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Blog

Read Women’s Health Tasmania’s blogs for up-to-date information on current health issues.

What happened to the Pap Smear?

by Lucy Shannon, 16th Nov, 2020

There’s been a significant change to the way we screen for cervical cancer in Australia. It’s more accurate and we’ll need to do the test less often.

Since December 2017, the Pap Smear has been replaced with the Cervical Screening Test. It is an exciting development for a few reasons and alongside the vaccine for HPV could set us on the path to eliminate cervical cancer in Australia.

Doctors check list of tests required with a red tick next to Pap Smear

Public hospitals should provide women’s health services

by Kelly Madden, 10th Sep, 2020

Abortion is legal in Tasmania but accessing the service, particularly a surgical abortion, can be a problem.  

A tired woman sitting, looking at phone with a suitcase beside her.

Now is not the time to limit people’s access to telehealth services

by Jo Flanagan, 30th Jul, 2020

Recent decisions by the Australian Government have potentially negative consequences for women, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis. 

Here’s how. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Government acted quickly to broaden the Medicare Benefits Schedule around telehealth services, allowing GPs and other health professionals to use Medicare item numbers for new patients.

Woman accessing online telehealth services on a computer.

Health, Poverty and the Corona Supplement

by Lucy Shannon, 16th Jul, 2020

The Federal Government is moving to change the JobSeeker payment from $550 to $250 a fortnight. This supplement should not be cut back.

Before this supplement, the payment for a single, unemployed person with no dependents was $565.70 per fortnight – far below the poverty line.

Image: Money

Telehealth – virtually impossible?

by Rachel Andrew, 25th Jun, 2020

It has long been said that telehealth is a great way of getting our health needs met, especially in rural communities. But let’s face it, our health care professionals didn’t use it and we didn’t like the thought of it. Then COVID happened.

Photo of Rachel Andrew

The Impact of Coming Out of Lockdown

by Jo Flanagan, 18th Jun, 2020

We’re living through an extraordinary social experiment. Over the last couple of months up to one third of the world’s population has been in lockdown or quarantine. THAT is a story to tell our grandchildren. (‘YES NANNA! I was there, remember?’)

Woman taking time for self-care

Why are women more at risk from poker machines?

By Margie Law

Margie is a senior policy analyst at Anglicare Tasmania’s Social Action and Research Centre. She has been researching and advocating on gambling policy for 20 years.

Why are women more vulnerable than men to poker machines?

Image: Woman playing a poker machine

Are vulvas really too rude for pictures?

The most common cosmetic surgeries are is on breasts, noses, eyelids and stomachs. Would it surprise you to learn that vulvas are also increasingly being subjected to cosmetic surgery?

Image: Ancient Greek Baubo Goddess sculpture

Reusable Menstrual Products

The GST was removed from most menstrual products in January 2019.  This is not before time, as it has been estimated that if you menstruate from about 13 years of age until 51, your period is likely to cost you around $19,000. [i]

But while the financial cost for women may have improved slightly, there is a greater cost to the environment.

Image: Menstrual cup and reusable cloth sanitary pad

Women at greater risk of harm from Pokies

by Margie Law, 2nd Dec, 2019

Here’s another way that women are different than men; we’re at greater risk of being harmed by poker machines. We’re more likely to be harmed later in life, and we take longer to recover from gambling problems.

Photo by Stokpic of a row of Poker Machines.