Community-institutional relations in pandemic times:

Abstract

Introduction: The crisis with the new Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has impacted several sectors, including higher education, since the activities carried out within the university are, since March 2020, being relocated and readapted for the online model, among they are university extension. Objective: This article aims to describe the experience of a university extension project developed to encourage the adoption of healthy eating habits and that migrated its activities to the virtual environment, showing how the challenges and adaptations were in this new global scenario. Methodology: This is a descriptive study, an experience report. The activities adapted to the new reality that will be mentioned here took place in the first half of 2020, starting in May and ending in July. The posts for the social networks Facebook® and Instagram® were made once a week, by two students of the Nutrition course and scholarship students of the project, always with the help of the responsible teachers. Results: The use of the social networks Facebook® and Instagram® helped our project to carry out its activities remotely and obtain a greater reach of people benefited from the publications. Conclusion: Despite the initial difficulties in planning the schedule, topics covered and the reach of the target audience, we managed to restructure the project well to the new format and we were surprised by the reach of the publications and the ability to positively influence people's lives, seeking to bring up pertinent issues and scientific basis, so that, even remotely, try to improve the well-being of the population.

 Keywords: Community-Institutional Relations, Pandemics, Disease Prevention.