 48.5% of respondents (n=3004 South Australian residents) had used at least one 'alternative' medicine. In 2000 a similar survey found the overall use to be 52.1% with a significant increase in female consumers, 54.8% in 1993 to 60.0% in 2000.
Characteristics of Victorian general practitioners who practise complementary therapies
Marie Pirotta, Stephen J Farish, Vicki Kotsirilos, Marc M Cohen
To compare the characteristics of Victorian general practitioners who practise and do not practise complementary therapies.
A conceptual model for capacity building in Australian primary health care research
Elizabeth Farmer, Kathryn Weston
Many general practitioners and primary health care practitioners lack research and evaluation skills. In response, the Australian Government has funded important capacity building initiatives.