The Health of Amerindians in the Cities: Interface Between State and Non-State Activities

Abstract

The Brazilian Amerindian population is close to 800,000 subjects or 0.4% of the entire population of Brazil. Although most live on Indigenous Land (IL), many inhabit town areas. The health of indigenous populations should always be underscored since their rates are always worse than those of other segments of the population. Current descriptive, exploratory, quantitative and qualitative research qualifies health attention to indigenous artisans in Maringá PR Brazil and analyzes the Amerindians’ health within an urban context. The subjects are the Brazilian Indian population enrolled at the Indigene Association of Maringá (Assindi) and, in a particular way, those who are registered for attention within the municipal management system for hospital and basic health attendance. Data analysis provided a general survey on the subjects’ profile, a description of attendance and insertion of Amerindians within the health system of Maringá. Results show that there is no differential attention to indigenous artisans even within the context of the great difficulties undergone by these populations. Data indicate that the theme should be considered as central in public policies and should become a source of debate on assistance and health formation with the aim at underscoring the indistinct right to health as a constitutional right to all Brazilians.