RHDAustralia was designed with a clear vision of setting benchmarks for best practice rheuamtic heart disease (RHD) coordination in Australia and  developed from the national Rheumatic Fever Strategy. 2010 was the first full year of activity, and one in which RHDAustralia developed some robust strategies for supporting the health workforce and community, that continue to this day.

The first edition of the Murmur e-newsletter which was published in September 2010. Murmur was designed as a real-time communication platform to share clinical updates as well as the lived experience of RHD with members of the health workforce across Australia.  The first edition in September 2010 was very much based around the experience of clinical best practice. It included a summary of the first RHDAustralia workshop in Darwin, the modified Jones criteria for ARF diagnosis, a screening tool for people travelling from the NT to Adelaide for heart valve surgery, and the NT program’s experience with education and training.

As the involvement of RHDAustralia across Australian communities and health sector platforms grew, so did the content and reach of Murmur.  In 2012, we announced a new edition of the national ARF/RHD guideline, and the launch of the iPhone, iPad and android guideline applications that are still in use today. In 2014 the focus was still on the clinical, however, the 2017 editions start to include family stories of struggle and vision, resources for patients and families and community-led initiatives to tackle RHD.  For almost 10 years, Murmur has also provided the jurisdiction RHD control programs with an opportunity to share their experiences.

Today, Murmur is a voice for culture and community. The April 2019 edition includes stories about the Champions4Change program – a community designed and led program supporting people and communities around RHD. Murmur now reaches more than 3500 people in Australia and overseas. We hope it will continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of the community and the health workforce, and that everyone in the ARF and RHD space feels like they have a voice.