Surveys about the health of Brazilians are now in preparation
August 04, 2017 09h00 AM | Last Updated: September 04, 2017 09h21 AM
The IBGE, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, is now preparing to start, in July next year, two surveys related to the welfare of the Brazilian population. Besides the National Survey of Health (PNS), conducted in 2013, the Institute is now in charge of the National Survey on Demography and Health (PNDS), which investigates the female population of reproductive age and children under five years of age. The survey, which was previously a duty of the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (Cebrap), has had three editions so far (1986, 1996 and 2006).
According to the IBGE researcher Maria Lucia Vieira, making the IBGE responsible for the PNDS was a demand from the Ministry of Health, since the questions in that survey had many smilarities with the ones in the PNS. Because of that, the same indicators were being considered twice. “We are now working on both questionnaires in order to avoid any duplicity”.
The researcher also recalls that health had been a topic investigated in a supplement of the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) in the years of 1998, 2003 e 2008. “When the annual PNAD was ended, we realized the monthly edition would not be adequate for such a huge supplement. So we launched the PNS, in 2013. As a result, we managed to investigate topics related to the health field”.
About the surveys
Maria Lucia explains that, in the first visit to the selected housing unit, the PNS data collection asks questions about all the residents considering topics such as work, education, disabilities, health insurance coverage and use of health services and so on.
On the same occasion a resident aged 15 or older will be selected to answer more specific questions about, for example, perception of health conditions, lifestyle, chronic diseases and oral health. From that resident will be obtained anthropometric measurements: height, weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure.
The PNDS will have a subsample, of households composed of mothers with young children. The survey will also investigate matters related to the pregnacy itself, the delivery, breastfeeding and vaccination, etc. There will also be a section about conjugality an sexual activity, which has questions about the age of the first sexual intercourse, abortion and use of contraceptive methods, for example. “The PNDS is a complete investigation about women’s reproductive health and the baby’s initial months of life”, says Maria Lucia.
National Day of Health
Tomorrow we celebrate the National Day of Health. The dater was chosen in honor of Brazilian sanitarian Oswaldo Cruz, born on August 05, 1872.
Health is a universal right in our country, as established by the 1988 Constitution. The government has the right to promote the access of all Brazilian citizens to treatment, surgeries and medication, and for that to come true, it is necessary to know the needs of the population. All surveys conducted by the IBGE have the objective of providing useful information for the planning of public policies in this field.
In the video below, recorded by the IBGE's Directorate of Surveys, No vídeo abaixo, gravado pela Diretoria de Pesquisas do IBGE, Deborah Malta, professor of the Federal University of Minas Gerais talks to researcher Maria Lucia Vieira about the importance of the PNS, whose data are used by the government and by other segments of society, for example, the scientific community and the media.
Text: Mônica Marli
Image: geraldoswald62 / pixabay
