The conference “Preventing today to live better tomorrow” was held in the Aula Magna of the IIS “Antonello da Messina”, promoted by the Provincial Health Authority and organized by Dr. Chiara Schirò, head of the “Schools that promote health” unit.
The initiative represented an important moment of collaboration between the ASP of Messina and the school world, with the aim of spreading the culture of prevention and promoting healthy lifestyles. The meeting was attended by students and teachers representing local schools.
After the institutional greetings from the Headmaster Prof. Daniela Pistorino, the municipal councilor for social policies Alessandra Calafiore, the three regional projects dedicated to vaccinations, oncological screenings and the prevention of cardiovascular diseases were illustrated.
In her speech, Chiara Schirò highlighted how prevention today represents “an absolute priority, in line with the indications of the World Health Organization”. He underlined the fundamental role of adopting correct lifestyles and early diagnosis, stating that “the most modern European strategies agree on the fact that being able to cure the disease means arriving too late”. It is a failure of the system: the objective must be to prevent the population from getting ill, and it is along this line that all European countries now operate.”
Furthermore, Dr. Salvatore Sidoti spoke on the topic of vaccinations in schools, Dr. Rosaria Cuffari on oncological screening and Dr. Eliana Tripodo on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The work was coordinated by Dr. Giuseppe Ruggeri, who drew attention to the significant impact of chronic-degenerative and oncological pathologies, responsible for approximately 70% of mortality, reiterating the importance of preventive actions in reducing this incidence.
In addition to presenting the methods for joining the projects, a clinic dedicated to anti-flu and anti-HPV vaccinations was also set up at the Institute, which offered a concrete opportunity for health protection.