Editorial El Sol de Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN / March 24, 2023 – It is in this context that the non-profit entity Ciencia Puerto Rico (CienciaPR) has launched its public service campaign “Prevention is the key”. The end of federal emergency declarations for the COVID-19 pandemic on May 11 and the public health crises facing Puerto Rico require continued education efforts so that people incorporate prevention into their daily lives.
“Prevention is the key” belongs to Collection here we care, a collection of multimedia content that is easy to use and disseminate and whose purpose is to promote the well-being of marginalized communities in the country and their ability to protect themselves and manage future emergencies based on science and solidarity. Like the previous four Aquí Nos Cuidamos campaigns, “Prevention is Key” includes practical guides, audio recordings, videos in Spanish and sign language, photos and infographics. The campaign includes topics such as preventing respiratory diseases through the use of masks and preventing infectious diseases through vaccination. In addition, it includes promoting healthy environments through good water management, disinfection, hygiene, personal hygiene, and self-care.
“Since 2020, the Aquí Nos Cuidamos Community Project has undertaken multiple educational and communication efforts and cross-sectoral alliances. We have collaborated with different communities to provide them with scientific, reliable and practical information to increase their capacity to care for respiratory diseases, such as COVID-19, promote vaccination, and enhance their physical and mental health” , explained Dr. Monica Felic Mujer, Director of Communications at CienciaPR and Project Leader. “At this epidemic inflection point, it is necessary to strengthen tools that help people protect their health in different contexts. The risk of disease outbreaks and public health emergencies is always present, and due to the political, social and natural realities of the country, it is necessary to provide people with practical information. For this reason, from During “Prevention is Key”, we will continue to promote the health of Puerto Rico by educating and raising awareness about the importance of integrating prevention methods into everyday life,” emphasized Felic Mujer.
Prevention is the key initiative has the backing of a multisectoral health coalition that will work together to scale it up. This coalition is made up of the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization, the Puerto Rico Department of Health, the Puerto Rico Community Engagement Coalition (CEAL), the Puerto Rico Public Health Fund, and VOCES PR: Coalición of Vaccination of Puerto. Rico, among other entities.
In addition, through a proclamation, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluizi, declared March 23, 2023 as Prevention Key Sencia Puerto Rico Day, to reaffirm the importance of “raising awareness among the population about the importance of preventive measures to promote health,” according to the document.
“We’ve dedicated ourselves to promoting and supporting people’s participation in prevention and health promotion efforts by building and sharing messages that resonate with people. And we’ve done this using a community lens and solidarity with the needs of different populations,” emphasized Edme Ayala-Rosado, Science Communication Specialist at CienciaPR and Aquí Coordinator. Nos cuidamos. “Prevention is Key,” our fifth campaign, promotes prevention methods that we can incorporate into our daily lives, individually and as a community. And both the declaration that makes “Prevention is the Key Today” official, and the strong multi-sectoral coalition that integrates many organizations, are firm steps toward creating the societal scaffolding that will allow us to continue to protect ourselves as a country. “
The Alami spokesperson added, “What has been achieved through The Here We Take Care group is a beautiful reminder of what we can achieve by uniting community, will, fairness, science and heart.”
For his part, Dr. Raul J. Castellanos Bran, Representative of the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization in Puerto Rico, stated that “prevention is key” is an “important contribution to comprehensively addressing the collective health situation in Puerto Rico, when it is seen that the end of the Covid epidemic is near -19, it has focused on science to protect itself from other potential pandemics.”
Like previous campaigns, Prevention is Key materials were developed by experts in science, public health, and communications, with input from community leaders and organizations, the deaf community, and nonprofit and government agencies. The content is closely related to Puerto Rican reality and culture, and is based on the latest scientific data.
Free community resource
Dr. Felice Mujer urged the public to download and use all the contents of “Prevention is Key” and Aquí Nos Cuidamos and share them on social networks using the hashtags #LaPrevenciónEsLaClave and #AquiNosCuidamosPR. For his part, Ayala Rosado, also a freelance journalist, called on the media to join this effort to publish campaign materials as public service announcements for the benefit of Puerto Rican communities.
As part of campaign-related efforts, CienciaPR will hold an educational workshop for members of the press and other communications, next Saturday, March 25 at Fundación Banco Popular, on risk communication, managing disinformation, and incorporating prevention messages into media coverage. Likewise, over the coming months, the organization will offer educational workshops to community leaders to facilitate the use of the campaign.
All “Prevention is Key” content is available for free download on the aquinoscuidamos.org portal. For more information, visit www.aquinoscuidamos.org or www.cienciapr.org. You can also follow CienciaPR on Facebook and Twitter as @CienciaPR and on Instagram @ciencia.pr.
