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We make hundreds of decisions that affect our health every day – from what we eat and how we move our bodies, to the questions we ask our doctor when our kids are sick, or how we support our ageing parents with dementia or cancer.
Sometimes we make decisions out of habit, or based on what feels right. At other times, it’s after hearing about a friend’s experience, or doing some research online.
But there’s so much contradictory advice in the news, online and particularly on social media. One day a study says coffee is bad for our health, the next week, another says it can help us live longer. So it’s hard to work out whether you should actually cut back, drink more, or worry about something else.
The problem is that science is incremental. An early finding might sound promising, but it takes more studies, with more people, to build a body of evidence. We need experts to help us interpret new findings, put them into context and help us make decisions right for us.
This is why we launched The Conversation 13 years ago (I was one of ten original editors). Back then, the anti-vaccine movement was gathering pace and listicles were starting to be a thing. We launched at a time when other media outlets were shrinking, and while we had funding for three years, none of us was sure if it this type of journalism would take off.
Thankfully it did. Evidence-based journalism is needed now more than ever.
I and the rest of The Conversation’s health editors trawl through academic papers to bring you the latest research and commission experts to put it into context for you. We interrogate government announcements about how taxpayer money is spent, and evaluate policy solutions to improve our collective health. And we commission experts to answer questions that you (and we) have always wondered about, like what happens to our teeth as we age or, as in this morning’s story, how best to help people living through cancer treatment.
If you value our journalism, consider donating to The Conversation today. We know the cost of living is biting, but every little bit helps.
Thank you,
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Fron Jackson-Webb
Deputy Editor and Senior Health Editor
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Rob Newton, Edith Cowan University
The mainstays of cancer treatment remain surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormone therapy. But exercise, psychological support and diet can be powerful adjuncts.
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Amy Maguire, University of Newcastle
Though the move by the ICC chief prosecutor is a significant one, it’s very unlikely the Israeli or Palestinian leaders will be arrested or face a trial.
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Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
The opposition leader wants to restrict foreign investors to new properties. In 2016 and 2019 Labor wanted to restrict negative gearing to new properties.
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Kylie Turner, Climateworks Centre; Luke Brown, Climateworks Centre
There’s already demand for critical minerals and solar panels. But what about green hydrogen?
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Stephen Snow, CSIRO; Aysha Fleming, CSIRO; Yuwan Malakar, CSIRO
We developed My Climate View to help Australian farmers and producers better understand the risks and opportunities they face over the next 50 years. Road-testing with farmers was vital.
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Adam Bartley, RMIT University; Tom Saxton, RMIT University
Public data can reveal military secrets – posing problems for the world’s armies.
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Lisa De Bortoli, Australian Council for Educational Research
A new report analyses responses from more than 13,430 Australian students to understand their school experiences and how these impact on maths performance.
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Melanie Ashe, Monash University
The Mad Max films are set in an arid, barren, apocalyptic world known in the movies as ‘the wasteland’ – what does this tell us about the Australian environment?
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Catharine Coleborne, University of Newcastle
As a child protection worker, psychologist Ariane Beeston had taken babies away from their mothers. Then she had a baby, experiencing bouts of mental illness. Her memoir of this time is sad and brave.
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Anna DeMello, University of Otago; Janet Hoek, University of Otago
One in five underage adolescents vape occasionally, and nearly 28% of Māori youth vape regularly. Most get their product by sharing and asking older friends to buy vapes for them.
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Politics + Society
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David Small, University of Canterbury
Even New Caledonia’s independence leaders have been unable to stop this latest spontaneous eruption of popular rage. France will have to compromise if there is to be a lasting solution.
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Ali Mamouri, Deakin University
Ebrahim Raisi held substantial sway over Iran’s domestic and foreign policies. So, how will the regime fill his void at a challenging time for the country?
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Health + Medicine
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Nina Lansbury, The University of Queensland; Minnie King, The University of Queensland
People who menstruate in rural and remote Indigenous communities face a unique set of challenges, and have a particular need for better access to period products.
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Science + Technology
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Paul Haskell-Dowland, Edith Cowan University
A data breach has affected the digital prescription company MediSecure. While investigations continue, cyber criminals will likely use this event for new scam campaigns.
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Arts + Culture
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Andrea Waling, La Trobe University
The season three scene between Colin and Penelope got more than a few hearts racing. It’s a refrenshingly rare onscreen portrayal of a larger women in a passionate, sexual encounter.
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Business + Economy
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Alan Renwick, Lincoln University, New Zealand; David Dean, Lincoln University, New Zealand
Fonterra’s plan to sell its consumer brands came as a surprise. But there is logic to the dairy giant focusing on selling to the food industry rather than directly to consumers.
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