Headlines on health

From measuring a woman's health based on her attractiveness, to studies showing women have to prove themselves to be sicker than a man to receive treatment. In this bonus episode of 'Hysterical', Cattriona Stirrat speaks with Dr Lea Merone, a researcher in women's health. She breaks down concepts such as Yentl syndrome and the 'beauty myth', but also shares her own story of confronting the very issues she studies.

Not having enough money to buy period products is a major problem for women and girls around the world. The Kenyan government is considered a global leader in access to sanitary products repealing added taxes on pads and tampons in 2004, and passing a law in 2017 to make period products free for school girls. And one charity is helping disabled women in the coastal city of Mombasa earn a living by making reusable period pads.

Public health experts are calling on the government to make good on its election promise to institute a permanent centre for disease control to ensure we're prepared for the next pandemic. While the final report from an independent inquiry into Australia's pandemic response has been delayed, health professionals say the government needs to act with urgency to ensure a coordinated prevention effort can keep Australians safe

One in five Australian children suffer from chronic pain. But new research shows the problem is often ignored, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment. That can affect their physical and mental development.

A free community laundry service has seen encouraging results in reducing the prevalence of skin infections and scabies in remote Northern Territory communities. Untreated scabies infestations can lead to dangerous secondary infections, which can then be a factor in causing rheumatic heart disease.

It's Dementia Action week, and Alyssa Gamaldo-Roddy is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Institute for Engaged Aging at Clemson University in South Carolina in the United States. Her research focuses on identifying adverse and protective factors associated with cognitive functioning, particularly in populations at risk for Alzheimer’s and related dementia. She also discusses how aging has changed from generation to generation as information has become more readily available with the development of technology.

There is no link between mobile phone use and brain and head cancers - that's according to a new Australian-led systematic review - commisioned by the World Health Organization. The researchers say the study provides the strongest evidence to date that radio waves from wireless technologies are not harmful to humans.

Australian scientists have made a world-first breakthrough creating lab engineered blood stem cells that closely resemble those found in the human body. They say the discovery could one day put an end to the search for 'perfectly matched' bone marrow donors that are often needed to treat those with leukaemia serious and blood disorders.

A researcher says most Australians support the use of supervised drug injecting rooms with more than 50 per cent of people in every jurisdiction backing the public health measure. A drug injecting room has operated at Kings Cross in Sydney for the past 23 years and a similar facility at North Richmond in Melbourne has been operating since 2018. But efforts to set up additional centres have been problematic.

Health authorities across Australia are encouraging at risk people to get fully vaccinated for mpox as the number of cases grows. There have been more than 340 cases this year which is more than double the number during the last outbreak in 2022. The outbreak in Australia is less severe than the one causing serious illness and deaths in parts of Africa. Dr Tom Morley is a sexual health doctor at Thorne Harbour Health in Melbourne. He told Greg Dyett being fully vaccinated for mpox is important for those most at risk.