Table 1
Characteristics of survey respondents following training or education using one or more flipchart and the cities in which they took place.
| HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS (N = 1,097) | n (%) |
|---|---|
| Medical student | 314 (29%) |
| Community health agent | 155 (14%) |
| Nurse | 146 (13%) |
| Nursing student | 146 (13%) |
| School teacher | 111 (10%) |
| Pharmacy student | 53 (5%) |
| Nursing technician | 46 (4%) |
| Unspecified | 30 (3%) |
| General physician | 29 (3%) |
| Specialist physician | 19 (2%) |
| Dental student | 19 (2%) |
| Allied healthcare professional | 17 (2%) |
| Miscellaneous | 7 (1%) |
| Biochemistry student | 5 (0.5%) |
| PEOPLE LIVING WITH OR AFFECTED BY RF/RHD, AND AT-RISK COMMUNITY (N = 1,244) | |
| Outpatient | 719 (56%) |
| School student | 225 (18%) |
| Person living with RF/RHD | 174 (14%) |
| Guardian | 69 (5%) |
| Unspecified | 50 (4%) |
| Hospital companion | 7 (1%) |
| CITY | |
| Divinópolis | 889 (38%) |
| Belo Horizonte | 798 (34%) |
| Feira de Santana (Bahia) | 452 (19%) |
| Other: Smaller cities | 134 (6%) |
| Unspecified | 68 (3%) |
[i] RF, rheumatic fever; RHD, rheumatic heart disease.
Allied health professionals: Pathology technician, laboratory technician, psychologist, pharmacist, oral health assistant, speech therapist, nutritionist.
Miscellaneous: Hospital administrator, art student, telecommunications, Master’s student, hospital employee.
Figure 1
Survey response to the question of whether participants had any prior training or education about rheumatic fever (RF) or rheumatic heart disease (RHD).
Table 2
Post-training and post-education survey questions relating to acceptability of the RF/RHD flipcharts and self-reported learning, 2023–2025.
| GROUP | CONFIDENT TO VERY CONFIDENT USING THE FLIPCHART, n(%) | NEW RHD LEARNING DUE TO TRAINING OR EDUCATION, n(%) | PLANNING TO SHARE LEARNINGS WITH PEERS, n(%) | BELIEVE THAT THE FLIPCHARTS CAN SAVE LIVES, n(%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare student (n = 527) | 399 (76%) | 519 (98%) | 520 (99%) | 510 (97%) |
| Community health agent (n = 155) | 64 (41%) | 140 (90%) | 144 (93%) | 147 (95%) |
| Qualified healthcare worker (n = 253) | 187 (74%) | 248 (98%) | 253 (100%) | 245 (97%) |
| Allied healthcare worker (n = 16) | 11 (69%) | 16 (100%) | 16 (100%) | 15 (94%) |
| Education professional (n = 111) | 47 (42%) | 107 (96%) | 107 (96%) | |
| School student (n = 225) | 221 (98%) | 146 (65%) | ||
| Outpatient (n = 719) | 710 (99%) | 697 (97%) | ||
| Person living with RF/RHD (n = 174) | 173 (99%) | 159 (91%) | ||
| Total | 1,062 (67%) | 2,134 (98%) | 2,041 (94%) | 917 (96%) |
[i] RF, rheumatic fever; RHD, rheumatic heart disease.
Healthcare students: medical, nursing, dental, pharmacy, and biochemistry; Qualified healthcare workers: general doctor, specialist doctor, dentist, nurse, nurse technician; Allied healthcare workers: Pathology technician, laboratory technician, psychologist, pharmacist, oral health assistant, speech therapist, nutritionist. Excluded from the table: Hospital administrator, art student, telecommunications, Master’s student, hospital employee, other (unspecified).
Table 3
Average knowledge scores before, immediately after, and three-months post flipchart training; A Wilcoxon signed rank test is presented, comparing knowledge scores at post-training and follow-up to pre-training.
| TIMEPOINT | N | CORRECT ANSWERS (%): | CHANGE (%)*: | P-VALUE*: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-training | 488 | 47 | ||
| Post-training | 488 | 92 | 45 | <0.01 |
| Follow-up | 111 | 79 | 32 | <0.01 |
[i] *Compared to pre-training.
Figure 2
Healthcare worker and education professionals correct response to knowledge test questions pre-training, post-training (n = 511), and three or more months following initial training (n = 111). Correct answers are indicated in brackets. RF, rheumatic fever; RHD, rheumatic heart disease; BPG, benzathine penicillin G.