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Welcome back to headfirst: A Concussion Podcast. Today we have the honour and privilege to be hosting Nick Rushworth.

Nick Rushworth is the Executive Officer of Brain Injury Australia, a position he has held since 2008. Before joining Brain Injury Australia, Nick worked for the Northern Territory Government setting up their Office of Disability whilst also formerly a producer with the Nine Television Network’s “Sunday” program and ABC Radio National, where Nick’s journalism has won a number of awards, including a Silver World Medal at the 2003 New York Festival, a National Press Club and TV Week Logie Award.

Nick’s current primary focus is facilitating a national “community of practice” in brain injury for the National Disability Insurance Agency. Furthermore, Nick serves as a consumer representative for numerous organisations some of these include but not limited to: Mission for traumatic brain injury: A medial research future fund-initiative providing $50 million in federal government funding over 10 years), the Australian Trauma Quality Improvement Program Steering Committee; the Victorian Neurotrauma Advisory Council; the Executive of the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Directorate of New South Wales Health; the Victorian Transport Accident Commission/ Monash University Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research Behaviours of Concern Project; the Monash Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre Advisory Board; the Disability Advisory Committee of the Australian Electoral Commission;

Nick is also a Director of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, and is an Ambassador for the National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and the Queensland Brain Institute’s concussion research.

In April 2024 Nick was appointed to the Australia Government Medical Research Traumatic Brain Injury Mission Expert Advisory Panel.

- How Nick Become Involved in the Brain Injury and Concussion Space? (02:30)

- Ways the mTBI/ concussion space has change since late 1990’s to now? (04:10)

- Differences in Mild, Moderate and Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (06:37)

- Raising Awareness of mild Traumatic Brain Injury outside of Sports-Related Concussion (12:05)

- Indigenous Australian’s and Concussion/mTBI (17:02)

- Incidences Rates of mTBI (20:30)

- Language Around mTBI (22:30)

- Falls in the Elderly (23:51)

- Difficulties When Talking About Policy Changes and Research Grants? (27:34)

- Brain Injury Australia (33:00)

Brain Injury Australia: https://www.braininjuryaustralia.org.au

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