Distribuição espacial e determinantes sociais de saúde na população com AIDS no Ceará

Abstract

Despite scientific advances in HIV treatment and the specific public policy for the infected population, aids represents a severe health problem that affects more vulnerable groups. Therefore, when treating HIV-positive people, the social determinants of the health-disease process need to be taken into account. The goal is to analyze the spatial distribution of aids patients in the State of Ceará, Brazil, and its association with social determinants of health. In this cross-sectional ecological study, individuals with aids aged 13 years or older were considered, who lived in Ceará and had been notified between 2001 and 2011 in the Brazilian Case Registry Database. Sociodemographic variables were used that were collected from the State Health Secretary; socioeconomic, environmental and health data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, from the Informatics Department of the Brazilian Unified Health System and from the Primary Healthcare Department. Epidemiological and social indicators were constructed based on the Theoretical Model of Social Determination suggested by Whitehead and Dahlgren. For individual data analysis, SPSS 20.0 software was employed. Tests were applied for comparison of proportions (Fisher’s exact or Pearson’s chi-square), comparison of means (Student’s t), correlation between dependent variable and its regressor variables (Pearson) and a test to verify the normality of the dependent variable (Shapiro-Wilk). Inferential analyses with ρ inferior to 0.05 were considered statistically significant. For socio-environmental and health data, geoprocessing and geo-analysis methods were used. To identify spatial clusters, the mean aids rate for the period was calculated and related to the vector map of Ceará, using the software ArcGis10.1. Spatial self-correlation was verified through Moran’s index. The Global Linear Regression Model was useful for multivariate analysis. Risk maps were constructed for the formation of aids clusters throughout the time series. Approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the State Health Secretary under protocol 203.911. Aids is increasing in Ceará, with a mostly male, adult population living in the state capital. It was observed that the epidemic is expanding among women, young people and in the interior of the state. Drugs use prevails among young people and people with low education levels. A growing trend of the disease is observed among people with seven to 11 years of education, with a statistically significant difference between the sexes. The Social Support and Specialized Health Network for aids is concentrated in the Metropolitan Region of the State. Aids clusters with high rates were verified in the Coastal Region and in areas close to the border with the State of Piauí, probably linked to tourism and migration processes. The aids rates were associated with most of the socioeconomic indicators studies. A positive relation was observed between aids and economic inequalities. An inverse association was verified between the problem and primary care. The risk of clusters was verified primarily in the hinterland of the State and a greater relative risk in cities in the Northeast of Ceará throughout the time series. As concluded, aids in Ceará is marked by areas of spatial dependence and the disparities in socioeconomic and health access conditions produce preponderant determinations for illness caused by HIV.