Author Date

2025-08-01

Degree Name

Department

Public Health

College

Life Sciences

Defense Date

2025-07-29

Publication Date

2025-08-01

First Faculty Advisor

Richard Gill

First Faculty Reader

Erik Nelson

Honors Coordinator

Len Novilla

Keywords

Rheumatic Heart Disease, RHD, Samoa, Cardiovascular Disease, RHD in Samoa, Epidemiology in Oceania

Abstract

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a condition where the heart valves are permanently damaged by an autoimmune response to chronic strep infections. RHD remains extremely prevalent in Oceania - specifically Samoa. However, despite its prevalence, RHD is underexplored in Samoa and there are many disparities for medical care to treat RHD in Samoa. This research shifts the focus of RHD to early detection in children (5-18 years old) and provides critical insights into RHD and the geographic difference in RHD prevalence in Samoa. Our dataset was collected between 2013-2019 from the Rheumatic Relief program done by Brigham Young University. Data was analyzed by school, district, year, and gender to identify the distribution of RHD. After adjusting for district and sex, we found that individuals on the island of Upolu had significantly lower odds of RHD compared to those on Savaii. After adjusting for island and sex, we found the Atua district on Upolu had significantly higher odds of RHD (OR = 2.91) compared to the reference district of Tuamasaga and Satupa’itea district on Savaii had significantly lower odds (OR = .18). Moreover, cultural socioeconomic factors such as house type, sanitation, and population were not significant.