Introduction:

The need to guarantee the individual’s autonomy in the construction of their well-being demonstrates new ways of informing the public about health. One of these, the mass media, like radio, can reach people in the most distant locations, streamlining the process of improving quality of life and changing the paradigm of health processes. Thus, the community outreach project “University Voice” spread health information to more than 400,000 people in the Transamazonica region. This article aims to describe the experiences of the members of this project during the first phase of its implementation.

Experience report:

The project contributed to the dissemination of physical informative materials (educational booklets), digital materials and information via radio about health, quality of life and citizenship. Three thousand booklets were distributed. Furthermore, the booklet was provided to the city’s Education Department in digital format. For six months, the project addressed more than forty topics and twenty local health workers had the opportunity to speak with to listeners of the radio station.

Discussion:

Ensuring the individual’s autonomy to identify the need for help and seek it when necessary is a way to enhance health practices, with special attention to historically marginalized and socially vulnerable communities such as the indigenous and riverside inhabitants of Xingu, who, without access to other means of communication but radio, face more difficulty in receiving this information. The mass media, therefore, are effective in building inclusive scientific knowledge in traditional communities and among the general public.

Conclusion:

Mass media and digital communication become important tools for medical practice, leaving the walls of the biomedical and curative model and expanding the horizons for health care without the direct intervention of a physician. This can guarantee the individual autonomy in the construction of a healthy life and bring the academic community closer to the public.

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