Sustainable development and child health in the Curitiba metropolitan mesoregion, State of Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze social determinants of health through the relationship between Sustainable Development and child health outcomes. The population studied lives in 37 municipalities of the Curitiba mesoregion, in the State of Paraná, Brazil. It is a cross-cutting ecological study. In the 1st phase of the study, 16 contextual indicators were obtained from the 2010 demographic census performed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Principal Components Factor Analysis was undertaken to demonstrate possible correlations between social determinants of health, resulting in Sustainable Development indices for the places where the children live. In the 2nd phase the mortality rate in children aged under 5 was obtained from the Ministry of Health database. Pearson's correlation demonstrated statistically significant, moderate and negative association between the mortality rate in children aged under 5 (2001–2010) and the Sustainable Development Index (r=−0.62, p<0.01); with the Equity component (r=−0.70, p<0.01); and with the clusters (r=−0.68, p<0.01). Contextual indicators of Sustainable Development for the places where the children live showed themselves to be associated with the child health outcome. As such, equitable and sustainable social policies, based on inclusive health promotion strategies, need to be integrated into the children's life context.