Pohnpei MCH Program

Success Story

The Pohnpei Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Staff gain capacity to perform basic Echocardiography to detect Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD). The RHD mass screening that was conducted in 2016 through 2018 was a good learning opportunity for the public health staff, specifically for the MCH staff who assisted in the screening. Out of 6,000 plus school aged children that was screened, about 400 were found to have RHD. The mass screening allowed/enabled MCH staff to learn hands-on RHD screening using hand held echocardiography machines with the presence of Cardiologist and a Sonographer. This hands-on training has allowed Pohnpei MCH Program to have the basic skills to screen children ages 5 – 18 years old for RHD. With the exception of difficult cases where referral to a physician is needed for further assessment, MCH Program now has the capability to assist pediatricians in diagnosis of new RHD cases in Pohnpei. Pohnpei MCH Program staff has performed 84 echoes on patients referred by pediatricians, other physicians as well as walk-in patients since 2018. Of the 84 patients screened, 52 (61%) were found to have RHD.