A educação ambiental como instrumento de promoção da saúde pública

Abstract

Each year, the number of dengue cases has increased in the Brazilian population due to several causes, among them: the accumulation of water in containers, solid waste discarded in inappropriate places, deforestation, an increase of empty lots, closed residences and mutation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito itself. Most of these cases could be avoided with a preventive work of Environmental Education within the population, in order to sensitize them of the importance of each case in the process. The objective of this study was to identify the efficiency of the actions of Environmental Education in the promotion of public health through the analysis of quantitative data on cases of endemic diseases caused by Aedes aegypti in the last four years in Teresina-Piauí, Brazil and through the study of the increase or reduction of cases after the execution of these actions promoted by FMS in the period under study. An interview was conducted with a script of issues related to the execution of Environmental Education activities, with the director of the Zoonoses Center. From the epidemiological data obtained, it was possible to observe that the educational practices in the last two years of the studied period were effective in the reduction of dengue cases. Therefore, it was found that environmental education has been an essential tool in sensitizing individuals about health care, contributing significantly to improving quality of life.