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Welcome to the 6th issue of the HealthInsite Newsletter. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!! Whether your thoughts turn to a baby in a manger, a large bearded man in red or some well-earned days off, this is a great time of year to reflect on the past year, think of family and friends and to look forward to the year ahead.
Last newsletter may have been a little heavy going for some but the main message is simple. Check out the reliability of information before you use it as a basis for health decisions and ask questions from a source you can trust until you feel that you know enough to make a truly informed decision.
This time we'll look at resources to help you cope with the Christmas season including tips for travelling, healthy eating, and managing the all too common problems of overindulgence. For some people Christmas can be a time of loneliness, isolation and conflict so we'll also look at resources to help you cope with these issues as well.
Please feel free to also let us know if you have any problems or if you have any suggestions for future editions by sending an email to
mailto:healthinsite.feedback@health.gov.au
IN THIS ISSUE Volume 1, Issue 6
Tips for Travelling -
 
Lots of Australians take the opportunity to travel at this time of
the year. Whether it's across Australia or around the world, we have
some resources that might be useful including tips for staying healthy,
immunisations you might need, travelling with children and many more.
Take a look at the following HealthInsite topic pages and partner pages:
Health Matters
Travel Health and Safety topic page
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Travel_Health_and_Safety
Deep Vein Thrombosis topic page
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Deep_Vein_Thrombosis
Immunisation for Travel topic page
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Immunisation_for_Travel
Transport-Related Injury topic page
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Transport_Related_Injury
The following are a selection of resources from our partners:
Travelling with Children
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=1
Managing Holiday Stress
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=2
Diabetes and Travelling
http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=2444
Are Holidays Nearly Here?
http://www.cyh.com/cyh/kids/main.html?topic_id=1768&l1=6
Jet Lag
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=3
Travelling with Asthma
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=4
Travelling and Medical documentation
http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=2579
Healthy Eating
  
This time of year means lots of parties, barbeques, special dinners and celebrations of all sorts. Often they include foods that we wouldn't normally eat - rich desserts, high sugar or high fat foods and often too much of everything.
Nutrition Australia has put together some great tips for surviving the festive season available at:
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=5
Why not take along a healthy contribution to the party or barbeque. Nutrition Australia's recipe for Fruit and Seed Coleslaw is low fat, low sugar and delicious. It's available at:
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=6
You might be interested in how Christmas is celebrated with food in other parts of the world. Take a look at:
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=7
Don't forget about food safety including good hygiene and of course storing, defrosting, cooking and serving food at the right temperatures. The last thing you need is a trip to hospital and the consequences of food poisoning are potentially very dangerous. HealthInsite's Food Safety topic page is available at:
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Food_Safety
Coping with Overindulgence
Too much of anything can be a bad thing. Over the holidays many of us tend to overindulge in a variety of ways...too much food, too much alcohol, too long in the sun. Check out these sites for tips on how to avoid the nasty consequences.
Alcohol Tips
Christmas alcohol tips
http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=2593
Alcohol Misuse Topic page
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Alcohol_Misuse
For many Australians alcohol is just part of the mix in a healthy lifestyle that includes good diet, regular exercise and low risk drinking. But what does low risk drinking mean? The Department of Veterans' Affairs has put together some very useful resources. The site is called The Right Mix with a range of information and assessment tools that anyone can use. You can find The Right Mix at:
http://www.therightmix.gov.au/
Time in the Sun
Sunburn Topic Page
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=13
Sun Protection
http://www.cyh.com/cyh/parentopics/usr_index0.stm?topic_id=185
Food - keep it light
Heartburn is a form of indigestion
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=8
Healthy Holiday Eating: Quick Tips
http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=2577
Top tips for healthy eating
http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=2753
 Staying Safe
Water Safety topic page
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Water_Safety
A parents' guide to holiday safety
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=9
Travel safety tips
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=10
Quick tips for a safe and happy holiday
http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=2573
Quick tips for staying safe overseas
http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=2578
Managing depression and loneliness
Christmas can be lonely, stressful and depressing for some people, particularly those who have suffered the loss of a loved one, loss of employment, or difficulties in their relationships. Some people may be separated from family or friends for the first time after moving house. Day-to-day financial problems can seem overwhelming at this time of the year. Older people and teenagers may be particularly vulnerable to feelings of isolation. Whatever the cause, whatever your particular circumstances, there are resources available to help.
Kids Help Line
phone 1800 55 1800
www.kidshelp.com.au
24 hour online and telephone counselling for children and young people.
Lifeline
phone 131 114
http://www.lifeline.org.au/
Lifeline provides confidential telephone counselling. The free service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Emergency numbers - who to call in a crisis
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=11
Several of our partners have suggestions for coping over the Christmas period.
Christmas can be Stressful
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=7&l=12
Managing relationships over Christmas
http://www.reachout.asn.au/default.asp?ti=321
Coping with grief at Christmas
http://www.reachout.asn.au/default.asp?ti=332
Managing anniversaries and special occasions
http://www.reachout.asn.au/default.asp?ti=267
There may be things that you can do to lighten someone else's load. If you know someone who you think might be having a difficult time, a phone call, a note or perhaps an invitation to join your family for a meal can make a huge difference and help someone to feel a little less on their own.
 Your Feedback - keep it coming
Feedback about HealthInsite ranges from 'fantastic site' or 'great resource' to the occasional negative comment when a user doesn't find what he/she expects. While we don't expect to be able to please everyone all the time, the few negative comments that we get are very useful in letting us know where we might need to make improvements or at least explain things more clearly.
To keep HealthInsite up-to-date, we modify the site on a daily basis to give you better access to information, to add new topic pages or resources and respond to your feedback. So keep those comments coming. We love to hear from you and will do our best to take your suggestions on board.
In response to your feedback we're testing a web-based version of
the newsletter. You will still receive the text only email version but
if you prefer a more interesting version just go to the web version at:
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/content/newsletters/maillist_ind.cfm?id=7
Bear in mind that we're just testing at this stage and there may be a number of glitches but we thought we might give it a go and let you be the judge. Let us know what you think by sending an email to:
mailto:healthinsite.feedback@health.gov.au
Partner Spotlight -
Every month we will include a brief overview of one of our information partners. This month we look at Kidney Health Australia.
Formerly the Australian Kidney Foundation, Kidney Health Australia is the peak body responsible for kidney research, advocacy, education and health services. Their mission is to provide funding for, and take the initiative in, the prevention of kidney and urinary tract diseases. This site has been recently revamped and has a great range of information on kidney disease.
People at risk of developing kidney disease should have regular checks with their doctor to detect and treat kidney disease before it progresses. People in high-risk categories include those:
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with diabetes
- aged over 50
- with a family history of kidney disease
- who smoke
- with high blood pressure
- of Aboriginal or Islander heritage
Kidney Health Australia can be found at:
http://www.kidney.org.au/
A range of excellent fact sheets can be found at the National Renal Resources site at:
http://www.kidney.org.au/renal_resources/renal_resources.asp
You may also like to consider becoming a donor. There are currently 1490 Australians waiting for kidney transplants. By registering to become an organ donor you are potentially making the greatest gift one human can give another - the gift of life and hope. For more information about organ donation go to the Australian Organ Donor Register website at:
http://www.hic.gov.au/yourhealth/our_services/aaodr.htm
Latest Resources
The HealthInsite team regularly adds new items to the database including
new information partners, new topic pages and news items. You can
find a list of new and updated material added to the database in the
past month at
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/search/newsletter_search.cfm?id=7
The HealthInsite Team(s)
I mentioned in a previous newsletter that the HealthInsite team is located in Canberra. I take an opportunity to introduce you to the people that keep HealthInsite running. While the computer systems that support HealthInsite are pretty impressive, the people are where the real talent lies. We actually have two teams.
The Editorial Team looks after the content of HealthInsite, our relationships with our information partners and services for our users. Jill, Prue, Stephanie and Russell are all librarians with many years of experience managing information. Marlene is our administrative genius who makes sure the paperwork is done and the bills are paid. And then there's me - Denise. I look after policy and communications and write the newsletter.
The Editorial Team work closely with the Technical Team who provide and maintain the computer systems and write the programs that keep HealthInsite up and running and improving all the time. We have Shayne and Steve, Stuart and Rowena, Ian and Te Hana - very talented IT experts who do their best to explain the technical bits and pieces in a way that even I can understand.
Both teams are currently working together on a new look and feel for HealthInsite to make it easier for you to find what you're after. We're currently testing the new design to make sure that everything functions properly before we make it live. Testing will include having some of our users put the new system through its paces and we hope to have it up and running in the new year.
What's on next month?
It's a surprise! (which means I haven't quite decided yet!) Waiting for inspiration to strike and any suggestions are very welcome.
That's it for now. Wishing you a safe and happy Christmas break and a fabulous year to come...
from all of us at HealthInsite.
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