Reflections from the Classroom: Novus Health Consulting

GH 804 Student Consultants: Yara Altaher, Araz Chiloyan, Haley Friedler, Maria Rojo, Jack Zhu

Hello from Novus Health Consulting! Our team is working with Dr. Amy Sanyahumbi, a pediatric cardiologist at the Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. Dr. Sanyahumbi specializes in the treatment of rheumatic heart disease (RHD), a fully preventable chronic disease that results from acute rheumatic fever associated with cardiac valve damage due to untreated streptococcal pharyngitis infection. High prevalence of RHD leads to cardiac morbidity and mortality. Approximately 300 million people are affected worldwide and 275 thousand die per year. Monthly injections of Benzathine Penicillin G (BPG) has been proven effective to prevent severe RHD.

We are working to create a RHD remote entry data-capture (RED) mobile application to collect information on patients’ disease status, BPG injections, and adverse events, as well as provide communication between local health workers and Dr. Sanyahumbi. The data will ultimately contribute to a registry, allowing Dr. Sanyahumbi and local health workers in Malawi keep an accurate, up-to-date record of youth who have RHD and connect them to appropriate resources to prevent the development of further strep throat or further RHD disease progression. The RHD RED application aims to improve the surveillance of RHD among youth in rural and urban Malawi and ensure that those individuals who are registered in the application are receiving their monthly injections of BPG (every 28 days), in accordance with best practices for RHD treatment and maintenance.