Recovery from Trauma: What Works was the only program outside North America to win a “FREDDIE” statuette at the prestigious 2009 International Health and Medical Media Awards.

Recovery from Trauma: What Works, a half-hour program co-produced with the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health (ACPMH), is intended for people who have experienced a traumatic event, or are close to someone who has, and need help to cope with the experience.

First local broadcast of world class documentary

“Up to 65 per cent of Australians are likely to experience or witness an event which threatens their life or safety, or that of others,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut. “This new program - which has been formally recognised as world class - is designed to help trauma sufferers to better understand the symptoms they may be experiencing.”

“It will also assist them and their families to make more informed decisions about the most appropriate care and treatment,” Mr Perlgut says. “In addition to the premiere broadcast on March 16th, we’re delighted to be able to provide this award-winning program for free on DVD, courtesy of funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.”

Presented by experts

Recovery from Trauma: What Works features a number of expert speakers from the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health (ACPMH) in Melbourne:  Professor Mark Creamer, Director; Associate Professor David Forbes, Clinical Director; Dr John Cooper, Psychiatrist; Ms Anne-Laure Couineau, Psychologist; and Ms Andrea Phelps, Clinical Psychologist.

Broadcast details

Recovery from Trauma: What Works will be broadcast across the Rural Health Education Foundation’s satellite television network on Tuesday 16th March 2010 at 8.00pm (AEDT), with repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (three hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 19th March.  This is a pre-recorded program.

Also available free on DVD and via web-streaming

Free DVDs of this program are available thanks to generous funding by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.  To order your free DVD, ensure you are logged in to the Foundation website and click the ‘add to cart’ button on the Recovery from Trauma: What Works program summary page.

The program is also available free on the Internet for viewing via web-streamed video or listening via an audio podcast.

Program funding

Recovery from Trauma: What Works was produced in association with the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, with funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

About trauma recovery

Traumatic events involve actual or threatened death or serious injury to self or others and evoke feelings of fear, helplessness or horror.  It could be a serious accident, physical or sexual assault, war, torture or a natural disaster.

Most people recover after a traumatic event without serious problems, but some develop more severe and persistent symptoms like Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Approximately 250,000 Australians experience PTSD in any one year, with up to five per cent of the population having PTSD at some point in their lives.  Without effective treatment, PTSD can become a chronic and debilitating condition, and it carries a higher suicide risk than any other anxiety disorder.

More information

For more information about the Recovery from Trauma: What Works broadcast - including presenter details, access instructions and associated educational resources - go to the online program summary, or contact the Foundation.

Early Rheumatoid Arthritis: Clinical Guideline for Diagnosis and Management focuses on diagnosis, early management, and coordination of multidisciplinary care needs for people with rheumatoid arthritis.  The hour-long program, which features a filmed case study and an expert panel discussion, also reviews pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.

Limiting structural damage caused by rheumatoid arthritis

“One in every 100 Australians is affected by rheumatoid arthritis, which is a major cause of disability and psychological distress due to its chronic, painful and disabling character,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut.  “This new program explores ways in which early diagnosis and medical intervention can limit structural damage and improve health outcomes.”

Case studies and an expert panel

Early Rheumatoid Arthritis: Clinical Guideline for Diagnosis and Management features a filmed case study and a panel discussion chaired by Dr Norman Swan, Presenter of the Health Report on ABC Radio National.

The panel of medical practitioners features Dr John Bennett, a General Practitioner from the University Health Service at the University of Queensland (RACGP Rheumatoid Arthritis Working Group); Professor Lyn March, a Rheumatologist at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney (RACGP Rheumatoid Arthritis Working Group); Ms Christine Retallack, a Rheumatology Community Health Nurse at Great Southern Aboriginal and Community Health in Albany, WA; and Associate Professor Louise Sharpe, the Director of Clinical Research in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney.

Second of four musculoskeletal programs

The other three programs in the Foundation’s new Musculoskeletal Guideline Series are:

• Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: Guideline for Non-surgical Management (airing March 23)
• Osteoporosis: Clinical Guideline (airing April 20)
• Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Clinical Guideline for Diagnosis and Management (already aired and now available on DVD and online)

About the national musculoskeletal guidelines

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has developed national musculoskeletal clinical guidelines for general practitioners and other primary care health professionals for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and osteoporosis.

Available via satellite, as a web-cast and by web-streaming 

All four programs in the series will be available for viewing live as a simulcast via the Foundation’s satellite network and via web-casting from our website.  (Please register for the live web-casts in advance through the program summary page).

After its initial simulcast, each program will also be available free on the Internet for viewing via web-streamed video or listening via an audio podcast.

Free DVDs

The Musculoskeletal Guideline Series will also be available for free on DVD in May 2010.  You can pre-order a free copy of the series on DVD via the online series summary page (note the number of copies are limited, so order now).

Program funding

Production of the four programs and the free distribution of the Musculoskeletal Guideline Series on DVD has been funded by Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

About rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory autoimmune disease, is the second most common type of arthritis after osteoarthritis, and is more common amongst women and in the older age groups.

Untreated rheumatoid arthritis can result in joint damage and deformities. The disease impacts on activities of daily living, capacity to work, and family life.

More information

For more information about the Musculoskeletal Guideline Series - including presenter details, access instructions and associated educational resources - go to the online series summary page and follow the links, or contact the Foundation.

The Foundation’s preliminary schedule of accredited satellite television broadcasts for the period March to June 2010 also includes a new program about tackling chronic disease in Indigenous communities, a premiere broadcast of a consumer program on trauma recovery and an encore screening of a popular program on eating disorders.

March to June broadcast highlights

The Foundation’s autumn schedule begins in early March with a broadcast about early rheumatoid arthritis, the second program in the four-part Musculoskeletal Guideline Series.  The final two programs in that series - one focusing on hip and knee osteoarthritis and the other on osteoporosis - will premiere in late-March and mid-April.

Each of these 60-minute programs are presented as simultaneous live webcasts and broadcasts:

• Early Rheumatoid Arthritis: Clinical Guideline for Diagnosis and Management (March 9)
• Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: Guideline for Non-surgical Management (March 23)
• Osteoporosis: Clinical Guideline (April 20)

On March 16 there will be the premiere broadcast of the award-winning consumer program Recovery from Trauma: What Works, a half-hour broadcast designed for people who have experienced a traumatic event, or are close to someone who has, and need help to cope with the experience.  This program won a coveted “Freddie” International Health and Media Award in the USA in late 2009.

New broadcasts scheduled for April include Sharing Solutions: Indigenous Communities Tackling Chronic Disease (April 27), a new live program in the Foundation’s highly regarded Indigenous health series.

Debuting in May are Finger on the Pulse: Acute Coronary Syndromes (May 11), which discusses the barriers to achieving better outcomes for people with heart attack, and A Sticky Issue: Otitis Media and Indigenous Children (May 25).

Two programs co-produced with beyondblue: the national depression initiative will premiere in May and June. The first is a program on prostate cancer, depression and anxiety (May 18), which assists health professionals to identify depression and anxiety disorders in men with prostate cancer, and the second is a program on carers and mental health entitled Caring for Carers: Anxiety, Depression and the Impact of Caring (June 29).

And a repeat screening of the popular 2008 program Eating Disorders: A Holistic Approach, which examines eating disorders such as binge eating, bulimia and anorexia nervosa, is slated for June 8.

Autumn schedule should have wide appeal

“The Foundation’s schedule of satellite broadcasts over the next four months offers distance education opportunities to a wide range of Australian health professionals,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut. “The musculoskeletal theme which we began in February continues with three new programs, and is complemented by one-off programs covering a diverse spectrum of other important health issues.”

Multiple viewing options

The 2010 programs will be broadcast across the Foundation’s national satellite viewing network, usually live on a Tuesday evening, with repeats during the daytime on the following Friday.

After the initial broadcast, each program is available free on the Foundation’s website for viewing via web-streamed video or listening via an audio podcast.  DVD copies of each program can be purchased via our website - and in some cases are available free of charge for Australian health professionals.

More information

Broadcast times and other program details are available on the Foundation’s upcoming programs page.  To find a satellite viewing site near you, go to our viewing sites page.

For other information about the Foundation’s programs and activities, please browse our website or contact the Foundation.

Australian health professionals can now order a free CD set of the series, download audio files of each 20-minute program from the Foundation’s website, or listen to the programs via web streaming.

“The aim of this series is to improve the skills of health professionals in diagnosing and managing diabetes,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut.  “We’re happy to be able to distribute these 10 important programs on CD, to complement the usual free program access via our website.”

“Best practice diabetes education and management is dependent on having the latest information,” says Clair Matthews, the Executive Director of the Australian Diabetes Educators Association (ADEA), an organisation which collaborated on the series. “The free CDs of the series will help to ensure that current information, along with explanations of the latest evidence-based techniques, is distributed to as many Australian health professionals as possible.”

How to experience the audio series for free

To order a free CD (one copy per individual or organisation), ensure you are logged in to the Foundation website as a registered user (registration is free), then click the “add to cart” button on the right-hand side of the Diabetes Matters series page.

Registered users can also click the “download podcast” or “listen to podcast” buttons on the individual program pages (see program links below) to download or stream the audio file of each program.

About the Diabetes Matters audio series


Diabetes Matters is an audio interview series on diabetes issues for health and medical professionals produced by the Foundation in collaboration with the Australian Diabetes Educators Association (ADEA) and the Australian Diabetes Society. The target audience for these programs include doctors, diabetes educators, nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals and Aboriginal Health Workers.

The series consists of 10 programs, each 20 minutes long:

1 - Diagnosing and managing pre-diabetes


2 - Diagnosing and managing GDM (pregnancy in diabetes)

3 - Diabetes and mental health


4 - Ambulatory initiation of insulin in type 2 diabetes 


5 - Oral diabetes medicines (and algorithms in care and targets) 


6 - The diabetic foot 


7 - Managing chronic diabetes complications 


8 - Supporting self management 


9 - Diabetes in childhood and adolescence


10 - Treatment options and regimens in type 1 diabetes


CD funding

Distribution of the free audio CDs is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

More information

For more information about this and other free program resources, please visit the Foundation’s free resources page.

The magazine published a “How to Treat” article entitled “T2DM: Prevention and risk management” in their November 2009 issue - the ninth time Australian Rural Doctor has based an article on a Foundation-produced program.

A four-page section of the highly-regarded magazine is dedicated to the “T2DM: Prevention and risk management” article, which covers detection, diagnosis and treatment options for type 2 diabetes, along with prevention strategies including lifestyle changes - all derived from the Foundation’s television program.

“We’re delighted that our collaboration with Australian Rural Doctor has now extended to a ninth article, and we look forward to contributing material to more ‘How to Treat’ articles in the future,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut. “We certainly value the great work our colleagues at Australian Rural Doctor perform to optimise our television content for the print medium, and distribute it to an even wider audience of Australian health professionals.”

About the program

T2DM Guidelines Series: Primary Prevention, Case Detection and Diagnosis, first broadcast on 13 October 2009, discusses case detection and diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.  Case detection in the primary health care setting provides an opportunity to identify the estimated 500,000 Australians with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.  The program also discusses primary prevention of type 2 diabetes, with an emphasis on lifestyle modifications.

The discussion-based program, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, features expert panellists including Professor Alan Barclay, Professor Mark Harris and Associate Professor Ashim Sinha.

Other Foundation programs which inspired articles

Eight other television programs produced by the Rural Health Education Foundation have spawned “How to Treat” sections in Australian Rural Doctor:

• Helping Children With Autism (907) is the basis for a “How to Treat” article entitled “Autism spectrum disorder” in the August 2009 edition.
• Australian Guidelines for the Treatment of Adults with Acute Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (904) is the basis for a “How to Treat” article entitled “Posttraumatic stress disorder” in the June 2009 issue.
• Management of Secondary Lymphoedema (804) is the basis for a “How to Treat” article entitled “Secondary Lymphoedema” in the November 2008 issue.
• Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Joint Approach (805) is the basis for a “How to Treat” article entitled “Rheumatoid Arthritis” in the August 2008 issue.
• “Syndrome X”: Update on Metabolic Syndrome (706) is the basis for a “How to Treat” article entitled “Update on Metabolic Syndrome” in the October 2007 issue.
• Chlamydia: Combating the Epidemic (701) is the basis for a “How to Treat” article entitled “Combating Chlamydia” in the June 2007 issue.
• Burn Injury: Rural Perspectives (602) is the basis for two “How to Treat” articles on burn injury in the July and August issues, starting with Part 1 - Burns Assessment …

About Australian Rural Doctor

Australian Rural Doctor is a regular supplement to Australian Doctor, which is a Reed Business Information publication.

More information

To find more information about the program, and to access links to other diabetes-related resources, visit the Foundation’s T2DM Guidelines Series: Primary Prevention, Case Detection and Diagnosis program page.

November 2009 - Australian Rural Doctor magazine, a regular supplement to Australian Doctor, used the program as a foundation for a How to Treat article entitled “T2DM: Prevention and risk management” in their November issue.

The current range of free resources includes programs on diabetes, musculoskeletal health, stress, depression, continence and Indigenous health.

How to order free resources

The Foundation is generously funded to provide these limited resources free of charge to bona fide Australian health professionals (one copy or set per individual or organisation).

To order (or pre-order) a free item, ensure you are logged in to the Foundation website as a registered user (registration is free), then click the “add to cart” button on the right-hand side of the relevant program page.  The Free DVDs & Resources index provides links to each of the program pages.

Free resources available now

• 904p - Australian Guidelines for the Treatment of Adults with Acute Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (2 program DVD set - includes 904c Recovery from Trauma: What Works)

• 902 - Stay Strong and 903 - Strong and Deadly (2 program DVD) Available to Australian Indigenous organisations only.

• 718s - Continence Education Series (3 program DVD set)

• 716 - Another Shade of Blue: Depression in Older Australians 
(DVD) This program needs to be ordered through the beyondblue website.

Free resources available soon

• 913s - T2DM Guideline Series  (4 program DVD set) Available in February, pre-orders accepted now.
• 918 - Diabetes Matters - Audio Series (10 program audio CD set on 4 disks) Available in February, pre-orders accepted now.
• 1001s - Musculoskeletal Guideline Series (4 program DVD set) Available in May 2010, pre-orders accepted now.

More information

For more information about these free program resources, please visit the Foundation’s free DVD page.

The broadcast on the Aged Care Assessment Program looks at the role of rural primary health care professionals in the comprehensive assessment of the needs of the ageing and their families. The hour-long program also highlights some of the challenges of Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACATs) in rural and remote Australia, and examines strategies that have been developed to manage these challenges.

Australia’s rural areas ageing “faster”

“Australia has an ageing population, and the ageing trend is even more pronounced in rural areas, so this new program will be useful for many rural and remote health professionals,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut.

“Our new program delivers a number of valuable learning outcomes, including the ability undertake an appropriate referral to an Aged Care Assessment Team,” Mr Perlgut says. “It also provides insight into aged care issues emerging from the projected doubling of the over-65 age group, as a proportion of Australia’s total population, over the next 40 years.”

Presented by an expert panel

The program format is a panel discussion chaired by Dr Norman Swan, Presenter of the Health Report on ABC Radio National.  The panel of medical practitioners features Dr Max Graffen, a General Practitioner (Geriatrics) from Wagga Wagga in NSW; Dr Kate Smith, an Occupational Therapist and Research Fellow at the WA Centre for Health and Ageing, University of Western Australia; Dr Jane Tolman, a Geriatrician and Director Aged Care Department at Royal Hobart Hospital in Tasmania; and Ms Debra Tooley, Nurse Manager, Parkes and Far West Aged Care Assessment Teams, NSW.

Program funding

The broadcast on the Aged Care Assessment Program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

Broadcast details

The broadcast on the Aged Care Assessment Program will be across the Rural Health Education Foundation’s satellite television network on Tuesday 23rd February at 8.00pm (AEDT), with repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (three hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 26th February.  This is a pre-recorded program.

Also available on DVD and via web-streaming

DVD copies of this program will be available after the broadcast for ordering via our website. The program will also be available free on the Internet for viewing via web-streamed video or listening via an audio podcast.

About aged care in Australia

The proportion of the Australian population aged 65 years and over is projected to rise from around 12% in 2010 to 25% by the year 2051. People are living longer and the birth rate has dropped.

Older people often require support and assistance with the tasks of daily living, or they may need to make the difficult decision to enter an aged care facility. The ageing population has already had a significant impact on waiting lists for access to aged care services, some which require an assessment by an Aged Care Assessment Team.

There is a higher proportion of older people living in rural areas.

More information

For more information about the broadcast on the Aged Care Assessment Program - including presenter details, access instructions and associated educational resources - go to the online program summary, or contact the Foundation.

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Clinical Guideline for Diagnosis and Management covers the recommendations for the early diagnosis and multidisciplinary management of JIA in the primary care setting. The hour-long program, which features a filmed case study and an expert panel discussion, examines the practice points related to early identification, referral, prevention of complications, minimisation of pain and joint damage and improved quality of life.

First of four musculoskeletal programs

The other three programs in the Foundation’s new Musculoskeletal Guideline Series are:

• Early Rheumatoid Arthritis: Clinical Guideline for Diagnosis and Management (9 March 2010), which focuses on diagnosis, early management, and coordination of multidisciplinary care needs for people with rheumatoid arthritis.
• Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: Guideline for Non-surgical Management (23 March 2010)
• Osteoporosis: Clinical Guideline (20 April 2010)

About the national musculoskeletal guidelines

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has developed national musculoskeletal clinical guidelines for general practitioners and other primary care health professionals for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and osteoporosis.

Reducing the impact of JIA

“Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis is the most common rheumatic disease in Australian children and adolescents, with more than 5,000 children affected by JIA at any one time,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut. “Early and accurate diagnosis, along with appropriate management and referral, are essential for minimising the negative impact JIA can have on a child’s quality of life.”

“We’ve chosen to address JIA in the first program of our new Musculoskeletal Guideline Series, starting at the younger end of the patient age spectrum,” Mr Perlgut says.  “The subsequent programs in this important series will deal with musculoskeletal conditions which are more prevalent among our adult population.”

Case studies and an expert panel


Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Clinical Guideline for Diagnosis and Management features filmed case studies and a panel discussion chaired by Dr Geraldine Moses, a Brisbane-based Consultant Clinical Pharmacist. 

The panel of medical practitioners features: Ms Penelope Barram, an Occupational Therapist at MontroseAccess in Brisbane; Dr Jeffrey Chaitow, a Paediatric Rheumatologist at The Childrens Hospital in Westmead, NSW; Ms Karen Filocamo, the CEO of Arthritis NSW; Dr Morton Rawlin, a General Practitioner from Lower Templestowe, VIC; and Ms Kerry West, a Physiotherapist at The Childrens Hospital in Westmead, NSW.

Series presentation details

• Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Clinical Guideline for Diagnosis and Management will be simulcast - presented as a simultaneous live webcast and satellite broadcast across the Rural Health Education Foundation’s satellite television network - on Tuesday 9th February at 8.00pm (AEDT), with repeats of the television broadcast at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (three hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 12th February.
• Early Rheumatoid Arthritis: Clinical Guideline for Diagnosis and Management will be simulcast live on Tuesday 9th March at 8.00pm (AEDT), with broadcast repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (three hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 12th March.
• Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: Guideline for Non-surgical Management will be simulcast live on Tuesday 23rd March at 8.00pm (AEDT), with broadcast repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (three hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 26th March.
• Osteoporosis: Clinical Guideline will be simulcast live on Tuesday 20th April at 8.00pm (AEST), with broadcast repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (two hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 23rd April.

Available via satellite, as a web-cast and by web-streaming


All four programs in the series will be available for viewing live as a simulcast via the Foundation’s satellite network and via web-casting from our website.  (Please register for the live web-casts in advance through the program summary page).

After its initial simulcast, each program will also be available free on the Internet for viewing via web-streamed video or listening via an audio podcast.

Free DVDs

The Musculoskeletal Guideline Series will also be available for free on DVD in May 2010. You can pre-order a free copy of the series on DVD via the online series summary page.

Program funding

Production of the four programs and the free distribution of the Musculoskeletal Guideline Series on DVD has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

More information

For more information about the Musculoskeletal Guideline Series - including presenter details, access instructions and associated educational resources - go to the online series summary page and follow the links, or contact the Foundation.

Announcing the advertising for this position, Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut said:  “Following a re-structure, the Foundation has decided to advertise for a new position.  We are looking for a dynamic and experienced health professional to join us at a very exciting and busy time in the production of our broadcast television and other digital video educational programs.”

“The position is full time with a 12 month contract, with good likelihood for ongoing renewal,” Mr Perlgut said.  “This is a unique opportunity for the right person with health or medical qualifications, great project management expertise and a real passion for education.  The new digital world is changing quickly and this position sits in a ‘cutting edge’ location where education, health, medicine, technology, and rural and remote Australia all meet.”

For selection criteria and more details about the position, go to http://www.rhef.com.au/about-us/employment-opportunities/

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 3^rd February 2010.