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RHDAUSTRALIA – NATIONAL COORDINATION UNIT FOR RHEUMATIC HEART DISEASE

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia are up to eight times more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to be hospitalized for acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD), and 20 times as likely to die from RHD.  This is due to ongoing poverty, overcrowding and the remote location of many people who are at risk.

 

RHD control programmes have been established in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. To help support these programmes the Department of Health and Ageing has funded a national coordination unit for RHD, RHDAustralia, established through the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin in partnership with James Cook University and Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.

 

RHDAustralia is providing support to these programmes and to disease control activities in other regions through standardization of datasets and data systems, ongoing implementation of the national RHD Guidelines, development and implementation of education and training resources, and support for health professionals and the community through a national website. The unit also provides general technical advice, supports research and advocates for new initiatives in RHD control across the country.

First National RHD Workshop

In August 2010, RHDAustralia hosted the first national RHD workshop in Darwin. Approximately 80 people from Australia, India, New Zealand and Fiji came together to address some of the key issues regarding ARF and RHD. A number of strategies were developed to improve awareness and management of the disease at a national level.  

Key recommendations from the workshop included to:

  • establish national data collection
  • improve coordination of care (particularly for people from remote areas)
  • strengthen primary healthcare services (and engage communities)
  • standardize and implement best practice
  • develop a regional/global collaborative approach to research 

Menzies’ Director, Professor Jonathan Carapetis, is pleased with progress to date and notes that “RHDAustralia is part of an international push for better management of ARF and prevention of RHD.” The World Heart Federation is hopeful that this approach to controlling the disease can serve as a model for other nations that face similar challenges.

 

For more information on RHDAustralia, please contact Sara Noonan, RHDAustralia Technical Advisor.

Further information > 

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