Headlines on health

A new report from UNICEF Australia has found less than a third of Australian teens are feeling excited or hopeful about their futures. Mental health issues and anxiety around 'adult' challenges like housing and money are key drivers of declining wellbeing. For marginalised children and teens, these kind of pressures are felt even more acutely.

Around one in four Australians are failing to seek support when experiencing perinatal mental health issues. Experts say the data released by the Gidget Foundation highlights a lack of awareness around signs and symptoms, and ongoing stigma around the issue.

State premiers have come together for an urgent meeting, as tensions rise over reaching a new public hospital funding deal with the federal government. A new report from the Grattan Institute also finds Australia's hospitals are wasting more than $1 billion a year on avoidable spending.

The Victorian government has released the final report of an inquiry into women's experiences of pain - and it's made for some uncomfortable reading. Shaped by the experiences of 13,000 women and girls, the report has revealed gender health gaps, experiences of medical bias, sexism and misogyny, and feelings of being ignored or dismissed by clinicians are rampant throughout the Victorian health system.

Demand for donated eggs is growing in Australia as more people face fertility challenges. But the demand for eggs far outstrips their supply and now, experts are arguing Australia should consider changing the rules around donation.

New national clinical guidelines for the treatment of concussion have been released. They are aimed at helping healthcare professionals treat patients with greater consistency, amid concern that providing the right care can still be a blind spot.

A long-awaited Aged Care Act comes into force today [[Nov 1]], four years after a Royal Commission recommended major reforms to the sector. The federal government says it will give older Australians more choice and access to in-home support, but there are concerns many people will end up paying more for care.

The federal government will add a medicine for chronic kidney disease into the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. More than 65.000 Australians are expected to benefit from the cheaper access to Jardiance , also known as Empagliflozin.

A decade after a landmark study proved that feeding peanut products to young babies could prevent them developing life-threatening allergies, a new US study has shown it's making a big difference in the real world. The study has found about 60,000 children in the United States have avoided developing peanut allergies after new guidance was issued in 2015 about when to introduce the allergen to youngsters.

Australian researchers have found breastfeeding can protect women against breast cancer by building up their immunity. According to a new study, pregnancy and breastfeeding produces infection-fighting T-cells that help guard against abnormal cells that could develop into cancer.