Acessibilidade e acesso aos serviços de saúde em comunidades dependentes do transporte fluvial no município de Santarém, Pará

Abstract

Riverside communities are populations that live on the banks of rivers and lakes, and their way of life is influenced by the dynamics of these watercourses. In the Amazon region, these populations are dependent on river transport to have access to essential services, such as health care, economic activities and recreation. Waterway routes are widely discussed in the literature. However, the generation of data on the relationship between river transport and the accessibility and access of riverside populations to health services, especially with regard to communities located in the western region of Pará, mainly assisted by the municipal government of Santarém, is incipient. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate conditions of accessibility and access to health services in communities dependent on river transport in the city of Santarém - PA. For this purpose, the characterization of the river transport system and access to healthcare was carried out, in addition to the analysis of the geographic access of these communities to the municipality of reference. This is an exploratory study with the application of qualitative and quantitative methods. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaires, field reports, as well as georeferencing. The results indicate the need for managers to understand the territoriality of traditional communities for planning and monitoring access and accessibility to services, since these traditional populations use specific ways of organizing services, in line with the singularities of Amazonian ways of living.