Menu
Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease: An Introduction
Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease are preventable diseases disproportionately affecting Indigenous Australians. Many clinicians are unaware that, despite being largely eliminated from developed countries, Australia still has one of the highest rates in the world of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) among its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
Course Overview
ARF is an autoimmune response to an untreated group A streptococcal infection, that causes heart valve damage known as RHD. ARF and RHD are most common in children and young adults. RHD is a debilitating and often fatal disease.This session provides an overview for clinicians about ARF and RHD, consistent with the newly released 2020 Australian Guideline for the prevention, diagnosis, and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (3rd edition).
Learning Outcomes
In this session, you will:
- Recognise the signs and symptoms of acute rheumatic fever
- Understand elements of best practice treatment of ARF and RHD
- Locate information on best practice approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, and management of ARF and RHD
- Identify jurisdictional RHD control programs
Details
CPD
First Published
Updated
Expires
D
1 hour
May 2020
May 2020
July 2022
Usage & Integrity
Professional Development Leave Documents
Educator
Diana Mosca
Senior Nurse Advisor, RHDAustralia
Educator
Diana commenced as the Senior Nurse Advisor at RHDAustralia in January 2018. Her role is development and dissemination of education and resources, for clinicians, patients, families and communities about acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.
Her nursing career started at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Perth, in the early 1980s and continued in paediatric acute and primary care in regional and remote areas of Australia for the next 15 years.
After a short stint overseas, her practice diversified into perioperative nursing and clinical education and has held education positions at Central Queensland University, Mater Hospital, Brisbane and now at Menzies School of Health Research.
Diana’s nursing training is supported by a post-registration degree in nursing, honors in clinical leadership, cert 4 in training and assessment, post-grad cert in perioperative nursing, and a master’s degree in public health and tropical medicine.
