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RHDAUSTRALIA NEWS

MARCH 2021 ISSUE

Welcome to the latest edition of Murmur. In this issue you will find news, stories and updates from across Australia regarding acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. As always we welcome feedback and contributions for future editions of Murmur.

If you would like to contribute or have any feedback please contact us at info@rhdaustralia.org.au

A CHAMPION'S STORY - TAKING BACK CONTROL

Renee Highfold is extremely focused on raising awareness about acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Her passion for teaching and learning is evident in the numerous RHD workshops she attends as both teacher and student. With her ‘teaching hat’ on, she speaks frankly to other health professionals about the difficult journey she’s had with RHD, and the pitfalls she faced along the way.

And while she pulls no punches, she’s optimistic that by sharing her story, she is improving patient care for other people living with ARF and RHD. As someone training to be a healthcare worker, she is always looking for more information, hungry to learn more about ARF and RHD; a disease she once knew nothing of.

MEET RENEE HIGHFOLD

BARUNGA COMMUNITY LEAD SCREENING FOR RHEUMATIC HEART DISEASE

Despite heavy rain, flooding and muddy conditions, the community of Barunga came together with health professionals and local organisations to carry out an important initiative aimed at identifying children with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in their community.

Led by Barunga local Anne-Marie Lee, 80 children in the community received lifesaving heart scans looking for signs of RHD.

CLINICAL UPDATE - DIAGNOSIS OF ARF

The 2020 Australian guideline for prevention, diagnosis and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (3rd edition) contains clinical information based on national and international best practice. The information is supported by a cultural framework to highlight the importance of how care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) can be both clinically sound, and culturally safe.

In this article, we take a closer look at diagnosis of ARF in the Australian setting.

CHAMPIONS4CHANGE PROGRAM WELCOMES NEW PROJECT COORDINATOR

RHDAustralia is happy to announce that a new member has joined the team! On the 22^nd of March, Maida Stewart officially began as the Champions4Change project coordinator.

Maida is a Wemba Wemba/Wergaia woman who has lived in the Northern Territory for over 29 years.

For the past 18 years, Maida has been working as an Aboriginal Health Practitioner with the Danila Dilba Health Service in Darwin, Northern Territory, where she provides culturally appropriate and responsive health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in the greater Darwin region.

MEET MAIDA

QUEENSLAND COLLABORATIVE WORKSHOP PROMOTES 2020 GUIDELINE IMPLEMENTATION

Released in February last year, the 2020 Australian guideline for prevention, diagnosis and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (3rd edition), has now been downloaded over 36 000 times and over 1,000 hardcopies have been delivered all over Australia.

While wide distribution is an encouraging sign that health professionals are using the new guideline, ensuring the key recommendations from the 2020 guideline are implemented into Australian practice requires a multifaceted and collaborative approach.

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Interested in getting involved with RHDAustralia? Please contact us at anytime, we'd love to hear from you!

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