The 37 students from class 1B of the Antônio Lemos State High School, in the municipality of Santa Izabel do Pará, participated in a media education activity by reading, interpreting, discussing and reviewing the text of the second Solutions Journalism report on the Amazônia Vox platform. The activity is part of an experimental media education project carried out by the Bem da Amazônia Institute, through Amazônia Vox.
Coordinated by professor Marcela Castro, this is the second activity that included teenagers in the news construction process, since they participate in the review stage and the requested adjustments are included in the article before publication.
The theme of the second report is Early Childhood, with a specific focus on prenatal coverage in the Amazon. The survey conducted by Amazônia Vox reveals that, according to 2021 data from the SUS (Unified Health System), 95 of the 100 Brazilian municipalities with the worst indicators of adequate care of seven or more consultations are in states of the Brazilian Legal Amazon. Of the top one hundred, only two.
The report was prepared based on the pillars of Solutions Journalism, presenting the problem, but based on local responses to the challenge. In this sense, the article heard reports and detailed how prenatal care is provided in riverside communities in the municipality of Abaetetuba, in the interior of Pará. The municipality has improved its indicators year after year.
Importance of the topic - After the classroom activity, carried out in groups of three, the adolescents commented on the relevance of the approach and expressed their views on the experience of correcting the subject, in addition to highlighting the importance of disseminating information about prenatal care.
“When I read the article, I understood that prenatal care is very important for the health of women and their children. This has helped mothers living in riverside communities who have difficulty accessing prenatal care and end up having complications during their pregnancies. So I thought the subject covered in the article was very important for us and for society,” commented student Aline dos Santos, 16.
Students Andrey Leal, Antônio Nascimento and Murilo Macedo commented on how much the issue should be looked at carefully by the government. “Regarding the topics covered, it was very realistic, you know? Without hiding anything, without covering up. And that is very good because it gives a vision of what really happens. It really presents everything in reality, in order to bring about change. Because people really can’t stand this anymore. Without the necessary quality of life... The basic things. It is the birth of a new person in the world, so it should be much more recognized by the ‘big guys’. By the ‘big fish’”, commented Andrey.
The adolescents also emphasized the relevance of the topic for women's and babies' health, highlighting that clear and accessible information is essential, especially for communities without internet access or with less education.
“I found this article very important, because many mothers do not have the means to have prenatal care. And I think that, since mothers from riverside communities are very needy, they should have more access,” said Izabelly Karoliny de Oliveira e Oliveira, 16 years old.
“When I read the article, I thought it was very important to discuss prenatal care, which is very difficult for mothers, young people and teenagers these days. (...) It is difficult to find doctors at health centers, and I think it is very important to provide prenatal care for mothers. Mothers who need to do this for their own benefit so that their babies do not have difficulties, and do not lose their babies, and I think it is very important to provide prenatal care,” said Sthephane Faro (16).
“We have a high level of student engagement in the activity, the attention they pay to the text, demonstrating their commitment to making crucial information about prenatal care accessible to everyone, both in the written format and in raising awareness about the topic. And when they realize that adjustments have been made to the publication and their names are there, they feel valued, noticed, and even participants in the process. This experience has been very positive for their learning, and they have already reinforced the importance of serious journalism for society,” highlights professor Marcela Castro.
During the text review process, students expressed the need to simplify the language used, replacing more complex terms with easier-to-understand words. They pointed out that more accessible language is what ensures that all people, regardless of their level of education, can understand the importance of prenatal care.
Students from Class 1B of the Antônio Lemos State High School, in Santa Izabel do Pará
Abigail da Silva Costa, Adrian da Silva Farias, Alice Fernanda dos Santos Chermiont, Alice Rayanne Souza dos Santos, Aline dos Santos da Silva, Alynne Lopes Ferreira, Ana Clara Marques Santana, Andrey Almeida Leal, Antonio Reginaldo do Amaral Nascimento, Brena Alice Gonçalves de Sá, Cristian Borges Oliveira, Dhenyfer Gisele Silva das Chagas, Elissandra Carolina Silva Araújo, Emilly Caroline do Nascimento Matias, Eric Gabriel da Silva Oliveira, Ezequiel Ribeiro Santa Brígida, Geovana Pinheiro da Silva, Geyziani Silva dos Santos, Giovani Coelho Correa Junior, Izabelly Karoliny de Oliveira e Oliveira, João Lucas Santos Conceição, Juliana Miyamoto Batista, Karoline Borges de Melo, Kauan Martins Santos, Leticia Silva de Sousa, Lucas Gabriel Ferreira da Silva, Maria Luiza Medeiros Pinheiro, Murilo Alves de Macedo, Naan Laad Barros Modesto , Queren Phammella da Silva Nascimento, Rodrigo da Silva Cardoso, Samilly Caroline Faro Almeida, Sthephane Faro, Thais de Souza Paixão and Thatilelly Silva dos Santos,
The Amazônia Vox report was selected by the program “Early Childhood Reporting Fellowship” (Early Childhood Reporting Grant, in free translation), from The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, from Columbia University (USA). The program also had the support of Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation.