News and Events

On March 28, Drs. Deborah Juarbe and Mildred Vera, investigators of the Pilot Project  “Risk Communication and Community Engagement to Address Zika Virus Prevention” visited the Manuel A. Pérez public housing complex to meet and share a dinner with community leaders. At the meeting,  members of the Board of Directors informed the investigators about their experiences after the passage of Hurricane Maria. They also  reiterated their commitment to participate in research activities that benefit the residents. The community leaders were informed that the results of the pilot project in which they participated were accepted for publication and copies of the publication will be shared. This activity  was designed to maintain the robust partnership developed at Manual A. Pérez while conducting the study. . The Risk Communication and Community Engagement to Address Zika Virus Prevention study is supported by NIMHD RCMI Grant U54-MD007600.

On April 6, 2018 staff of the pilot project “Zika Virus Prevention and Risk Communication Strategies” visited Botijas Ii, a farm school in the rural town of Orocovis.  The school is known for its curriculum and teaching personnel sensitive to the environmental problems of the region. This explains their interest in methods to eradicate mosquitoes without affecting people’s health or the environment. The project team was led by principal investigator, Dr. Deborah Juarbe. To address community concerns about the existing problem of mosquitoes in the school, a workshop was conducted focusing on the preparation of home-made mosquito’s traps. Fourteen eighth-grade students, three teachers, and the school principal participated in the workshop, which included a conference about the biology of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito.  Public health problems caused by mosquito-transmitted diseases was also discussed before demonstrating how to make small homemade mosquito traps (indoor use) and more sophisticated Ago-Traps (outdoor use). Mr. Samuel Lacén, an environmental scientist, designed and conducted the workshop. Materials for the elaboration of the traps were provided by the project to the participants. The students had the opportunity to make the mosquito traps working individually or in pairs under the guidance of Mr. Lacén. The activity concluded with a question and answer session which was received with great enthusiasm and assertiveness by the students. All students received a certificate acknowledging their participation in the workshop. Due to the public service relevance of the activity, Ms. Juanita Sandoval, director of local radio station Radio Cumbre 1470, conducted an interview with the project team which was transmitted the next day to neighboring towns.  At the end of the interview, Ms. Sandoval emphasized to the audience the importance of preventing mosquito-transmitted diseases and warmly thanked the members of the project for their visit to the mountain.

The National Nutrition Month is a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The attached calendar summarizes the activities organized by the Nutrition and Public Health Student Association at the UPR Medical Sciences Campus to celebrate this special month.

Dr. Deborah Juarbe and Dr. Mildred Vera, investigators of the RCMI pilot Project “Risk Communication and Community Engagement Strategies to Enhance Behavior Change for Zika Virus Prevention and Control“, joined the Puerto Rico Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in training communities on the use of the new autocidal gravid ovitrap (AGO) mosquito trap. Mosquitoes are responsible for spreading many viruses that can make people sick, including dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and more. This trap is inexpensive, simple-to-assemble, and easy-to-maintain and targets female mosquitoes looking for a place to lay eggs.