NITV selects Foundation diabetes program for July broadcast
July 1, 2010A Rural Health Education Foundation program about diabetes among Australia’s Indigenous population will air on the National Indigenous Television (NITV) service in late July.
T2DM: Diabetes and Indigenous Australians, an hour-long panel discussion which premiered on the Foundation’s satellite network in November 2009, will be broadcast on NITV on Tuesday July 27th.
The program, which is one of four in the Foundation’s T2DM Guideline Series, features two filmed case studies and explores the question of how diabetes can be prevented in Indigenous communities, along with the issues of diet, obesity, physical activity, poor living conditions and low socioeconomic status.
Foundation welcomes wider exposure
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have the fourth highest rate of type 2 diabetes in the world, which is four times higher than the rate for non-Indigenous Australians,” says Don Perlgut, CEO of the Rural Health Education Foundation. “So we welcome the additional exposure our program will receive, particularly among Indigenous Australians and the health professionals who serve them, from the upcoming NITV broadcast.”
“An important new audience will now have access to a program, which examines evidence-based approaches to the management of diabetes, hypoglycaemic control and diabetes-related complications among Indigenous Australians.”
NITV broadcast details
T2DM: Diabetes and Indigenous Australians (60 mins) - Tuesday July 27th at 12.30pm. The NITV website has details for how to access NITV.
Program features expert panel discussion
The program is introduced by the Hon Warren Snowdon, MP, Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health and Regional Services Delivery, and features a panel discussion chaired by Dr Norman Swan, Presenter of the Health Report on ABC Radio National.
The panel includes: Ms Sumaria Corpus, a Diabetes Educator from Royal Darwin Hospital, NT; Ms Bernadette Heenan, a Credentialled Diabetes Educator and Registered Nurse from the Far North Queensland Rural Division of General Practice in Cairns, QLD; Dr Pat Phillips, Senior Director Endocrinology at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, SA; and Dr Rob Way, a General Practitioner from Katungul Aboriginal Medical Service in Narooma, NSW.
Program funding
T2DM: Diabetes and Indigenous Australians and distribution of the T2DM Guideline Series was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.
Also available on DVD and via web-streaming
This program can be ordered from our website on a four-disc DVD set which also features the other three programs in the T2DM Guideline Series. The program is also available free for viewing via web-streamed video or listening via an audio podcast. Go to the program page T2DM: Diabetes and Indigenous Australians for details.
About diabetes in Indigenous communities
It is estimated that between 10 and 30 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes represents a major public health problem for Indigenous Australians, with a much earlier age of onset and the risk of developing diabetes related complications resulting in a significant burden of disease in terms of mortality, hospitalisations and a range of financial and human costs.
The death rate in Indigenous communities is believed to be up to 17 times higher than that of non-Indigenous Australians, mainly due to high levels of cardiovascular disease and kidney disease associated with diabetes. Complications include a higher risk of heart attack or stroke, eye disease, kidney disease and nerve damage, which may result in traumatic injury, infection and possible limb amputation.
About National Indigenous Television (NITV)
In 2007, with support from the Australian Government, National Indigenous Television (NITV) established its head office in Alice Springs and its production office in Sydney, and is available through Foxtel, Austar and other networks.
NITV acquires and commissions a range of programming which reflects the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and communities. It supports locally produced content, and helps to further open up career paths for Indigenous people in the industry.
More information
For more information about T2DM: Diabetes and Indigenous Australians - including details of the case studies, presenters and associated educational resources - go to the program summary page and follow the links, or contact the Foundation.