Midwestern State University (Unicentro) has a program of action aimed at strengthening actions to prevent HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STIs). To help combat these diseases, the Foundation’s Department of Psychology is developing the “Prevention Can’t Stop” project, an initiative linked to professional training in this field, in partnership with the 4th Regional Health Department (IRATE).
Professor Gustavo Zampenedetti, from the Department of Psychology, highlights that with the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, other epidemics, which have already been a problem for the population, have ended up leaving little focus when the topic is health care. “But prevention of other diseases, in addition to Covid-19, cannot be stopped,” he says.
He noted that in the context of the pandemic, people continue to take care of themselves, which shows that there is care in relation to these diseases. “But if there is any unprotected contact, in any sexual relationship without a barrier method, such as an internal or external condom, the orientation is that the person should seek help and get a diagnostic test for HIV and STIs,” he said. the professor.
The project’s actions aim to decentralize the “Youth Prosperity” campaign of the State Ministry of Health, which aims to prevent STDs among young people. Professor Gustavo is the one who coordinates and supervises these works promoted by Unicentro.
“At this stage, we encourage the development of intervention projects in the context of the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, generally associated with public health services, such as basic health units, the testing and counseling center and services associated with SUS,” Zampenedetti explained.
Al-Shabab has been proposed for several years and is frequently updated. “The project is about strengthening prevention actions among peers, through participatory actions targeting young people, understood as the general public between the ages of 15 and 29, which are the priority in prevention actions, as they respond significantly to the number of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV HIV, and concludes that HPV is highly prevalent in the population, as are syphilis and viral hepatitis.
self tests الاختبارات – One of the objectives of the project is to provide self-testing – a quick and free test, provided by SUS, to detect HIV. Psychology intern Monica Karpinski explains how to conduct this type of test.
“The self-test is very easy. It can be done by the person alone or with someone you trust, at your preferred location. If done correctly, the result will appear within 20 minutes and is 99.9% accurate. If the result is positive, we advise you to look about a health unit to do some check-ups and start the treatment that SUS offers for free,” he wonders.
It is preferable to distribute HIV self-tests to major population groups, which are those most affected by the epidemic. The specificity of this public is justified by the increase, in recent years, in the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases for this public.
“We were able to assess this through notifications of diagnosed cases by nine municipalities in the Irati region. In these cases, we can see the profile of a person with an STD,” explains Akashio Renzi, from the Epidemiological Surveillance Sector of the Fourth Regional Health Department. “Using this information, we create public policies to focus efforts to eradicate the problem.”
Information – The second front of the Unicentro project is the dissemination of information on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. To do this, the university team studied the topic and trained other young people to be content multipliers and strategies for dealing with sexually transmitted diseases, says psychology student Ellis Dubsk.
“We started attracting partners. We advertised in groups at the university and on Instagram, and invited a meeting on the prevention of STDs and HIV,” he says. According to her, an account was created on the social network for reporting, focusing on self-examination. “It is a recent policy at SUS. In Irati, we are now with these first distributions. That is why it is so important to spread the word so that people know it exists and is freely available.”
In order to gain access to HIV self-tests, the community must contact the “Prevention Cannot Stop” project through WhatsApp or through social networks and schedule a withdrawal. Contact is (42) 9959-5576 and Instagram profile is @protagonismo.irati.
