Research Bites
Short and easy-to-understand summaries of our recent academic papers highlighting new evidence and insights on topical issues in the health and healthcare sectors. These pieces are closely aligned with our research themes.
(NEW) AI and breast screening: Helpful tool or too much technology?
Exploring how women in Australia feel about using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in breast cancer screening.
The price of waiting: How strategic negotiation affects access to publicly funded medicines in Australia
PBS agreements for new medicines have long been criticised for unnecessary delay. But does it reflect something more deliberate?
Cost of Serious Infections in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Could identifying patients with common blood cancer CCL who are most likely to develop infection help reduce costs?
Do children get priority in Australia's drug funding decisions?
Age is listed as a factor, but it has never been clear whether children’s treatments are actually given priority.
Using importance ratings to measure the wellbeing of people with disability
It remains unclear how best to incorporate the life factors individuals consider most important into wellbeing measures.
The rise of telemedicine and antibiotic use
The rapid expansion of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic raised important questions about how remote consultations influence medical decision-making.
How psychologists responded to better access
Medicare expansions aim to improve access by reducing costs for patients. But affordability only translates into access if the workforce
Health consumer preferences for use of AI in healthcare: A tale of two conditions and applications
AI-powered mobile health apps could transform healthcare by enabling early diagnosis, continuous monitoring, and better self management of chronic conditions.
How the NDIS is changing the way Australians with disability use healthcare
Does a shift towards person-centred support change how participants use the broader healthcare system?
Locally-led or donor controlled? Australian preferences for the decolonisation of development aid
Should recipient countries have more control over Australian health aid, or should Australia maintain control?
Cost analysis of hospital emergency response teams
How nurse practitioner-led teams are cheaper, and may provide more timely and effective care.
Why does language matter for child health?
Examining how an often-overlooked factor—whether mothers can communicate easily with local health services—shapes infant health.
What drives junior doctors to choose their medical specialty?
Understanding why junior doctors make these career choices is crucial for health policy planning.
The loneliness recession: How economic insecurity isolates Australians
How recessions and job insecurity affect loneliness in Australia, where one in three adults report feeling lonely.
The crucial link between schooling and child safety
How schools play an important role in keeping children safe, reducing their risk of maltreatment, and acute health problems.
Would you return to work after a health crisis? Your education could be the deciding factor
Investigating the effects of severe illness on health, work, and income, and how they vary across education groups.
Price dispersion in an online health marketplace: Evidence from telemedicine services in China
Countries, including Australia, have introduced price transparency initiatives to make healthcare cost information more accessible. But are they working?
When Children Fall Seriously Ill: How workplaces shape the impact on working mothers
A child’s cancer diagnosis impacts the whole family, disrupting parents’ ability to work and earn money.
Better community support of young immigrant parents could also benefit our healthcare system
Imagine the added stress for an immigrant, with limited social connections and language barriers preventing them from accessing needed support.
Swapping children’s time from digital media to enrichment activities improves academic skills
The key to improving the academic and mental health outcomes of disadvantaged children could lie in their after-school routines.
Has the NDIS affected the overall use of formal services or caring hours?
Estimating the impact of NDIS availability on formal service use, caring hours and carer’s employment.
Money well spent? How real-world use of treatments differs from clinical trials
Should policymakers consider how treatments will be used in everyday settings rather than relying solely on clinical trial results?
As temperatures rise across Australia, our workplaces are becoming more dangerous
Our study shows the dangerous impact of global temperature increases on workers’ health.
Too hot to think straight? How heat affects our decisions
Revealing how extreme heat can impair our ability to think, making us more impatient and prone to making irrational choices.
Gender gap in children's education in informal settlements
Boys in disadvantaged Indonesian and Fijian communities are falling behind girls academically, reflecting a trend now seen in many countries.
Does free healthcare improve health and is it worth the cost?
Focusing on people aged 85 and over, where delayed healthcare could have severe health implications.
Why foreign aid should be recipient-centred
Despite larger-than-ever international development aid payments, they may not be meeting the needs of recipients.
The hidden costs of Disability Insurance reassessment
A response to contain the costs of Disability Income Insurance recipients worsened recipient mental health and increased healthcare spending.
Does building more primary schools lead to better long-term health?
Fifty years on from the construction of 60,000 schools in Indonesia, are the program's beneficiaries better off health-wise?
Assessing the economic value of blood management guidelines in heart surgery
Examining whether the guidelines for managing patients' blood during surgery worked and if they saved money.
One in five Australians have high blood pressure - could better screening help them?
Primary aldosteronism is underdiagnosed in Australia. Yet screening from age 40 is simple, cost-effective and would prevent health complications.
What evidence are funding decisions for new cancer drugs based on?
Funding decisions for life-saving new cancer drugs are often based on limited evidence about their long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.
How have corporate-owned medical practices changed healthcare services?
Medical practices are shifting from small entities to large corporate entities, with implications for healthcare costs, access, and service quality.
What makes for a good life according to young teens?
Understanding what young people see as important to their wellbeing has implications for their life and those of future generations.
AI is already transforming healthcare. What do we need to watch for?
What do the public, patients, and healthcare professionals think of the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare?
Prenatal exposure to air pollution causes respiratory issues decades later
Increased levels of air pollution threaten the long-term health of vulnerable populations, including unborn babies.
Private hospitals and affiliation with chains are increasing. What does this mean for patients?
How does increasing consolidation of hospitals into hospital chains, coupled with for-profit ownership changes, affect the quality of healthcare?