Bem-estar e acesso à água na perspectiva de famílias rurais

Abstract

Studies on well-being present theoretical and methodological approaches that allow the understanding of its meaning from different perspectives. Among these, subjective well-being was taken, which corresponds to a dimension of well-being that deals with the assessments that people make about their own life experiences, which involves access to various goods and resources. Thus, the objective was to analyze the relationship between access to water and subjective well-being as a principle for rural well-being. Therefore, theoretical research was carried out based on seminal authors such as: Say (1983) Vilfredo Pareto (1996), Jonh Rawls (1997), Amartya Sen (1982, 2000), Prescott-Allen (2001), Diener (1984, 2005, 2015), Guardiola, González-Gómez and Grajales (2011) among others, which deal with the well-being and subjective well-being approaches, as well as the latter's relationship with the issue of access to water. In addition, questionnaires were applied in two rural communities with similar social realities, however, with differences regarding the issue of access to water, which are: Canafístula and Pau Ferro, communities located in the municipality of Moraújo in Ceará. The research perceptions supported the construction of the Subjective Rural Well-Being Index associated with Water (IBESRA). The results show that not every situation of access to water guarantees good conditions of use and availability for those who need it, and access to inadequate concomitantly bring positive and negative consequences to the well-being of families in the rural environment. It was found that the Canafístula community has a better index of subjective well-being related to the issue of access to water, in analogy to the Pau Ferro community. In view, which presented better community organization, greater satisfaction of people in living in the place where they live, diversified actions that favor access to water, which can be governmental and non-governmental (weir, wells, tanks, water tanks, water pipes, cisterns). In addition, Canafistula families have shown more confidence in the development of their community. These issues imply a higher level of satisfaction of people with the living conditions in the place where they live, having a positive impact on local well-being. Therefore, it is suggested that other empirical research experiences be developed using methodologies such as IBESRA, in order to reveal new indicators that can contribute to the well-being of rural communities.