Chapters authored
Socioeconomic and Demographic Characteristics of Living Conditions of Elderly Quilombolas from Maranhão, Northeast Region, Brazil
The elderly from Quilombola communities are groups socially vulnerable with specific needs. Quilombola communities are territories made up of descendants of escaped slaves, located in remote rural areas. This study aims to describe the socioeconomic, sanitary, and demographic characteristics of the living conditions of the elderly. A household survey was conducted with 208 older persons from 11 Quilombola communities in the Maranhão, Northeast, Brazil. Among the 208 elderly people interviewed, 54.3% were women, 48.6% were between 60 and 69 years old, 59.1% declared themselves black, 35.6% were married, and 54.3% did not know how to read and write. About 81% of the elderly are in the worst income stratum. Among 59.6% of households, the water supply comes from a well/spring on the property itself, and garbage was burned/buried in 89.4% of the houses. In overall, housing construction, 64.4% of the elderly had appropriate materials used on the walls, 89.9% in the construction of the roof, and only 30.7% in the construction of the floor. The majority of the elderly did not have adequate construction of ceiling, floor, and walls according to sex and age. It was observed that the elderly live in a situation of vulnerability and precarious living conditions.
Part of the book: Quality of Life
Loss of Employment and Reduction of Income during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Maranhão State, Brazil
To estimate the prevalence and factors associated to the loss of employment and reduction of income during the covid-19 pandemic in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. A population-based household survey was performed, from October 19 to 30, 2020. The estimates considered clustering, stratification and non-response. The sample selection was carried out in three stages (stratum, census tracts and households). After systematic analysis, thirty sectors were selected in each stratum, totaling 150 sectors, with the number of households in each sector set at 34 households, totaling 5,100 households and one inhabitant per household (resident for at least six months and with 1-year-old or more) selected by simple random sample. To this research were analyzed 3,297 inhabitants among 18 and 64 years old. The Loss of employment and income from the pandemic was questioned. Descriptive analysis (weighted frequency) and Pearson’s chi-square test were performed to verify univariate association between independent variables and the outcome (p < 0.05). The prevalence of loss of employment and income was 12.1% (95%CI 10.5–13.7%), but another 39.7% (95% CI 37.3–42.1%) were already out of the market before the pandemic. This loss was statistically greater among residents of the largest and wealthiest cities in the state (stratum with the state capital: 22.7%; 95% CI 18.8–27.2; and in cities with more than 100 thousand inhabitants: 12.4%; 95% CI 9.9–15.6), male (14.3%; 95% CI 11.9–17.3; p = 0.037), middle-aged adults between 30 and 49 years (15.3%; 95% CI 12.8–18.2; p = 0.001), medium level (15.3%; 95% CI 12.9–18.1; p = 0.003) and higher education (14.4%; 95% CI 9.4–21.5; p = 0.003) and users of public transportation (14.6%; 95% CI 12.4–17.2; p = 0.005), and among those who received this aid was much higher (50.4%; 95% CI 33.2–67.4; p = 0.001). The results showed a relevant prevalence of loss of work and income in Maranhão and its association with individual and contextual factors. They revealed the groups and contexts most affected socioeconomically by the pandemic and that should deserve special attention from public income transfer strategies.
Part of the book: Anxiety, Uncertainty, and Resilience During the Pandemic Period