Uepa Health Course Students Bring Services to Communities in Marajó

Students from the Biomedical course at the State University of Pará (Uepa), offered through the Forma Pará Program in Ananindeua (Metropolitan Region of Belém), participated in the I Marajó Expedition, held from July 4 to 6, in the municipality of Soure, under the guidance of Professor Kátia Regina Bezerra from the Center for Biological and Health Sciences (CCBS). The initiative, promoted by the Nova Aliança Catholic Community, brought Integrated Health Action (AIS) to riverside communities in the neighborhoods of Novo Futuro, Tucumanduba, Comunidade do Céu, Caju-Una, and Cuieiras.

During the activity, students from the course carried out various activities, such as checking blood pressure and glucose levels and distributing oral hygiene kits, as well as providing basic guidance and educational health actions, including the dangers of self-medication and sedentarism, awareness about healthy eating, proper hand hygiene, and oral health.

Professor Kátia Regina Bezerra stated that these actions are fundamental for the professional training of students, as they promote the practical application of knowledge acquired in the classroom with the community, leading to an interaction between students and the population, and stimulating empathy, humanization, social responsibility, and ethics. Regarding the community, the action promotes access to health services and knowledge for disease prevention through healthy habits, aiming to improve the quality of life of the population.
Antonio Costa, 20 years old, who is in the 6th semester of the course, said that this was his first time participating in an expedition. For him, the opportunity allowed him to “act in the places where people live.”

“The experience partially placed us as protagonists of the educational actions, and it took us out of our comfort zone, represented by the classroom, and highlighted how much we know, how much we have learned on this journey, and how much we can do in our locality,” said Antonio Costa.

Archipelago Project - Uepa selected 10 medical students for the extension project "Archipelago: Medicine/Uepa in Action in Marajó." The initiative is the result of a partnership with the Institute for Health Policy Studies (IEPS) and is taking place until July 14 in Soure.

Aimed at students from the 7th to the 11th semester, from the Marabá and Belém campuses, the Project seeks to provide a practical health experience in Amazonian and remote contexts, with an emphasis on multidisciplinary training and community-based care strategies. The students will work in health units, under medical supervision, providing care, home visits, and health education activities. The project is coordinated by Professor Napoleão Guimarães and pedagogical coordinator Alessandra Raiol. The actions reinforce Uepa's role in training professionals committed to health in the Amazon.

Text: Vitória Balieiro (intern), under the supervision of Diane Maués – Ascom/CCBS