Adult breathlessness program gets second showing on September 14th
August 23, 2010An important Rural Health Education Foundation television program about breathlessness in older adults will return to the air on Tuesday September 14th.
Breathlessness in the Older Adult: Is It Asthma? covers the differential diagnosis and management of asthma in older adults who suffer breathlessness.
The hour-long program, which premiered on the Foundation’s satellite network in September 2008, also presents an interrelated discussion of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), framed by clinical case studies.
Diagnostic complexity and under-reporting addressed
“This well-received program has already enabled many health professionals to recognise asthma and COPD in older adults, and identify appropriate management strategies, including the role of spirometry and vaccination,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut. “Almost a third of elderly people with asthma are not identified as such by their doctors, and this program has proven to be helpful in addressing that statistic by exploring the diagnostic complexity associated with the condition.”
“Breathlessness in the Older Adult is one of several high quality respiratory programs that have emerged from the Foundation’s long-standing partnership with the National Asthma Council Australia, which continued in 2009 with the production of A is for Asthma: Managing Asthma in Primary School Kids,” says Mr Perlgut.
Case studies and an expert panel
Breathlessness in the Older Adult: Is It Asthma? features a panel discussion chaired by Dr Norman Swan, Presenter of the Health Report on ABC Radio National.
The expert panel includes: 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.
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.
Broadcast details
Breathlessness in the Older Adult: Is It Asthma? will be broadcast across the Rural Health Education Foundation’s satellite television network on Tuesday September 14th at 8.00pm (AEST), with repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (two hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday September 17th.
Also available on DVD and via web-streaming
DVD copies of this program are available for purchase via our website. The program is also available free on the Internet for viewing via web-streamed video or listening via an audio podcast.
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.