Telecommuniciation technologies, including audio and videoconferencing facilities, afford geographically dispersed health professionals the opportunity to connect and collaborate with others. Recognised for enabling tele-consultations and tele-collaborations between teams of health care professionals and their patients, these technologies are also well suited to the delivery of distance learning programs, known as tele-learning. Aim: To determine whether tele-learning delivery methods achieve equivalent learning outcomes when compared with traditional face-to-face education delivery methods. Methods: A systematic literature review was commissioned by the NSW Ministry of Health to identify results relevant to programs applying tele-learning delivery methods in the provision of education to health professionals. Results:The review found few studies that rigorously compared tele-learning with traditional formats. There was some evidence, however, to support the premise that tele-learning models achieve comparable learning outcomes and that participants are generally satisfied with and accepting of this delivery method. Conclusion: The review illustrated that tele-learning technologies not only enable distance learning opportunities, but achieve comparable learning outcomes to traditional face-to-face models. More rigorous evidence is required to strengthen these findings and should be the focus of future tele-learning research.Telecommunications are increasingly being used by the health professions to deliver health care services and to exchange health information across distances. Telehealth, tele-collaborations and tele-consultations are contributing to improvements in the quality, availability and efficiency of health care services to distance locations.1 Telehealth, for example, enables existing forms of interactions between health care providers and recipients to occur at a distance, through the use of telecommunications.2 Similarly, distance learning methods utilising telecommunication technologies are helping to overcome the challenges of engaging in traditional forms of education across distances. Referred to as 'tele-learning', it involves making connections among people and resources, and transferring images and voice data via communication technologies, for learning-related purposes. 3,4 Like telehealth, tele-learning utilises telecommunications to connect participants, helping to alleviate barriers to accessing learning opportunities and enriching distance learning experiences. The relative ease of use and availability of telecommunication technologies means that audioconferencing (teleconferencing) and videoconferencing are well established and frequently used communication mechanisms for staff in the health sector.5 For the purpose of this review, the term 'tele-learning' describes the use of video and/or audio-based technologies for distance learning purposes.Enabling collaborations between geographically distributed health workers makes the use of telecommunications especially relevant to ...

The threat to human health from climate change means that all levels of government and private and public agencies will need to change their current practices to reduce carbon emissions. The health sector will also need to respond and change practice. The National Health Service in the United Kingdom is developing a systematic and strategic approach to reduce its carbon footprint, as described in the recently released NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy for England. The work is being led by the Service's new Sustainable Development Unit. While the Australian health care system has not yet embraced a shared vision for carbon reduction, there are examples emerging of how the sector is contributing to reduce greenhouse gas production. Examples from two NSW area health services to reduce energy use and promote active transport are presented. In both countries, these changes are supported by new legislation and policy.

This study demonstrated that the workshop is feasible for use in Australia; the modifications and delivery by videoconference were well received.

There were 12 participants and the response rate to the questionnaire was 100%. After the training session, 83% of participants felt able to apply Epi Info to a foodborne disease outbreak investigation. The participants reported an increase in their confidence in developing a questionnaire using Epi Info, entering