PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Data from the World Values Survey for Puerto Rico revealed

54% of people do not leave their house at night as a security measure

In Puerto Rico, family is the most important aspect (94%), followed by work (70%), free time (66%) and religion (65%). These are some of the data reflected in the recent World Values Survey for Puerto Rico carried out by a team of professors and students from the University of the Sacred Heart, led by Dr. Javier Hernández, director of the Department of Business Administration of Sagrado, and supported by the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico. The study was revealed at the Forum and presentation on the World Values Survey for Puerto Rico 2018, at the Sacred Heart University, where a panel of renowned experts in different areas analyzed and commented on the results.

The World Values Survey is an instrument that allows the development of statistics on the ethical, social, economic and political values of Puerto Ricans, as well as the assessment of their daily lives, civic and governmental institutions, and their connection with the world of work, their families and their communities. This survey provides an opportunity to address the nature of social capital in Puerto Rico vis-a-vis the rest of the world and, therefore, to know what the people are prepared to do and what they need to plan their development as a social, economic and cultural collective.

One of the relevant data from this study points out that the majority of people in Puerto Rico (91%) consider themselves quite happy or very happy. However, despite the fact that 85% understand that their neighborhood is very safe or quite safe, 71% avoid carrying a lot of cash and 54% do not leave their house at night, as a security measure. On the other hand, only a minority thinks that most people can be trusted (18%).

The study also reveals that a majority has no interest in politics (52%) and would not vote for any political party and only for independent candidates (54%). In 2001, the percentage that showed no interest in politics represented 28%.

For the lead author of the study, Dr. Javier Hernández, “The World Values Survey is a valuable tool that will allow us to compare results with over 60 countries. It is part of the efforts to make Puerto Rico part of the main international indicators and to support institutional decision-making. The survey addresses issues of great relevance to the government, academia, the third sector and civil society, so we invite all sectors to analyze their results.”

“The return of Puerto Rico to the World Values Survey represents an important effort, since it allows us to continue with the recommendation of the Institute of Statistics to make Puerto Rico part of the main indicators at the global level. In the same way, this project represents a vital source of information to contribute to the culture of evidence-based decision-making. This is valuable information about our values, beliefs and political culture, among other information, necessary to guide public policy decisions. The survey results have a multisectoral scope, which is key for different levels of government, the non-governmental sector and the academy,” said Dr. Orville M. Disdier, acting executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.

The Sacred Heart University, established in 1880 by the religious order of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is a Catholic, private, non-profit institution that promotes a unique and innovative educational project in an environment characterized by excellent community life. The University offers associate degrees, baccalaureates, combined degrees, master's degrees, post-baccalaureate certificates and collaborative agreements with other universities in and outside of Puerto Rico. The academic offer focuses on the areas of Business Administration, Natural Sciences, Communication, Nursing and Humanities-Social Sciences.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

For more information or to access the 2018 World Values Survey for Puerto Rico you can visit the website: https://estadisticas.pr.gov/ or through the social networks of Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico).

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Press Contacts:

Lourdes Burgos/787-562-2932/ lburgos@upfrontpr.net

Idia Martinez/787-603-3200/ imartinez@upfrontpr.net

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Presentan Sistema de Indicadores de Puerto Rico: http://www.indicadores.pr. El nuevo portal permite un acceso fácil y rápido a los indicadores estadísticos de mayor importancia para Puerto Rico desde un solo lugar

Statistics Institute reveals results of the first Human Papillomavirus (HPV) survey conducted in Puerto Rico

San Juan, PR, January 14, 2017 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) today announced the results of the Adult Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Survey 2014 the first survey related to the topic carried out by the Institute itself at the level of the population of adult women in Puerto Rico.

It focused mainly on the responses of women aged 18 to 44, which corresponds to the adult population of reproductive age. In addition, it collects information related to the knowledge of this population on important aspects such as the following: The existence of vaccines, the prevalence of vaccinated women, diagnostic knowledge with a virus infection and the regularity of medical tests for the possible detection of the virus.

Here are the main results:

• 89.4 percent of the population of women ages 18 to 44 reported having heard about HPV.
• 93.1 percent of this population recognized that the primary route of HPV transmission is through sexual contact.
• 65.4 percent of this population knows that there is no cure for HPV.
• 66.0 percent of the population of women ages 18 to 34 reported having heard about HPV vaccines.
• 1 in 7 women (14.7 percent) in this population (18 to 34 years old) reported having ever been vaccinated.
• Among this vaccinated population, 50.7 percent obtained the three necessary doses of the vaccine.
• 74.5 percent of the population of women ages 18 to 44 reported having had a Pap smear in the past three years.
• 1 in 39 women (2.6 percent) between 18 and 44 years old mentioned that their doctor had ever told them they had some type of HPV infection.

The final sample size of interviews was 1,138 households. The response rate of the Adult Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Survey 2014 was 97.4 percent, which is equivalent to 1,108 households. Of these interviews, 665 were conducted on cell phones and 443 on fixed line phones.

HPV is one of the world's most important sexually transmitted infections due to its health implications. However, there was no information on the level of knowledge about HPV and the percentage of vaccination against the virus in the population of adult women living in Puerto Rico and the regularity of medical tests for the possible detection of the virus, among others.

One of the functions of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics is to produce its own statistics to complement existing data. To fulfill this function, in 2014, the Institute conducted the Adult HPV Survey for the adult population of men and women in Puerto Rico. This survey was carried out thanks to the collaboration of the Puerto Rico Department of Health's Behavior-Associated Risk Factor Surveillance System (PR‐BRFSS).

In Puerto Rico, the incidence rate of cervical cancer has been increasing. By 2014, Puerto Rico had an age-adjusted rate of 13.9 per 100,000 women. During the period from 2006 to 2014, the first five municipalities with the highest age-adjusted incidence rate of cervical cancer were Sábana Grande (19.4), Aibonito (19.0), Orocovis (18.8), Santa Isabel (18.7) and Lajas (17.2), according to the Puerto Rico Central Cancer Registry. For 2009, the age-adjusted incidence rate of cervical cancer in Puerto Rico (12.6) surpassed the corresponding rate for the population of Hispanic women in the United States (10.7), a trend that continued through 2014.

“The changes observed in rates over the past few years suggest that it is important to have a greater understanding of HPV and the use of its vaccine in Puerto Rico. This first survey seeks to begin to address this need,” said Dr. Idania R. Rodríguez Ayuso, co-author of the report on the Survey and senior manager of statistical projects at the Institute.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access. The IEPR has in its inventory, accessible through www.estadisticas.pr.gov, about 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through www.data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: www.indicadores.pr.

In addition, as the leading entity of the Puerto Rico SDC, the IEPR manages the SDC portal, where you can find the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/.

For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook (estadisticas.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes/ 787-688-0401

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