AMJ

The life expectancy of people with HIV/AIDS in Korea has improved. However, they still suffer from the prejudice and discrimination of the public. That is why now more than ever, changing the public's prejudices against AIDS and protecting the rights of people with HIV/AIDS is important. Medical students can do much to achieve this goal, especially by targeting other youths and inducing change in their attitude.

A review of once confidential documents provide new evidence on the drinks industry’s concerns about possible alcohol control measures and the strategies used to help overcome these concerns. The document findings justify the public health community’s cynicism about the alcohol industry while providing a new source of information to assist development in the regulation and control of the drinks industry.

The authors of this paper conclude that consumers have been granted a great deal of agency as the State has reduced their provision of services and increased reliance upon the individual to manage their own well-being. However, the question remains whether or not individuals wish to acquire the level of agency they have been granted and whether we need more State intervention/regulation to accompany, not necessarily to replace, individual responsibility.

It is encouraging that in recent times, there has been growing interest among students in the laboratory and clinical disciplines to participate in robust scientific research and many of them are successfully publishing high quality papers as first authors. Students are also keen to have a voice in policy and decision making on health care issues and many are working to establish original programs of work. However there are still significant barriers to participation in medical research including the lack of support, mentorship and of course suitable forums to present and debate our work.

In recent times, many developing countries have been going through a process of re-orienting health policy and services towards early detection and prevention, rather than solely on the treatment and on-going management, of illness and disease.It is extremely important to acknowledge that primary healthcare (indeed, health care in general) cannot work alone in promoting health and preventing illness, and therefore, ultimately in reducing demand on hospital services.  The evidence provided in this paper refers almost entirely to the role of illness prevention programmes/interventions in primary healthcare (and some aimed at population health interventions) in reducing demand on hospital services, although there is also a great deal of evidence on the role of interventions in many other sectors (community, education, employment, transport, welfare benefits, urban planning etc) on promoting health and reducing the burden of illness.

In many countries around the world it is a general practitioner (GP) who must decide when to refer a patient to a specialist before that patient is seen at a hospital clinic. The GP therefore plays a central role in the diagnosis and support of colorectal cancer patients in those countries. Australia and the United Kingdom share a commitment to general practice and the role of the GP is pivotal to the delivery of health care to cancer patients and their families. This month Dr. Andrew Knight and Dr. Michael Gordon describe their approach to a symptomatic patient, writing from their experience as medical practitioners in Australia and the United Kingdom respectively.