Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity in young people across Uganda and other low-resource settings. While the burden of disease is high, there are few pragmatic recommendations for program implementation in endemic settings.
The Rheumatic Heart Disease Research Collaborative in Uganda is advancing a national strategy to close this gap by generating and applying evidence to improve outcomes across the RHD care continuum. In this talk, I will focus on emerging research around identifying early-stage RHD through echocardiographic screening and optimizing delivery of secondary antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent disease progression. I will highlight the clinical trials that are establishing best practices for adherence, frequency, and delivery of prophylaxis in real-world settings.
I will also present how implementation research is integrating proven interventions into Uganda’s public health system, emphasizing feasibility, health worker training, and supply chain reliability. Deep partnerships with communities ensure that approaches are co-designed, trusted, and sustainable. Engagement with policymakers supports the translation of findings into national guidelines and scalable public health programs.
This talk will highlight the critical role of locally generated evidence in shaping sustainable RHD control strategies, and demonstrate how research, community partnership, and health system alignment can break the chain of RHD progression.