Relação água e doença: a importância dos aspectos socioculturais e de infraestrutura na saúde pública em Pão de Açucar, Alagoas

Abstract

The Northeast region of Brazil faces challenges in terms of access to water for its population, even in riverside regions. This work sought to explore not only the relationship between water quality and water supply, but an integrated analysis of the conditions of access to water for different purposes, involving environmental, water quality, socio-cultural and infrastructure aspects. To this end, a case study was carried out in the city of Pão de Açúcar/AL, a city on the banks of the São Francisco River, over 8 months, where macroscopic environmental parameters, the quality of the river water and the public supply system were analyzed, and an epidemiological survey was conducted. Afterwards, a discussion was undertaken on the conditions of access to water in the field of public health, exploring the importance of socio-cultural and infrastructure aspects. The data showed that although the quality of the river water meets the standards of balneability and the human supply water meets the organoleptic standards of potability, there is a high incidence of diarrhea, suggesting that this incidence is more related to sociocultural aspects (hygiene habits) than to the paradigm of the simple relationship between water and health.