Brazilian scientific production on the health of the black population: a rapid scoping review

Abstract

The article presents a perspective on the Brazilian scientific production on the health of the black population (SPN) published in scientific journals. We performed a rapid scoping review combined with thematic and bibliometric analysis. Our search included four indexed databases. We retrieved 519 studies in line with the thematic axes and strategic underlying themes of the Agenda of Research Priorities of the Ministry of Health and the guidelines of the National Policy for the Comprehensive Health of the Black Population. The data mainly returned quantitative studies published from 1969 to 2022. Sixty-five of the selected studies were explicitly about the black population and 54 about the quilombola population. The analysis of the most recurrent terms in the titles of the selected studies evidenced that epidemiological aspects and health and disease conditions prevailed. We observed limitations in the currently available indexing descriptors, which do not cover the most conceptually appropriate terminology. This paper consolidates knowledge about the SPN-related scientific production. It supports the discussion on a propositional priority research agenda to improve health policies for this population, overcome racism, and denounce rights violations.