Headlines on health

Despite a growing awareness around mental health, research shows burnout in the workplace is still a major challenge. Experts say without proper training and healthy boundaries in the workplace, more and more Australians will consider leaving their jobs in the next year.

A new report is calling for a national database on miscarriage to address ongoing invisibility around miscarriage and early pregnancy loss in Australia, particularly for First Nations women and in rural and regional communities. This comes as the government announced a $9.5 million funding package in May last year to improve awareness and support for early pregnancy loss.

California is to phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade under a first-in-the-nation law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Schools will have to start removing those foods from their menus by July 2029, and districts will be barred from selling them for breakfast or lunch by July 2035.

Laws have been introduced into federal parliament to stop employers from scrapping leave entitlements when families face the tragedy of a stillbirth or death of their baby.

A snapshot of Australian general practice has revealed that GPs are having to see patients for longer appointments to treat more complex medical needs. The Health of the Nation industry survey of almost 2,500 GPs also shows a growing number of general practitioners are managing patient conditions typically handled by specialists.

There are fears that many children with autism or learning difficulties will fall between the cracks of a new support system that aims to limit access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Thriving Kids initiative will be rolled out from the middle of next year, with a focus on providing support to children with so-called mild to moderate autism within community and mainstream settings. But disability advocates have told a parliamentary inquiry it is these children that are most often overlooked or misunderstood.

Nearly two years after the failed referendum saw a First Nations voice to parliament shot down, some NGOs and state governments have been taking the initiative to follow the wishes of the majority of Indigenous communities in Australia who voted for this special representation. Australia's principal non-government organisation for public health, the Public Health Association of Australia, has announced they will be instituting an Aboriginal and Torres-Strait Islander voice to help guide their work after a near unanimous vote by their members. SBS spoke to Dr Summer May Finlay, a Yorta Yorta woman, an Associate Professor at the University of Wollongong and the Vice President (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) of the Public Health Association about the importance of a First Nations voice in helping to Close the Gap on healthcare outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

Loneliness among men has been described as a "crisis" in Australia, and it appears to be on the rise. This social isolation can not only hurt mens mental health and overall wellbeing, it is also costing the Australian economy billions of dollars. A recent Australian study could hold the answer as to why men appear to be stuggling more with loneliness.

The Public Health Association of Australia has announced they will be establishing an Aboriginal and Torres-Strait Islander voice to help guide their work after a near unanimous vote by their members. Nearly two years after the failed referendum saw a First Nations voice to parliament shot down, NGOs like the PHAA and state governments have chosen to follow the wishes of the majority of Indigenous communities in Australia who voted for this special representation.

Tens of thousands of registered nurses across the country will be able to up-skill to prescribe medications usually authorised by a doctor. It's a reform that could change the medical landscape in Australia... and the lives of many patients.