Environmental health literacy among riverside residents in the Amazon region of Pará.
Élida Fernanda Rêgo de Andrade, Sandy Isabelly Osório de Sousa, Sarah Souza de Carvalho and 6 others
PMID 41124692WHAT IT FOUND
Riverside residents linked environmental health to visible cleanliness, waste disposal, and avoiding stagnant water.
They reported gaps in reliable information and valued home visits and lectures.
Key findings
01Participants understood environmental health mainly as visible cleanliness, waste disposal, and care for forests and rivers, rather than broader ecological relationships.
02Residents linked poor sanitation and waste collection to disease risk, and described washing pooled water and avoiding stagnant water to control dengue.
03Some participants reported lifelong difficulty accessing reliable information, while others used internet, television, or cell phones, and home visits were valued.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a qualitative study of perceptions and practices, so it does not show that any treatment, education, or home visit improved health. All participants came from an island health service, so the findings may not apply to other riverside communities. Participants were selected by convenience and interviews stopped when answers repeated, so the sample was not random. Some participants had limited schooling, and answers were brief on average, which may have shaped how much they said. The interview script was not pilot tested, though it was reviewed by nursing researchers.
Declared interests
Brazilian research agencies CNPq and FAPESPA awarded scholarships to the first two authors through PIBIC/UEPA. The paper does not report other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that home visits, lectures, or education campaigns improve environmental health literacy or prevent disease. The study described residents' perceptions and practices in an island community.