As políticas públicas de enfrentamento à dengue no município de Santa Maria - RS

Abstract

Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation). This disease became even more worrying in the periods from 2019 to 2021, as the world was experiencing a terrible pandemic, called the Coronavirus (COVID-19). People infected by dengue have some symptoms similar to those of COVID-19, such as fever, headache and malaise, factors that contributed to the disease being confused with COVID-19. During the pandemic, the media focused on data on COVID-19, as a result, the Brazilian population began to give less importance to other diseases, including arboviruses (diseases caused by viruses), such as dengue, which It is a mosquito-borne viral disease. Dengue has become a recurring problem among the Brazilian population, being the subject of print and digital media, as there has been an increase in dengue cases, causing expenses for the government and loss for society. Governments, in their three areas, have public policies developed to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito (which causes dengue), which aim to guide health agents in decision-making on the control of possible disease aggravations. In view of this, the main objective of this work is to evaluate public policies to combat dengue in the municipality of Santa Maria, seeking to understand whether this problem is related to social problems, caused by the inefficiency of other public policies, such as: basic sanitation, garbage and access to information.