HR4RS stamp
Raul Garcia Hemonnet
The Rey Juan Carlos University has been one of the first universities to award the highest academic distinction to fields of knowledge such as health promotion and education. He has done so in the figure of the Puerto Rican academic Hiram V. Arroyo Acevedo, who today, Friday, May 20, has become a new honorary doctor from the URJC.
Dr. Arroyo Acevedo has called in his speech delivered at the solemn act of investiture, once the pandemic is over, to reconsider the concept of public health as something that goes beyond the biosanitary approach, and that is challenged by social aspects, very complex political and economic
In his speech, Arroyo Acevedo, who solemnly thanked the university and the Governing Council for having been proposed and invested, reviewed the history of health education, as well as countless relevant authors in this field of Health Sciences and has pointed out that this discipline "takes into account the social determinants of health" and that it continues to be one of the main public health strategies.
Social dimension of public health
A concept of Public Health that takes into account political, social and economic issues will help address the growing inequality in the world, aggravated by the consequences of the pandemic generated by COVID-19.
In this sense, Hiram V. Arroyo has pointed out that the health crisis has revealed the fracture of health systems around the planet.
According to Arroyo, at this time, "health education faces important challenges, such as being a proposal for well-being and improvement of quality of life that respects and guarantees rights and freedoms."
The new doctor 'honoris causa' has indicated that "part of the greatness of the health promotion movement is conceiving health as an eminently political and social matter" and recalled the inequality figures in Latin America according to ECLAC that, in 2021 estimated that 86 million people were in a situation of extreme poverty, 5 million more than in 2020. Something that highlights the serious consequences of the pandemic in the increase in inequality.
The objectives of Public Health, through health promotion, Arroyo pointed out, should be "universal coverage and put an end to other barriers such as gender or economic ones" and added that health promotion should be a policy of Condition.
Professor Arroyo highlighted the role of Universities in these two tasks, both in health education and in promoting it, through professional training but also turning universities into healthy environments and valued networking In this sense, it is carried out both in Latin America and in Spain.
Be alert to threats
Hiram Arroyo Acevedo denounced, before the public that has come to the Alcorcón campus "the threats to public health systems that occur in Latin America and other areas of the world." He also drew attention to the "political weakening of public health structures in national, regional and municipal settings." Let us be alert, he said, "in the face of these threats that have health promotion and health education as accessories."
In this sense, he called on the universities to join this fight for the positioning of both. These are times, he indicated, in which universities must demand decent, inclusive health policies, based on social justice, rights and freedoms.
Health and education as guarantors of equity
The rector of the URJC, Javier Ramos López, pointed out that "there is no health policy more effective than health promotion and health education" and indicated that adding a person from this field of knowledge to the faculty "has nothing Casually”, “we incorporated a person who makes health promotion his way of life, essential in the construction of an equitable society. Health and education are equity and sustainability,” he added.
Ramos pointed out that the health crisis has raised the dilemma for society as to whether individual rights or collective guarantees prevail or the opposite. In his opinion, he noted, "they are complementary."
The rector vindicated the role of the URJC as a driver of change in the Community of Madrid and a social elevator in the region, highlighting the fact that "at Rey Juan Carlos University we have many students who are the first university students in their family".
The dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Carmen Gallardo, was in charge of the 'Laudatio', in which she reviewed the extensive and excellent academic and professional career of the new doctor Honoris Causa. Gallardo highlighted Dr. Arroyo's ability to create and consolidate academic and professional networks from the university and explore new paths in his field and pointed out that, with this appointment, the URJC becomes one of the first universities to award the highest academic honor to a personality dedicated to health promotion and education.
The investiture of Hiram V. Arroyo as the new Doctor Honoris Causa by the URJC took place this Friday, at 12 in the morning, in the assembly hall of the Management building on the Alcorcón campus and it was possible to follow it on TVURJC. The event was chaired by the rector, Javier Ramos López, who was accompanied by the general secretary, Pilar Trinidad, and the director of the Department of Medical Specialties and Public Health, Ángel Gil de Miguel. In addition, it has had the assistance of medical authorities and health representatives of the Community of Madrid, as well as Latin American academic and health authorities and relatives of Dr. Hiram V. Brook.