Aust Fam Physician
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Pharmaceuticals play an important role in modern day healthcare, and prescribing is a very common activity in Australian general practice. However, there are significant harms associated with medicine use. Vocational training is a critical period in the development of clinical practice patterns for the future general practitioner (GP), including prescribing behaviour. The general practice supervisor, therefore, has a key role to play in educating registrars about rational prescribing. ⋯ Teaching rational prescribing should take on a patient-centred focus and incorporate an approach to managing uncertainty. Role-modelling of quality prescribing and use of guidelines is a strong influence on registrar behaviour. Specific strategies include random case analysis, audit and feedback of prescribing practice, topic tutorials and use of specific prescribing resources.
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Vaccine hesitancy is a public health concern. The objectives of this article were to describe Australian parents' attitudes, behaviours and concerns about vaccination, determine the factors associated with vaccination non-compliance, and provide sources of vaccination information for general practitioners (GPs). ⋯ The 452 respondents were parents of children aged DISCUSSION: GPs have pivotal roles in addressing concerns regarding vaccination. Education and communication with parents will improve their knowledge and trust in vaccination, thereby improving vaccination compliance.
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More than a trillion, mostly good, microbes live within our gastrointestinal tract and are responsible for vital metabolic, immune and nutritional functions. Dysbiosis, meaning a maladaptive imbalance of the microbiome, is associated with many common diseases and is a target for therapy. ⋯ As our knowledge of the microbiome increases, we are likely to better understand the complex interactions that cause disease, and develop new and more effective treatments for many common conditions.
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The majority of Australians use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Despite concerns about safety, patterns of health literacy and CAM use in Australian general practice are unknown. ⋯ Our findings suggest CAM use is a complex phenomenon, associated with gender and education. We demonstrated a cluster of female patients with high CAM use and lower health literacy warranting further research.