Geography of health disparities among white and black people in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

Introduction

This article discusses the spatial disparities in health between white and black people. It begins with the trajectory of development of the global system of racial capitalism.

Objective

To investigate the existing differences between white and black people in the conditions of HIV, tuberculosis, and syphilis in the scale of health districts in the city of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul.

Method

Ecological study using secondary and public databases made available from the Municipal Health Secretariat of Porto Alegre. It includes spatial analysis, descriptive statistics, and the use of measures of association.

Results

It reveals, from the health districts, the materialization of geographies of inequalities and conditions of inequality between white and black people, which are intertwined with the historical process of occupation of the city of Porto Alegre.

Conclusion

The issue of race and color, as well as scalar research, have become powerful tools for correlating the differences in quality of life enjoyed by white and black people. In Porto Alegre there is unmistakable evidence of structural racism in health that denotes the urgency of actions in the unified health system (SUS), such as equity policies.

Keywords:
inequity; disparities; black; white; Porto Alegre