Channel 10’s The Bachelor championing Australia’s mental health
Life’s not all a bed of roses for the host of Channel 10’s The Bachelor. The Bachelor host and member of Brisbane’s HIT 105 breakfast radio team, Osher Günsberg, has been battling mental illness for many years now. In 2006, at his colleague’s insistence, he sought professional help for his anxiety. He was subsequently diagnosed…
Cracking the genetic code of clinical depression
The Australian arm to a huge international study into the genetics of depression is on its way to recruiting 20,000 participants to try to crack the genetic code to depression. The interim data released today has shown that more than two-thirds of Australian study participants have tried at least two antidepressants to treat their clinical…
Reported flu cases at record high
Australia looks set for a record number of flu cases this winter with over 75,000 lab-confirmed incidences already this year. Shockingly, that number is twice as many as were recorded in the whole of 2016 and could lead to a record high for 15 years. Many more Australians are likely to have been suffering with…
Conventional methods of dealing with mental health not working
According to the nation’s largest, proactive, online mental health check, conventional approaches to managing mental health are expensive, time-consuming and inaccurate. Australia’s Biggest Mental Health Check-in – an innovative digital public health initiative, in conjunction with Medibio’s world first wearable objective test for the diagnosis of depression and other mental health disorders, designed to measure,…
Occupational exposure link to COPD found
According to an Australian study released this week, workers exposed to herbicides in their workplace are more than twice as likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by the time they reach middle age. For those exposed to pesticides, there is a 74 per cent increased chance of developing COPD. The British Medical Journal…
GHPR founder John Seng to be inducted into Hall of Fame
VIVA! Communications is thrilled to see the announcement today that GLOBALHealthPR (GHPR) founder, John Seng, is to be inducted into the National Capital Public Relations (NCPR) Hall of Fame. Seng will be honoured at the Public Relations Society of America’s annual gala in October this year following a decades long career in the industry. Working…
Australian Government to implement “life-saving” real time monitoring for prescription medicines
Federal Health Minister, The Hon. Greg Hunt MP announced the Turnbull Government’s plan to invest over $16 million to deliver the national roll-out of real time prescription monitoring for medicines to address the needless loss of life from misuse of these drugs, today (July 28, 2017). A statement from the Minister’s office cites the ‘Real…
Promising data from early stage human trials of HIV vaccine
Vaccinating against HIV is the “Holy Grail” of scientific research. However, due to the complex nature of the virus, which is among the most genetically diverse known viruses, many have considered it impossible to vaccinate against. The latest research however, reveals that a new vaccine for HIV AIDS may be closer than we think. Developed…
Australia’s youth mental illness rate continuing to rise
The number of Australians exhibiting symptoms of a serious psychological issue between the age of 15 to 19 has risen by 4.1 per cent in six years, according to new Mission Australia data. Speaking with the Adelaide Advertiser [July 15, 2017], Catherine Yeomans, Mission Australia CEO, said the outcome of the analysis was concerning. “We’re…
VIVA! Communications celebrates 15th birthday
Yesterday (July 20, 2017), leading Australian health + wellness PR agency, VIVA! Communications celebrated its 15th birthday, armed with news of completing a record financial year, reinforcing the agency’s commitment to excellence and innovation in the healthcare arena. Established in 2002, by Principal, Fellow of the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) and healthcare PR…