An analysis of the association on the perception of the state of health and deforestation in the Legal Amazon, through the National Health Survey

Abstract

This article discusses the influence of deforestation on the perception of health status in the Legal Amazon, through the ”Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde (PNS)”, through an exploratory, quantitative study, using analytical structures econometrics. In order to delineate the environmental etiology, the perception of health status in the states of the Legal Amazon with the highest and lowest deforestation rate is described, comparing with the secondary data obtained by the “PNS” in 2013, presented by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The results of the analysis indicate that deforestation is relevant to explain the variability in the rates of the diseases studied perception of health status. The contingency analysis model (the basis of the chi-square test)applied to data on health status makes it possible to conclude that the population living in federal units classified as having a high level of deforestation has a perception of health inferior to the population located in less deforested units. This result infer that the growth of economic activities occurs at the expense of environmental losses and health indicators. As a result, there is a need for further investigation into the relationship between deforestation and the health of the population. Considering that deforestation is a process in full swing and its practice, related to the expectation of rapid financial gains, which do not reflect in the improvement of the populations quality life, reinforces the need to include socio-environmental vulnerability factors in the elaboration of public policies for the sustainable development of the region.

Keywords: deforestation. Amazon. health assessment.