Working closely with a range of teachers, school staff and health professionals, RHDAustralia is excited to launch a new white board animation video aimed at providing school staff with an overview of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). This will compliment a major piece of work we have planned for 2019, including providing education to primary schools around ARF and RHD.

We believe school staff are well placed to assist children aged five to 14 years, their families and communities in helping prevent future cases of ARF and RHD from occurring.

We encourage all school staff to watch this video. If you know someone who works in education and/or health, please consider passing it on to them - you may just save a life. We’ve made it freely available on our website so you can easily stream or download the video in full. 

The video demonstrates the sometimes subtle signs of ARF, and what steps school staff can take to help in the prevention and management of ARF and RHD. The video has been widely distributed through our networks of stakeholders and partners but we encourage as many people as possible to share and distribute. 

It only takes one episode of ARF to cause RHD, which prevents the heart from working effectively, and as a result of this, there is a lifetime of health complications inflicted upon individuals, families and the whole of community. Properly managed with early intervention, ARF and RHD can be prevented.

What do you think of the video?

We will continue to disseminate the video at our professional development workshops, seminars, and conferences and events throughout the year so keep an eye out for us. A poster based on the film is also in production and will soon accompany the video to increase awareness around the school and reinforce key messages around the prevention and management of ARF and RHD.

If you would like to provide feedback on the video, you can do so by watching it on our Facebook page and completing the poll.