Older adults await September 9 program with breathless expectation
August 12, 2008A new Rural Health Education Foundation television program airing on Tuesday 9th September, Breathlessness in the Older Adult: Is It Asthma?, explores the differential diagnosis and management of asthma in older adults who suffer breathlessness.
Breathlessness in the Older Adult: Is It Asthma? also presents an interrelated discussion of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), framed by clinical case studies.
Program addresses diagnostic challenges
“Due to under-reporting of symptoms and diagnostic complexity, almost a third of elderly people with asthma are not identified as such by their doctors,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut. “This new program will enable health professionals to recognise asthma and COPD in older adults, and identify appropriate management strategies, including the role of vaccination.”
“Breathlessness in the Older Adult continues the Foundation’s long-standing partnership with the National Asthma Council Australia,” says Mr Perlgut. “The Council’s generous funding support over the past 18 months alone has enabled the Foundation to produce four quality programs tackling respiratory themes, including Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis, Taking a Breather: Asthma Management for Indigenous Australians, and Balancing the Benefits: Asthma and Combination Therapy Update.”
Program funding
Breathlessness in the Older Adult is produced with funding from the National Asthma Council Australia and in turn the Australian Government Department of Health & Ageing.
Case studies and an expert panel
The format of Breathlessness in the Older Adult: Is It Asthma? is a live panel discussion led by Dr Norman Swan and featuring leading medical practitioners including Associate Professor Christine McDonald, Respiratory Physician at Melbourne’s Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre; Dr Gary Kilov, General Practitioner at Melbourne’s Clarinda Clinic; Ms Toni Riley, a Community Pharmacist from Bendigo in Victoria; and Ms Vanessa McDonald, Respiratory CNC at Hunter New England Health in Newcastle, NSW.
Breathlessness in the Older Adult also features clinical case studies which frame the discussion and help to highlight the importance of distinguishing between asthma and COPD, even when they co-exist.
Broadcast details
The hour-long program will be broadcast live across the Rural Health Education Foundation’s satellite television network on Tuesday 9th September at 8pm (AEST), with repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (two hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 12th September.
Prevalence of asthma and COPD increases with age
Older adults may consider their breathlessness to be a frustrating but natural consequence of ageing, unaware that respiratory disease might be the cause. Yet the prevalence of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) both increase with age. The risk of dying from asthma also increases with age, and acute asthma attacks are more rapidly fatal in older adults.
More information
For more information on Breathlessness in the Older Adult: Is It Asthma? - including presenter details, access instructions and associated educational resources - refer to the program summary or contact the Foundation.