Family Grant Program Research Articles

Impact of growth, inequality and the Family Grant Program (PBF) on Brazil's poverty

The objective of this article is to analyze the effects of economic growth, inequality and the Bolsa Família Program (PBF) on poverty indices in Brazil. To do so, a dynamic panel model was used, estimated by the method of generalized moments for a two-step system, developed by Blundel-Bond (1998). The results show that spending on the family scholarship had no impact on poverty rates in Brazil. It is also found that policies of economic growth that promote an increase in income in conjunction with the reduction of its disparities are preferable to those that prioritize only the increase of the average income in the fight against poverty in Brazil.

Early childhood caries, family functioning, and common mental disorders in a region of Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Aim: This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the need for dental treatment in preschool children concerning early childhood caries (ECC), evaluated by the School Health Program (SHP); family functioning; and common mental disorders (CMDs) within families in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: A structured questionnaire was applied to the main caretaker of the 61 children by telephone contact. The questions addressed socioeconomic and demographic data; the Questionnaire of General Family Functioning (GFF) sought to investigate family functioning; and the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) served to screen for CMDs among the main caretakers. Secondary data were collected from the SHP to survey the need for oral health treatments. The dependent variable was the need for tooth restoration or extraction. The data were analyzed descriptively and by Pearson’s chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests (p < 0.05), using SPSS v.22.0. Results: The median age of the children was 5 years old, and 32.8% required treatment for dental caries. There was no association between the need for tooth restoration or extraction and socioeconomic factors, family relations, and the presence of CMDs in the main caretaker (p > 0.05). However, there was a greater frequency of need for treatment in families with low income (24.6%) and with less social support (family and friends < 1). Children whose family was included in the Family Grant Program (62.3%), the respondent was the mother (57.4%), had completed high school or higher (36.1%), no paid work (42.6%), with a traditional or nuclear family structure (27.8%), and living in a house with good sanitary conditions (63.9%) presented a lower frequency of need for treatment. The GFF and SRQ-20 values among preschool children with and without the need for dental treatment were similar. Conclusion: There was a trend of a higher need for ECC treatment in children from families with lower income and less familiar and social support.

Environmental Influences on the Human Gut Microbiota: A Longitudinal Pilot Study

ObjectivesUrbanization has reduced environmental microorganism exposure, with most Americans spending over 90% of their time indoors. However, gardening remains a viable means of exposure to soil microorganisms and harvesting of edible produce. Accordingly, we aimed to determine relations between gardening, dietary habits, and gut microbiota. MethodsGardening families (N = 10) and non-gardening (control) families (N = 9) were enrolled in a longitudinal pilot trial. Families included two adults and a child (5–18 years) for a total sample size of 54 participants. Fecal samples were collected prior to and at the end of the gardening season. Garden soil samples (n = 9) were collected prior to and at the end of the season. Diet history questionnaires were collected at the beginning and end of the study to measure Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores. Fecal and soil DNA were extracted, sequenced (V4 region of 16S rDNA gene), and analyzed using DADA2 and QIIME2. Alpha diversity measures were assessed, including Faith’s phylogenetic diversity (PD) and observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs). ResultsGardening families had significantly more fecal OTUs compared to control families (172.3 ± 44.2 vs. 157.0 ± 44.2, respectively; P = 0.03). Gardening families had greater (P = 0.02) Faith’s PD scores and tended (P = 0.08) to have more fecal OTUs than the control group at peak gardening season. In the gardening families, fecal OTUs and Faith’s PD were numerically but not statistically greater at the end of the season compared to baseline (all p’s > 0.05). Prior to the gardening season, gardening adults had greater HEI scores compared to control families (57 ± 9.1 vs. 49 ± 8.8, P = 0.03). HEI scores were not different between groups at the end of the study. ConclusionsThis study revealed that the fecal microbiota of families that garden differs from non-gardening families, and there are detectable changes in the fecal microbial community of gardeners and their family members over the course of the gardening season. Further research is needed to understand the role of diet in these changes and if microbes within the soil move between the soil and gastrointestinal environments. Funding SourcesThis research was funded by the Christopher Family Foundation Food and Family Grant Program.

Food Insecurity and National School Feeding Program in Brazil – 2004 to 2013

Abstract Background One of United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. In this sense, the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) in Brazil is one of the largest school feeding program in the world and the only one with universal service. It's exist before of Brazil's Family Grant Program (PBF) - a conditional cash transfers program - and the only condition to access is to be a student in public school (kindergarten to high school). So, the aim of this work is to verify the association between food insecurity and the PNAE in Brazil (2004 to 2013). Methods The database used in the present study was the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) thats incorporated Food Security Supplement (FS Supplement). The food security was conceptualized in four levels: food security (FS) and the three types of food insecurity (FI), Mild FI (MiFI), Moderate FI (MoFI) and Severe FI (SFI). Only household with people with less than 18 years-old at public school was analyzed. The database are from 2004, 2009 and 2013 PNAD. The association between food insecurity and PNAE (user or non-user) was conducted by multiple correspondence analysis and logistic regression (the results are preliminary). Results The FI in 2004 was present in 35.2% of households (95%CI: 32.9-37.5), 30.5% (95%CI: 28.7-32.3) in 2009 and 22.9% (95%CI: 20.9-24.8) in 2013. In all years of the study the most users of PNAE living in a household with FI than non-users, that's show in multiple correspondence analysis (two dimensions with a total of 31,7% of variance) and logistic regression (OR: 1.26, 95%IC: 1.24-1.28). Conclusions Author's agree that downward trend in food insecurity in Brazil was a result from Family Grant Program (PBF). Additionally, the PNAE continues as protective factor of FI, because people with less than 18 years-old at public school who lived in a household with FI can have at least one meal a day. Key messages School Feeding Programs contribute to Millennium Development Goals, as to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. National School Feeding Program in Brazil is a protective factor for Food Insecurity.

Implementation of the pact for health in Brazil: what changes did it bring to child mortality?

This study aimed to verify the association of social inequalities with infant mortality rate so as to infer what has changed in Brazil with the implementation of the Pact for Life. This was an epidemiological ecological study of the time series type with spatial correlation carried out through the Mortality Information System, considering the years from 1996 to 2016. For the development and analysis of the data, the 161 Intermediate Regions of Urban Articulation were considered. The infant mortality coefficient in the years studied was the dependent variable, and as independent variables, the ones selected were the Human Development Index, Gini Index, percentage of poor people and the coverage of the Family Grant Program. Descriptive data were analyzed in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Mortality data were spatialized to determine bivariate spatial autocorrelations using the Geoda software. It was identified in the results that there was a decrease in the infant mortality rate in the decades; spatial autocorrelation showed high coefficients in the Northeast in the first decade, and higher coefficients in the North and Midwest in the second decade. In the bivariate analysis of the infant mortality coefficient with the Human Development Index, greater autocorrelation was observed in the Southeast, South and Midwest regions in the two decades; with the Gini index, the first decade showed autocorrelation in the North and Northeast, and in the second decade, there was autocorrelation in the North, Northeast, and Midwest. When assessed with poverty, autocorrelation was observed in the North and Northeast; and with coverage of the Family Grant Program, autocorrelation was concentrated in the Northeast. Even before and after the release of the Pact for Life, social inequalities were directly related to infant mortality. The Pact, which had one of its indicators the reduction in infant mortality, was effective when evaluated in isolation, however, despite the decrease in this problem.

User satisfaction with public oral health services in the Brazilian Unified Health System

BackgroundUser satisfaction represents a patient-centered measure that should be used to assess the quality of oral health services. This study investigated the differences in user satisfaction with public oral health services according to the sociodemographic user profile and the quality of oral health services in primary health care in Brazil.MethodsSecondary data from a national program obtained through interviews with users were analyzed. Satisfaction was based on the Swan’ model relating to perceptions regarding the service performance, assessment of overall satisfaction and the intention to avoid the service in the future. The exploratory variables were demographic characteristics of the users and the quality of the primary service from the user’s viewpoint, considering the dimensions: access; receptivity of spontaneous demand; integral health care; bonding, accountability, and coordination of care.ResultsA total of 37,262 users participated, and 65.51% reported satisfaction with the oral health service, that was higher among those > 20 years old and beneficiaries of the Family Grant Program and lower among users with a higher level of schooling and those who reported being employed. Users who rated oral health service positively were more satisfied.ConclusionsSocioeconomically disadvantaged user was more satisfied with oral health services and the satisfaction increased with age. The improvement in the quality of oral health services in primary care can result in greater satisfaction.

A Política Nacional de Desenvolvimento Regional e as “Portas de Saída” para os Beneficiários do Bolsa Família

Doi: 10.12957/geouerj.2015.18769 Este artigo tem como objetivo contribuir para a discussao sobre as “portas de saida” do Programa Bolsa Familia, implementado pela administracao federal. Argumenta que e necessario fortalecer as politicas de desenvolvimento regional, no Brasil, para que os beneficiarios desse programa que vivem em regioes pobres ou pouco dinâmicas possam ter maior facilidade para integrar-se as atividades produtivas, deixando de ser dependentes do auxilio governamental. O texto analisa a distribuicao territorial desses beneficiarios e demonstra que os municipios pequenos e medios do interior, com maiores percentuais em relacao ao total de familias, nao por acaso, sao os que geram menor numero de oportunidades para o emprego formal. A educacao e a capacitacao tem sido os principais instrumentos propostos para possibilitar a insercao das populacoes hoje dependentes de programas sociais nas atividades produtivas. No entanto, na ausencia instituicoes fortes e de politicas que ajudem a criar maior numero de oportunidades nessas regioes pobres ou menos dinâmicas, as unicas opcoes para os beneficiarios, depois de educados e capacitados, serao migrar em busca de emprego ou continuar na dependencia de auxilio governamental.

De Bolsa Esmola à Constituição Federal: o Programa Bolsa Família no jornal <i>O Estado de São Paulo</i> (2003-2013)

The article aims to present the results of a study carried out with selected copies of the newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo [The State of Sao Paulo] from 2003 to 2013 in order to understand how the Family Grant Program (Programa Bolsa Familia) – a federal conditioned cash transfer program created in 2003 – was presented in a major newspaper during its first 10 years. For the execution of the research, 60 copies of the newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo were read, selected in September and October 2003, October 2008, and October 2013. Of this set, 27 articles that directly mention the PBF were selected, which constitute the corpus of the presented study. The choice of studied periods aimed to analyze the articles on PBF in the year of its launching, five and ten years later. Throughout these ten years, changes as to how the program was portrayed by the newspaper can be noticed, especially regarding the so-called exit doors. In 2003, articles were found calling attention to the matter of the “exit doors” and treated the PBF as “Charity Grant”, due to the fact that its design does not require a maximum period of permanence in the Program. Such criticism cooled down throughout the years, to the point that in 2013 the main opposition candidate for the presidency has proposed to constitutionalize the benefit, which was also seen as a positive force to the reelection campaign of the president Dilma Rousseff. Keywords: public policies, cash transferprogram, education, O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper.

Food and Nutrition Surveillance System/SISVAN: getting to know the feeding habits of infants under 24 months of age.

The objective of the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (SISVAN) is to monitor the food intake of individuals attended by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). The objective of this research was to identify the feeding practices of children under 24 months of age who were attended at Primary Healthcare Units (UBS), using SISVAN, and to assess the relationship with maternal sociodemographic profiles. A cross-sectional study was conducted in order to evaluate 350 children using the Food Consumption Marker Form of SISVAN, and maternal demographic data to identify sociodemographic profiles by exploratory factor analysis. Of the children assessed, 41.1% were under 6 months of age and 98.7% of those between 6 and 23 months had an inadequate intake. Two sociodemographic profiles were found: Profile 1 (mothers with lower income, less education, and recipients of the 'Bolsa Família' conditional family grant program) associated with the consumption of water/tea, cow's milk and salty baby food; and Profile 2 (older mothers with many children and with a larger number of residents in the household) associated with breast milk consumption (p = 0.048). The use of SISVAN made it possible to identify that children had inadequate feeding practices, and Profile 1 appears to be a risk profile for weaning.

Perfil de utilização de serviços de saúde por crianças de zona urbana no Brasil: estudo transversal de base nacional

Objetivos: descrever o perfil de utilização de serviços de saúde em crianças brasileiras menores de cinco anos. Métodos: estudo seccional de base populacional realizado em 2009, com crianças residentes em 100 municípios de cinco regiões brasileiras. Investigou-se o uso dos seguintes tipos de atendimento de saúde: domiciliar e médico ambulatorial - últimos três meses - e de urgência e internação hospitalar - últimos doze meses. As variáveis independentes foram: sexo, idade, classificação econômica familiar, escolaridade materna, família beneficiada pelo Programa Bolsa Família, ter apresentado problema agudo de saúde, estado nutricional, porte do município e região. Análises brutas e ajustadas para associação entre a utilização de serviços de saúde e classe econômica foram realizadas por meio de regressão de Poisson com ajuste robusto da variância. Resultados: das 6360 crianças, 3422 (54%) foram atendidas por médico, 506 (8%) receberam atendimento domiciliar, 2144 (34%) foram atendidas em serviços de urgência/emergência e 681 (11%) foram hospitalizadas. Crianças das classes A/B consultaram mais com o médico, tiveram menos atendimento domiciliar, usaram mais serviços de urgência do que crianças das classes C e D/E. Não houve diferença na hospitalização segundo classe econômica. Conclusões: os achados destacam importantes desigualdades no uso de serviços de saúde por crianças brasileiras.

Multiplicidade de 'pobrezas' nas politicas públicas contemporâneas: contribuições do construcionismo social e da teoria ator-rede (tar)!

This article presents as multiple and complex, performed by a network of heterogeneous materials of the contemporary public policies. The methodological design used is based on social constructivism approach, which considers reality as constructed through the various instruments in the course of a number of different practices. To understand Public Policy for Combating Poverty as a heterogeneous network of human and non-human actors via the Family Grant Program, we articulated a dialogue with some scores of Actor-Network Theory and epistemological references that question the ontological foundations of truth and reality through the notion of multiplicity. From the observations, interviews, conversations and readings of public documents of the actions of the Family Grant Program, we described three versions of poverty: the calculated poverty, the registered and the controlled poverty. These versions coexist with each other, and should not be construed in a manner isolated in such a way that would produce a whole summed or compose a portrait of poverty homogeneous, stable and permanent, seized by a diversity of views and perspectives. On the contrary, we propose here a multitude of poverties. We punctuated that the connections and bifurcations among versions produced by material elements and socialization of the heterogeneous network of the public policies for combating will bring contributions to the psychosocial look which could destabilize, desterritoryalize and make more flexible the traditional notions of poor and poverty.

Money and morality in the Bolsa Família

This paper brings some findings from research on the meanings of money from Brazil"s Family Grant Program (Programa Bolsa Família, PBF). The ethnography on which it is based was carried out between 2010 and 2012 in the cities of Alvorada and Porto Alegre. It shows, firstly, that even though it is received in cash, the PBF money is not just an abstract mediator. Rather, access to this kind of money, or to the PBF itself, is accompanied by a series of moral values that go beyond the legal conditionalities that characterize the program. Drawing on ethnographic instances, our discussion highlights some of the key elements of this morality: negotiations around the notion of vulnerability (a central concept for the social workers in charge of enrolling beneficiaries in the PBF), and the different meanings of the PBF money, from the beneficiaries" point of view. This diversity of meanings is presented synthetically in terms of some key domains: money of women and for women; money of children and for children; money interdicted and shameful to men.

Desenvolvimento territorial sustentável: estudo comparativo de indicadores do sistema de gestão estratégica em territórios rurais do Rio Grande do Norte

The management of public policies , from a territorial approach, recognizes territory as a projection and an expression of identity and as holder of a peculiar population with socio-cultural, environmental, political, institutional and economic characteristics, in order that any process of development must interact with these elements. The decision to strength a territorial policy in Brazil, by the Federal Government, resulted, firstly, in the creation of 36 territories in all regions , named “Citizen´s Territories”, which feed the Strategic Management System (Sistema de Gestão Estratégica – SGE) . This text brings part of the results from the SGE, focusing on a comparative analysis of the three territories, located in the Rio Grande do Norte State, taking into account secondary data produced by that system. The result of sustainable development dimension, reached from economic, environmental, socio-cultural and political-institutional variables, has a critical level and the economic issues as the most important lack. Despite of the natural potential of the productive chains, the local economy is weakened by factors such as restrictions on technical assistance, limited access to credit, inadequate investment, low productivity, problems in marketing , limited diversification of agricultural production and livelihoods focused on social security, especially in rural retirement income and “Family Grant Program” (Programa Bolsa Família).

Aspectos diferenciais da inserção de mulheres negras no Programa Bolsa Família

O artigo discute resultados de uma pesquisa realizada com mulheres titulares do Programa Bolsa Família (PBF) em Uberlândia-MG e Londrina-PR, de modo a analisar possíveis variações relacionadas à condição de desigualdade, levando-se em consideração o quesito cor/raça das respondentes. Uma análise interna sobre o público atendido pelo Programa Bolsa Família (PBF), nesses municípios brasileiros, nos permite constatar as diferenças existentes, mesmo estando todas essas pessoas em situação de pobreza. As situações de pobreza são multifacetadas e o seu caráter multidimensional envolve situações como aquelas que podem ser explicadas pela variável raça/etnia. Este trabalho trata sociologicamente de algumas das tessituras da vida social de mulheres negras que vivem em situação de pobreza e de extrema pobreza, com experiências marcadas pela condição de gênero e de cor/raça. Nossos resultados indicam que o PBF exerce mais influência no cotidiano das mulheres negras, em comparação com as brancas. Contudo, tal influência não gera o impacto de equalizar a situação entre esses dois grupos de mulheres.

Hegemonia, consenso e coerção e os beneficiários do Programa Bolsa Família

Este artigo investiga as razões da desobediência a regras impostas pelo Estado pelos beneficiários de políticas sociais, especificamente os do Programa Bolsa Família, instituído pelo Governo Federal em 2003. A investigação é feita a partir dos dados coletados em uma pesquisa qualitativa que entrevistou titulares legais de famílias que recebiam o benefício, mas que estavam em situação de descumprimento das condicionalidades. Procura compreender os elementos intrínsecos à ideologia de grupos ou indivíduos que descumprem normas sociais, mesmo sujeitos a penalidades. Problematiza a perspectiva hegemônica do Programa, baseando-se nos conceitos de hegemonia, consenso e coerção de Antonio Gramsci: o alcance e os limites das penalidades - a coerção - e o reconhecimento e a aceitação das regras - o consenso.

A “AJUDA” DO PROGRAMA BOLSA FAMÍLIA: REPRESENTAÇÕES DA TRANSFERÊNCIA DE RENDA PARA SEUS BENEFICIÁRIOS

The Family Grant Program (PBF) is currently the Brazilian social policy to fight hunger of greater magnitude and scope. Aimed at families in poverty and extreme poverty, it associates the transfer of financial benefits with access to basic social rights through conditionality. Three main axes and interrelated actions should make this program: income transfer, access to public health and education, and access to employment and income through complementary programs. However, it is clear that income transfer plays a central role in PBF. This study aimed to identify the representations of PBF beneficiaries about the financial benefits received and, therefore, discuss the relation between these individuals and the program. We conducted 23 interviews and analyzed them through the hermeneutic-dialectic approach. The interviews summarized the representations of beneficiaries with the category help . The main points we highlight on this categorization are: a lack of benefit considering the needs of the family; disregard of this benefit as a right, ie, understanding that it is some kind of grant; and the feeling of disaffiliation from the labor market, which generates feelings of worthlessness and social inertia.

Evaluation of the Brazilian Family Grant Program: a quasi-experimental study in the State of Rio de Janeiro

This study aimed to evaluate a program of income distribution in Brazil (Family Grant Program, FGP) using a quasi experiment in shantytowns in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. Questionnaires, which contained questions regarding the three main axes of the program, were personally administered to 281 program participants and 249 non-participants (control group) in either their homes or in public spaces of the shantytowns. The results of several statistical tests (t-test, correlation and Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test) identified significant differences between the groups of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, which signal a positive influence of the FGP, including increases in the number of daily meals and family income. However, some conditionalities of the program are not being fulfilled.

O Programa Bolsa Família na Revista Veja: assistencialismo governamental ou ressentimento midiático?

Esse texto discute aspectos do Programa Bolsa Família ligados à superação das desigualdades socioeconômicas na confluência entre mundo vivido e instâncias sistêmicas da sociedade da comunicação. A mídia semanal afirma que o programa é assistencialista. Examinaremos reportagens de Veja de 2005 e 2006 sobre o programa. Nossa questão assim se coloca: como a população pode tornar o PBF emancipatório por meio da criação de novas sociabilidades? O PBF suporta em seu corte burocrático a expressão de efeitos de multidão (plurilinguísticos) que criem efeitos emancipatórios para além da transferência de renda (empoderamento, melhoria do estado de bem-estar)? Como enfrentar o paradoxo de que ao colocar suas demandas de modo participativo e sistêmico, podem perder-se os efeitos de multidão vindos do mundo da vida?

Bottom-up Policy Diffusion: National Emulation of a Conditional Cash Transfer Program in Brazil

Policy diffusion studies often invoke explanations that draw on the directional pressures for emulation, whether top-down, horizontal, or bottom-up. This article develops a theoretical framework that accounts for the multidirectional features of diffusion, including sub-national, cross-national, and international mechanisms, through the illustrative case of Brazil’s federal adoption of Bolsa Escola (School Grant Program), a conditional cash transfer program that preceded the internationally acclaimed poverty alleviation program called Bolsa Família (Family Grant Program). Using process tracing, I argue that bottom-up pressures, including professional norms and intergovernmental competition, were key for policy emulation. Cross-national competition had little effect on decision-making. Finally, top-down processes, including norms and financing, reinforced adoption decisions and ensured these programs would endure.

SIGNIFICADO DAS CONDICIONALIDADES DO PROGRAMA BOLSA FAMÍLIA PARA BENEFICIÁRIOS ACOMPANHADOS NUMA ESTRATÉGIA SAÚDE DA FAMÍLIA EM CAMPINA GRANDE – PB

The Family Grant Program (FGP) holds conditional cash transfer to guarantee human rights to adequate food and reduce social inequalities. Objective: In this respect, the aim of this study was to analyze the meaning of conditionalities of the FGP for its beneficiaries. Material and methods: a descriptive study using qualitative approach was conducted with 24 women accompanied by legal representatives of the FGP in a Family Health Unity, in Campina Grande, PB, from June to July 2009. The study subjects were selected intentionally and delimited by the saturation method, and guided interviews were used for data collection. Content analysis proposed by BARDIN (2009) was utilized for data analysis. Results: the categories identified were: regularity in receiving the benefit, access to consumer goods, impact of conditionalities and benefit x health. Conclusion: The FGP is an important initiative of the National Policy for Social Assistance and the regularity in receiving benefit has contributed to the beneficiary families so that they can plan their spending in favor of improved family satisfaction, favoring the purchase of consumer goods, encouraging attendance at health service and education as well as access to specialized health services and medicines that are unavailable in the public healthcare system. DESCRIPTORS Poverty. Family Health. Income.