A quilombola community in the northeast region of Brazil: The health of women and children before and after certification

Abstract

Objectives: to characterize the health status of women and children in a quilombola community in the Northeast region of Brazil before and after certification. Methods: the data are taken from two investigations using similar methodologies carried out in 2008 and 2009, among women and children residing in the community. The socio-economic and health characteristics of these populations in the two periods were compared by calculating the Prevalence Ratio (PR), using Poisson regression. Results: the studies covered 143 women and 194 children in 2008 and 172 women and 67 children in 2012. The prevalence of overweight (59.1% vs. 62.8%) and waist circumference ≥80cm (59.5% vs. 57.4%) were similar in the two periods (p>0.05). The characteristics that exhibited significant changes (p<0.05) were: per capita family income >2 US dollars/day (23.2% vs. 67.4%; PR=2.90; CI95%: 2.11-4.01), prevalence of diarrhea in children (10.3% vs. 26.9%; PR=2.61; CI95%: 1.46-4.62), up-to-date vaccination record (80.4% vs. 95.3%%; PR=1.18; CI95%: 1.08-1.30), frequency of receipt of vitamin A supplements (70.3% vs. 100.0%; PR=1.42; CI95%: 1.29-1.56), duration of exclusive breastfeeding ≥6 months (8.7% vs. 44.6%; PR=5.13; CI95%: 2.95-8.92) and prevalence of anemia among children (41.6% vs. 20.0%; PR=0.48; CI95%: 0.27-0.87). Conclusions: there have been improvements in the health status of the population, but investment still needs to be made to ensure that health standards in the community continue to rise.