Farmers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Extreme Environmental Changes on Their Health: A Study in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil
People living in areas vulnerable to diseases caused by extreme climate change events, such as semiarid regions, tend to recognize them quickly and, consequently, develop strategies to cope with their effects. Our study investigated the perception of diseases by farmers living in the semiarid region...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Environmental Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.735595/full |
| _version_ | 1818976030436622336 |
|---|---|
| author | Henrique Fernandes Magalhães Henrique Fernandes Magalhães Ivanilda Soares Feitosa Ivanilda Soares Feitosa Elcida de Lima Araújo Elcida de Lima Araújo Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque |
| author_facet | Henrique Fernandes Magalhães Henrique Fernandes Magalhães Ivanilda Soares Feitosa Ivanilda Soares Feitosa Elcida de Lima Araújo Elcida de Lima Araújo Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque |
| author_sort | Henrique Fernandes Magalhães |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | People living in areas vulnerable to diseases caused by extreme climate change events, such as semiarid regions, tend to recognize them quickly and, consequently, develop strategies to cope with their effects. Our study investigated the perception of diseases by farmers living in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil and the adaptive strategies locally developed and used. To this end, the effect of the incidence and severity of locally perceived diseases on the frequency of adaptive responses adopted by the farmers was tested. The research was conducted in rural communities in the Pernambuco State, Northeastern Region of Brazil. Semi-structured interviews with 143 farmers were conducted to collect information about major drought and rainfall events, the perceived diseases related to these events, and the adaptive strategies developed to mitigate them. The incidence and severity of diseases perceived by farmers were calculated using the Participatory Risk Mapping method and the frequency of adaptive strategies. Our findings demonstrated that few climate change-related diseases were frequently mentioned by farmers, indicating low incidence rates. Among them, direct transmission diseases were the most frequently mentioned. Adaptive strategies to deal with the mentioned diseases related to prophylactic behavior were less mentioned, except if already utilized. Our model demonstrated that incidence was the only explanatory variable with a significant impact on the adaptive strategies used to deal with the effects of these risks on health. Our findings suggest that the estimated incidence of diseases should be considered in the development of predictive climate change models for government policy measures for the public health security of populations in areas of greater socio-environmental vulnerability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T16:05:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9542a248c4e54b16a9a50f761caca572 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-665X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T16:05:22Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Environmental Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-9542a248c4e54b16a9a50f761caca5722022-12-21T19:34:11ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2022-01-01910.3389/fenvs.2021.735595735595Farmers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Extreme Environmental Changes on Their Health: A Study in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern BrazilHenrique Fernandes Magalhães0Henrique Fernandes Magalhães1Ivanilda Soares Feitosa2Ivanilda Soares Feitosa3Elcida de Lima Araújo4Elcida de Lima Araújo5Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque6Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque7Programa de Pós-Graduação em Etnobiologia e Conservação da Natureza, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, BrazilLaboratório de Ecologia e Evolução de Sistemas Socioecológicos, Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Etnobiologia e Conservação da Natureza, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, BrazilLaboratório de Ecologia e Evolução de Sistemas Socioecológicos, Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Etnobiologia e Conservação da Natureza, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, BrazilLaboratório de Ecologia e Evolução de Sistemas Socioecológicos, Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Etnobiologia e Conservação da Natureza, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, BrazilLaboratório de Ecologia e Evolução de Sistemas Socioecológicos, Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, BrazilPeople living in areas vulnerable to diseases caused by extreme climate change events, such as semiarid regions, tend to recognize them quickly and, consequently, develop strategies to cope with their effects. Our study investigated the perception of diseases by farmers living in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil and the adaptive strategies locally developed and used. To this end, the effect of the incidence and severity of locally perceived diseases on the frequency of adaptive responses adopted by the farmers was tested. The research was conducted in rural communities in the Pernambuco State, Northeastern Region of Brazil. Semi-structured interviews with 143 farmers were conducted to collect information about major drought and rainfall events, the perceived diseases related to these events, and the adaptive strategies developed to mitigate them. The incidence and severity of diseases perceived by farmers were calculated using the Participatory Risk Mapping method and the frequency of adaptive strategies. Our findings demonstrated that few climate change-related diseases were frequently mentioned by farmers, indicating low incidence rates. Among them, direct transmission diseases were the most frequently mentioned. Adaptive strategies to deal with the mentioned diseases related to prophylactic behavior were less mentioned, except if already utilized. Our model demonstrated that incidence was the only explanatory variable with a significant impact on the adaptive strategies used to deal with the effects of these risks on health. Our findings suggest that the estimated incidence of diseases should be considered in the development of predictive climate change models for government policy measures for the public health security of populations in areas of greater socio-environmental vulnerability.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.735595/fullclimate changesemi-aridsmallholder—farming sectordisease perceptionadaptive strategies |
| spellingShingle | Henrique Fernandes Magalhães Henrique Fernandes Magalhães Ivanilda Soares Feitosa Ivanilda Soares Feitosa Elcida de Lima Araújo Elcida de Lima Araújo Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque Farmers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Extreme Environmental Changes on Their Health: A Study in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil Frontiers in Environmental Science climate change semi-arid smallholder—farming sector disease perception adaptive strategies |
| title | Farmers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Extreme Environmental Changes on Their Health: A Study in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil |
| title_full | Farmers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Extreme Environmental Changes on Their Health: A Study in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil |
| title_fullStr | Farmers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Extreme Environmental Changes on Their Health: A Study in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Farmers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Extreme Environmental Changes on Their Health: A Study in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil |
| title_short | Farmers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Extreme Environmental Changes on Their Health: A Study in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil |
| title_sort | farmers perceptions of the effects of extreme environmental changes on their health a study in the semiarid region of northeastern brazil |
| topic | climate change semi-arid smallholder—farming sector disease perception adaptive strategies |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.735595/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT henriquefernandesmagalhaes farmersperceptionsoftheeffectsofextremeenvironmentalchangesontheirhealthastudyinthesemiaridregionofnortheasternbrazil AT henriquefernandesmagalhaes farmersperceptionsoftheeffectsofextremeenvironmentalchangesontheirhealthastudyinthesemiaridregionofnortheasternbrazil AT ivanildasoaresfeitosa farmersperceptionsoftheeffectsofextremeenvironmentalchangesontheirhealthastudyinthesemiaridregionofnortheasternbrazil AT ivanildasoaresfeitosa farmersperceptionsoftheeffectsofextremeenvironmentalchangesontheirhealthastudyinthesemiaridregionofnortheasternbrazil AT elcidadelimaaraujo farmersperceptionsoftheeffectsofextremeenvironmentalchangesontheirhealthastudyinthesemiaridregionofnortheasternbrazil AT elcidadelimaaraujo farmersperceptionsoftheeffectsofextremeenvironmentalchangesontheirhealthastudyinthesemiaridregionofnortheasternbrazil AT ulyssespaulinoalbuquerque farmersperceptionsoftheeffectsofextremeenvironmentalchangesontheirhealthastudyinthesemiaridregionofnortheasternbrazil AT ulyssespaulinoalbuquerque farmersperceptionsoftheeffectsofextremeenvironmentalchangesontheirhealthastudyinthesemiaridregionofnortheasternbrazil |