Aedes pitfalls: weaknesses and difficulties in the health education process

Abstract

The objective of this study is to report the experience on health education in relation to Aedes aegypti on a university campus in the interior of Paraíba during a field experiment with oviposition traps. This is an experience report, with a descriptive approach, about the experience of an experiment with ovitramps on a university campus and the educational actions against Aedes aegypti from UFCG, carried out between 2019 and 2020. The installation of the traps was carried out in accordance with environmental preferences of the vector and was disseminated through social networks. 39 inspections were carried out weekly and during this period, individual and collective health education actions were carried out. During these dialogues, the need for permanent actions was noted, since the dialogue with the academic community was initially guided by a banking practice, immediate and seeking short-term solutions. It was possible to perceive weaknesses in knowledge, such as familiarity with scientific terms without knowing its meaning, ignorance about the multicausality of arboviruses. There was fear and rejection regarding ovitrampa. The project sought to empower the academic community through a view based on prevention and health promotion, with a view to combating the vector Aedes aegypti, through the transmission of information and demonstration of the biological cycle. It is perceived the fragmented knowledge about aspects of the vector and the disease, the urgency of medium and long term solutions and it is essential that exchange initiatives between university and health professionals are carried out, in addition to extension practices aimed at the academic community.