Use of environmental health indicator systems for management and prevention of emerging infectious diseases in Northeast Brazil
Urban planning. Zoonotic Diseases. Sustainability. Social Determinants of Health.
In recent decades, there has been an extraordinary advance in the study of the relationship between the way a given society is organized and developed and its social determinants of health. In Brazil, the population has grown significantly, and its economy have become more industrialized over the past few hundred years. The problems of urban life in the northeast of Brazil with tropical semi-arid climate become more complex and several challenges emerge in order to promote a more sustainable development. In this sense, the purpose of this study was to investigate systems of indicators to establish correspondences about the cities characteristic features in contemporary capitalist society, aiming to determine types and systems that characterize the Socio-demographic conditions in Brazilian northeastern semi-arid areas; and how these conditions impacts the environmental health and sustainability of the Caatinga biome (ecoregion characterized by subtropical vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil). Therefore, the present dissertation aimed to apply conceptual frameworks and environmental health indicators that focus to contribute to the management and prevention of emerging infectious diseases, based on the analysis of the correlation of ecosystem data provided from open accessible Brazilian city rates. Logical matrices of environmental health indicators, such as the Pressure-State-Impact-Response (PSIR) model, Chapter 1, and the Driving-Force-Pressure-Situation-Exposure-Effect-Actions (DPSEEA) matrix, Chapter 2, were used to perform a descriptive exploratory analysis of the study area. From this investigation, we identified a set of more appropriate responses to contain infectious disease threats, recognizing the fundamental roles of ecosystems and the services they provide in risk management in semi-arid urban regions. It can be seen that the risks of emerging zoonotic infections in Brazil are strongly intertwined with biodiversity crises and water insecurity faced by the country. The need to respond to infectious diseases such as Covid-19 creates an opportunity for systemic policy changes in the Northeast Brazil, placing scientific knowledge of the value and services of ecosystems at the center of societal concerns, contributing to the ability to plan more sustainable cities.