PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEMS FROM THE CITIZENS’ POINT OF VIEW: A STUDY IN THREE MUNICIPALITIES OF THE BRAZILIAN LEGAL AMAZON

Abstract

Aims: to study the public health issues of three municipalities of the Middle Araguaia geographic microregion belonging to the Araguaia river basin at the border of Mato Grosso and Goias States. Methods: a questionnaire regarding the public health issues was applied to a sample population of 550 adults from 18 to 70 years old. Results: almost half of the population pointed sanitation structure and humanization in healthcare as major health problems in the region, whereas quality of nursing care, environmental issues and lack of medicines and supplies were also considered relevant. About almost only 10% considered health promotion and leisure opportunities as important ones. Conclusions: the quality of sanitation structure and primary healthcare should be improved. The low attention to health promotion reinforces the primacy of the clinical view over the collectivist paradigm.