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Abstract: Objective: To describe the place of death of residents in a rural region of New South Wales. Design: Cross‐sectional quantitative study using death data collected from local funeral directors (in person and websites), residential aged‐care facilities, one multipurpose heath service and obituary notices in the local media (newspapers/radio). Setting: Snowy Monaro region (New South Wales Australia). Participants: Residents, with advanced frailty or one of 10 conditions amenable to palliative care, who died between 1 February 2015 and 31 May 2016. Main outcome measure: Place of death. Results: Of 224 deaths in this period, 138 were considered amenable to palliative care. Twelve per cent of these deaths occurred in a private residence, 38% in the usual place of residence and 91% within the region. Conclusion: Most rural residents with conditions amenable to palliative care died in the region. Most did not die in their usual place of residence. Further qualitative work is needed to determine palliative care patients’ and family caregivers’ preferences for, and the importance placed on, place of death. While there may be a need to support an increase in home deaths, local rural hospitals and residential aged‐care facilities must not be overlooked as a substitute for inpatient hospices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a study which reviewed the literature on different models of clinical governance and their relevance to primary health care in Australia. The study assessed the potential contributions of the models to quality and safety. It used different data sources, including electronic databases, scanning reference lists of articles and consultation with experts. It discovered the fragmentation of the evidence base for clinical governance and the focus given by clinical governance on process rather than outcomes.

Context The hidden curriculum – the norms, values and practices that are transmitted to students through modelling by preceptors and teachers, and decisions about curricular exclusions and inclusions – can be profoundly important in the socialising of trainee doctors. However, tracking the hidden curriculum as it evolves can be challenging for medical schools. Objectives This study aimed to explore the content of student e-portfolios on gender issues, a key perspective often taught through a hidden curriculum. Methods Online posts for a gender and medicine e-portfolio task completed by two cohorts of students in Year 3 of a 4-year medical course (n = 167, 66% female) were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Results A process of gendered ‘othering’ was applied to both men and women in the medical school using different pedagogical strategies. Curricular emphases on women’s health and lack of support for male students to acquire gynaecological examination skills were seen as explicit ways of excluding males. For female medical students, exclusion tended to be implicit, operating through modelling and aphoristic comments about so-called ‘female-friendly’ career choices and the negative impact of motherhood on career. Discussion E-portfolios can be a useful way of tracking the hidden curriculum as it evolves. Responses to gendered exclusion may be developed more readily for the explicit processes impacting on male students than for the implicit processes impacting on female students, which often reflect structural issues related to training and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on a study which looked at the evolving roles of practice nurses in Australia as well as the impact of nurses on general practice function. It mentions the two components of the study including its exploration of the scope and contextual determinants of nurse roles. The researchers were able to identify six roles of nurses in general practice such as patient carer and problem solver.

The article discusses a study which described the health service attendance patterns of urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians using the survey results of attendance in 2006. Established in 1988, the Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service (WNAHS) is an Aboriginal community-controlled health service that is governed by an Aboriginal Board. Examples of data collected include patient demographic characteristics, reason for the consultation, the problems managed during consultation, and investigation and management of each problem.

The article reflects on the need for language-sensitive health systems in Australia for cardiovascular health for all. It states that a large number of patients who do not have English as their first language are treated by Australian clinicians everyday. It also mentions about the studies conducted in the country on the relationship between linguistic diversity and health outcomes.

The authors reflect on the commitment of the Refugee Health Network of Australia (RHNA) with overcoming the barriers between refugee health care (HC) providers and policymakers in Australia. They identify the main purposes of the RHNA as to inform and support quality holistic HC for refugees and to offer advice on issues in refugee health. They also discuss some of the accomplishments of the RHNA particularly in the issues of HC reforms and humanitarian settlement services.

The article discusses the lack of attention given to experienced general practitioners (GPs) who have made decisions to either work less hours or totally stop working with patients. According to the article, this is a result of resolving Australia's health workforce shortage by focusing on attracting young people to the profession, the relegation of tasks to nurses and removing inefficiencies in the practice. The article suggests the redefinition of general practice as a lifelong activity instead of simply a career.

The author discusses the effects of prolonged immigration detention in Australia and cites a study done by Green and Eagar which indicates that people who were detained reported higher incidences of health issues and were more likely to develop mental illness. Children were found to be more prone to emotional instability coming from the trauma of witnessing violence and from the adjustments at detention centers. The author believes detention should be limited for adults and should not be imposed to children.