Rare disease health education competition launched in Shanghai
The nation's first health education competition to promote knowledge and awareness about rare diseases has been launched in the city, the Shanghai Health Promotion Center announced on Wednesday.
Medical professionals, rare disease patients and family, and people who care about rare disease, expatriates as well, are welcome to take part in the event, the organizers said.
The competition consists of two parts. A quiz covering knowledge on rare disease screening, diagnosis and treatment, prevention, management and medical insurance. The top 100 people with the highest marks will be honored.
The quiz has been launched online, and will be available in December and January.
The second part is a short video, which can cover contents like screening and treatment of rare diseases, multidisciplinary management, rare disease prevention and control, patient-centered care, patient organizations and other relevant fields. Each video should be no longer than 3 minutes and the participants should appear on camera.
Details about the competition can be accessed by scanning the QR code.
The short videos can be sent to shmda_rd@163.com until January 21.
The final will be held on February 29, which is marked as World Rare Disease Day.
Ailments with incidences of 0.65 to 1 per 1,000 are identified as rare diseases. There are over 7,000 rare diseases worldwide. About 80 percent are inherited, affecting some 350 million people in the world and over 20 million in China.
About half of rare disease sufferers are children, with around 30 percent of them dying before the age of 5. Rare diseases are also responsible for 35 percent of infant deaths, younger than one year old.
"We want to make rare diseases more 'visible' in society through the event so as to enhance medical professionals' ability for precise diagnosis and treatment and improve public awareness and support for rare disease care and patients," said Dr Xu Hong, director of Shanghai Rare Disease Association.
