Prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and associated factors in the adult population from the area affected by the tailings dam rupture - Brumadinho Health Project

[Mental illness in former residents affected by the extraction of rock salt from a mining company in Maceió, Alagoas State, Brazil]

This study aimed to investigate the presence of mental illness in victims of soil instability in neighborhoods affected by rock salt extraction from a mining company located in the city of Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil. It is a quantitative, descriptive-analytical, and cross-sectional study. The sample was intentional and non-probabilistic and consisted of 158 participants, with a 0.50 "power of effect" (moderate size effect) and a 99.9% confidence level. A link was made available on social media with an invitation to participate in the online survey. Most participants were adult, female, black/mixed-race, with a high level of education, and reported a perceived worsening in monthly income, physical and mental health, and in the self-perception of their lives after the relocation of their homes. Most participants had depressive symptoms (87.34%), moderate and severe anxiety (55.7%), and positive screening for common mental disorders (77.22%). By analyzing the current perception of the changes in the lives of former residents before and after being relocated due to the ground instability, it was identified that, after relocation, those with greater psychiatric demand and suicidal ideation had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms, symptoms of severe anxiety, and positive screening for common mental disorders. This research highlights the importance of elaborating policies, strategies and actions to prevent impacts on mental health, recovery, and health rehabilitation in scenarios of socio-environmental disasters. Implementing preventive measures and offering adequate psychological and social support can reduce the detrimental effects of such disasters on the affected population.

Impacts of mining disasters on the ambulatory care of the Brazilian national health system: the cases of Mariana and Brumadinho/Brazil

BACKGROUND

Disasters are events that bring with them effects that contribute to the disruption of the normality of a population and thus highlight the vulnerabilities of the health system. In Mariana and Brumadinho, the collapse of the dam of ore tailings brought with it several impacts that were felt in the short term and will be felt in the medium and long term. And that by being intensely intertwined with issues of economic and productive nature, has as its meaning an uninterrupted result of its activities.

METHODS

Through the DATASUS database, two specific variables were chosen to perform the analysis: the approved amount and the approved value. For this research, a methodological device, the segmented regression line, was used to observe the influences that the disasters that occurred in Mariana and Brumadinho had on the ambulatory health systems.

RESULTS

The results of the segmented regression line show that, with Mariana, the amount approved continued to grow throughout the period, which shows that there was no change because of the disaster. There was a reduction in spending. In Brumadinho, regarding the amount approved, there was an upward trend in the disaster's month, which did not change immediately afterwards, and regarding expenditure, the growth pattern was maintained in all three periods. Corroborating this data, the relative and absolute base elements show an increase in the amount approved and in the number of services provided at various posts compared with Minas Gerais.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the findings, it was possible to understand that although disasters exert an influence that may have some effect on the health system, the lack of significance sometimes cannot be interpreted as a lack of impact on the disaster. The segmented regression line outlines some effects that are not conclusive but indicative of a numerical interpretation and a trend interpretation.