Condições de saneamento e sua relação com a saúde da comunidade – estudo de caso na comunidade de Sapucaia

Abstract

Disparities in access to sanitation services have effects on quality of life, since the absence or inefficiency of these services leads to worsening of the population's health conditions. The situation of sanitation services in small towns in Brazil is characterized by a serious lack of service. The present work aimed to analyze sanitation conditions in the community of Sapucaia, a rural area in the municipality of Cruz das Almas – BA, and identify public health problems related to this issue. The results obtained highlighted the deficit in the basic sanitation sector in relation to water supply, solid waste management, and a worse situation with regard to sewage services. Such precariousness in services is characterized by the lack of a clearly defined sanitation policy for small localities. The limitations observed in relation to notifications of Diseases Related to Inadequate Environmental Sanitation (DRSAI) in health units compromise its use as a management tool in the search for a better environmental health condition. More appropriate proposals for solutions for local sanitation were directed, taking into account the community's own characteristics.