Australian Family Physician August - Infections that last
Vol 38, (8) 561 - 656
The theme for the August issue of AFP is Infections that last. This month's articles include Management of HIV/AIDS, Long term management of people with HIV, What's new in TB?, Ross River Virus, Influenza A (H1N1 09) - public health lessons and questions, Pandemic lessons and Preventing the psychosocial risks of hearing loss
Influenza A (H1N1 09) - Public health lessons and questions
Louis Irving, Alan Hampson OAM
Influenza A (H1N1 09) has been in Australia for 2 months
and, in a world that had been preparing for a potentially
dramatic outbreak due to H5 avian influenza, it has challenged
global and national planning assumptions, definitions of
pandemic influenza and our public health interventions.
Pandemic lessons
Nicholas Collins
Australia is in the midst of its traditional influenza season.
This year the spectrum of viral respiratory infections has been
joined by a newcomer as feared as any previous variation of
influenza.
Letters to the editor
The opinions expressed by correspondents in this column are in no way endorsed by either the Editors or The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Management of HIV/AIDS
Salma Fahridin, Graeme Miller
Male patients accounted for 96.4% of all encounters where HIV/AIDS
was managed. Patients in the 25–44 years age group and 45–64 years age
group had the highest management rates of HIV/AIDS (54.6% and 40.6%
respectively).
Long term management of people with HIV
Justin T Denholm, Michelle K Yong, Julian H Elliott
Advances in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) have resulted in sustained improvements in the general
health and longevity of people living with the virus.
What’s new in TB?
Anna Ralph, Paul Kelly, Vicki Krause
Australia has among the world’s lowest rates of tuberculosis
(TB). However, it remains a leading global cause of morbidity
and mortality.
Ross River virus
Bridget Barber, Justin T Denholm, Denis Spelman
Ross River virus is Australia’s most common and widespread
arbovirus. It causes epidemic polyarthritis and is associated
with significant morbidity and cost to society.
Preventing the psychosocial risks of hearing loss
William Noble
PhD, is Professor of Psychology, Discipline of
Psychology, University of New England, Armidale,
New South Wales.
Motherhood and mental illness – Part 1 – toward a general understanding
Jacqueline Frayne, Thinh Nguyen, Suzanna Allen,
Jonathan Rampono
Mental illness is common among women of childbearing age, and
fertility rates of women with mental illness are close to those of
the general population. General practitioners will see most of the
women who may be seeking advice and management of their mental
illnesses before, during or after a pregnancy.
Meeting nutritional needs on a vegetarian diet
Kate Marsh, Carol Zeuschner, Angela Saunders, Michelle Reid
A vegetarian is a person who consumes a diet consisting
mostly of plant based foods including fruit, vegetables,
legumes, nuts, seeds and grains.
Health promotion in Australian general practice - A gap in GP training
Amit Achhra
General practitioners are well placed to provide health promotion,
both at the individual level and more broadly by addressing
socioenvironmental determinants of health. However, important
barriers exist which need to be tackled.
AFP in Practice
AFP in Practice questions are designed to get you started in a small group learning (SGL) activity in your practice or with colleagues. Requirements to earn 40 Category 1 CPD points for a SGL activity are: minimum of four and a maximum of 10 people, minimum of 8 hours of discussion in a year, and at least two GPs.
Clinical Challenge
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. The quiz is endorsed by the RACGP Quality Assurance and Continuing Professional Development Program and has been allocated 4 CPD points per issue.
Impact of home based long term care on informal carers
Geetha Ranmuthugala, Binod Nepal, Laurie Brown, Richard Percival
Well coordinated and integrated home based care is an efficient and
cost effective model for providing long term care. There is, however,
emerging evidence to suggest that family members pay a price for
taking on long term care responsibilities at home.
Medical assistants - A primary care workforce solution?
Abbe Anderson, Judith G Proudfoot, Mark Harris
A new medical assistant training program has been developed as
an innovative solution to the workforce pressures facing general
practice in Australia.
Drug and herb interactions - Searching the web
Felix W S Wong, Linda Lin, Danforn C E Lim
Australian patients spend large sums of money on complementary
medicine and therapy each year. General practitioners are often
asked questions about whether prescribed medications will interact
with complementary medications.
Book reviews
Books reviewed this month are Fast Facts: Minor Surgery 2nd edition by Christopher J Price and Rodney Sinclair and Paediatric Handbook 8th edition by Kate Thomson, Dean Tey and Michael Marks.
GP management of erectile dysfunction - The impact of clinical audit and guidelines
Catherine N Kirby, Leon Piterman, Caroline Giles
This study evaluated a clinical audit and evidence based practice
guide designed to improve general practitioner' assessment and
management of erectile dysfunction.
Dementia – who cares? - A comparison of community needs and primary care services
Fiona Millard, Bernhard Baune
Health professionals have varying levels of knowledge about, and
interest in, providing dementia services. This article compares patient
experiences in dealing with dementia with the perceived role of
health care providers in providing dementia care.
Diabetic retinopathy screening in general practice - A pilot study
Deborah Askew, Philip J Schluter, Geoffrey Spurling, Clare M Maher, Peter Cranstoun, Craig Kennedy, Claire Jackson
Early detection and treatment of diabetic retinopathy (DR) can
prevent nearly all associated severe vision loss. We investigated
the feasibility of DR screening using nonmydriatic cameras in two
Australian primary care clinics.
