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WiRED RHD Module for Students Now Available in Four Languages
BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW; EDITED BY BERNICE BORN
A
lthough rheumatic heart disease or RHD is completely preventable, it affects millions of people worldwide, two-thirds of them children in low-resource countries.
In response to a global need for information, WiRED International just released its RHD module for students in French and Spanish—expanding on our existing versions in English and Portuguese. This RHD module specifically targets students and addresses the prevention, recognition and treatment of RHD.
What is RHD?
RHD is a chronic heart condition caused by rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever is caused by a streptococcal (strep) infection. Treating strep throat with antibiotics can prevent rheumatic fever. Moreover, regular antibiotics (usually monthly injections) can prevent patients with rheumatic fever from contracting further strep infections and causing progression to valve damage. The consequences of acute rheumatic fever affect the heart, joints and central nervous system, and can lead to heart failure and death.
Why offer the RHD student module in these four languages?
Currently WiRED’s RHD module is in high demand and is being used extensively with school children in Africa and Brazil. It is taught by Community Health Workers in Fiji and will soon appear in schools in New Zealand. This is not surprising given WiRED’s international track record on RHD.
WiRED’s medical and health education efforts regarding RHD go back to 2012 when we recognized RHD as a major killer of children. With support from Medtronic Philanthropy, we developed a series of modules targeting different audiences, starting with teachers and students and going on to include modules for parents and community health workers.
In 2013 WiRED tested the RHD project in Kenya, where research was carried out by medical students at the University of Nairobi who measured the effectiveness of our modules in teaching children about RHD. With research assistance from Claremont Graduate University in Pomona, California, the result provided strong evidence that students who used WiRED’s interactive modules not only learned about central concepts but retained that information.
Click image to enlarge
In 2014 WiRED rolled out the echocardiogram training series. This series was written by a three-member team of medical specialists to provide a program that would help nurses and professional health workers identify patients with possible RHD in underserved communities—where a visit from a cardiologist is unheard of.
Now in 2015 prevention of RHD remains key. WiRED believes that the ability to recognize the signs and symptoms of strep throat and treat it before it progresses to rheumatic fever, then to RHD, will dramatically reduce the occurrence of this illness. WiRED believes that giving underserved people educational tools about disease empowers them to control their own futures and lead healthy lives.
Note: Translations for WiRED’s modules are provided by Translators Without Borders.
View our RHD modules for students here:
Rheumatic heart disease training for students (in English)
Rheumatic heart disease training for students (in Portuguese)
Rheumatic heart disease training for students (in Spanish)
Rheumatic heart disease training for students (in French)
Fast Facts on RHD
- Of 12 million people currently affected by rheumatic fever and RHD, two thirds are children between 5 and 15 years of age.
- There are around 300,000 deaths each year, with two million people requiring repeated hospitalization and one million likely to require surgery in the next 5 to 20 years.
- If treated, 75% of people with rheumatic fever recover completely.
- The worst affected areas are sub-Saharan Africa, south-central Asia, the Pacific, and indigenous populations of Australia and
New Zealand.
Source: World Health Organization.
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