Influência de resíduos agroindustriais na saúde pública: estudo de caso em Sousa - PB.

Abstract

This study aims at verifying whether the existence or not of agribusiness has significant effects on public health in Sousa City, Paraíba, Brazil. For this, data on the “Family Health Strategy (FHS)” units of Sousa - PB, number of people served by each unit, prevalent diseases records and information on the agribusinesses located in their respective microáreas were collected. The basic methodology consisted of using documentary research, guided interviews with city health managers, in loco visits and photographic records. Based on the results obtained from the interviews, it was noted that the prevalent diseases related to agroindustrial residues, in order of importance, are: diarrhea, dengue and Visceral Leishmaniasis. The data used in this study comprised the period from 2013 to 2014. The per capita indicators calculated for diarrhea and dengue were shown to be generally higher in the FHS units that have agribusinesses with improper disposal of solid wastes in its operating radius than in those without agribusinesses. There was no significant variation in the comparison of per capita indicators for Visceral Leishmaniasis between ESF with and without agribusinesses in its operating range. When checking the results about the perception of health managers of Sousa - PB on the impact of agroindustrial solid wastes in local health, allied to the per capita indicators for prevalent diseases obtained in terms of the ESF with and without agro-industries, it was suggested that there is a need to adopt prevention and measures to promote public health.