Urgent community plea to reverse declining vaccination rates against fatal lung infection this Pneumonia Awareness Week
Lung Foundation Australia is teaming with researchers, doctors and patients Australia-wide today, during Pneumonia Awareness Week (13-20 May), to call for proactive community action to address the declining vaccination rates against pneumococcal pneumonia – an infection responsible for more than 15,000 GP visits, 8,000 hospitalisations, and 2,000 deaths among those aged over 65 each year. Their…
World Ovarian Cancer Day
Today is World Ovarian Cancer Day, an initiative of the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition, which aims to raise awareness of this disease. Each day, four women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and of those, three will die from the disease, making it Australia’s deadliest women’s cancer. It is also usually diagnosed in its late stages, because there…
Launch of InsideOut Institute – Australia’s first institute for research & clinical excellence in eating disorders
l-r: Prof Stephen Touyz, Advisory Council Chair & Lead Researcher, InsideOut Institute; Dr Sarah Maguire, Director & Clinical Psychologist, InsideOut Institute; & Kirsten Bruce, VIVA! Communications Principal & Advisory Council member, InsideOut Institute Australia’s national institute for research and clinical excellence in eating disorders was launched today by Federal Minister for Health Greg Hunt and…
How healthy is your sleep?
Sleep hygiene, also known as sleep habits, are the practices and routines that determine whether or not we have a good night’s sleep. Ensuring we have a good night’s sleep is crucial for both our physical and mental health, and there are many different things that can improve sleep hygiene. The bedroom An important factor…
Influencing the public debate around flu vaccination: a case study
Last month, VIVA! Communications successfully collaborated with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) to release new research regarding the attitudes of Australian adults toward flu vaccination. Alarmingly, it was revealed that one-in-two Australian adults do not plan to vaccinate against the flu this year. Alongside this, the research uncovered that many do not understand the…
First-Ever Therapy to Demonstrate Survival Benefit in Progeria
A new study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that lonafarnib, a farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI), helped extend survival in children with Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), or Progeria, an ultra-rare and fatal disease that causes premature aging in children. Children with Progeria live an average 14 ½ years, dying from heart…
How to keep happy & healthy in the workplace
Physical and mental health are a growing issue in today’s society, and here at VIVA! we take health seriously. Here are some of our top tips for how to have a happy & healthy workplace! Standing/hot desks We all know that sitting down all day isn’t healthy, so why not incorporate some standing desk spaces!…
Unravelling the genetics of stuttering
VIVA! Communications is today working with researchers from the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Speech and Language to call for 3,000 Australians aged seven and above with experience of stuttering (past or present) to volunteer for the nation’s largest ever ‘Genetics of Stuttering Study’. The study aims to pinpoint the genes that predispose individuals to…
World Parkinson’s Day calls for unity
Yesterday marked World Parkinson’s Day, an international day of recognition for people living with Parkinson’s and the impact it has on their day-to-day lives. Over 70,000 Australian’s live with Parkinson’s Disease. Physical symptoms extend further than muscular shakes, impacting swallowing, blood pressure, and digestion. Mentally, many with Parkinson’s experience depression and anxiety. A global initiative…
Australia sees launch of world-first Olive Wellness Institute
A new research review confirming the ‘health and prolongevity effects’ of the traditional extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)-containing Mediterranean diet coincides with today’s launch of the world’s-first online science repository on the health benefits of olive products. Conducted by US and Italian geriatric and nutritional research scientists, the Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet: Metabolic…