On my visit to UPA-Rocinha (the emergency health care unit in the favela Rocinha), I learned about the different health care issues that the residents of Rocinha deal with. Rocinha isn't a pacified favela, meaning there is still drug-trafficking in the area. I didn't know it at the time, but the main substance that seems to run through the area is cocaine. Apparently, each favela/complex specializes in only particular types of drug-trafficking-- Rocinha doesn't deal with say, for example, crack-cocaine. Thus, it only makes sense that depending on the drug in the favela, different health problems/issues will arise for the residents of that area. In Rocinha, there aren't many cases of crack-abuse, and thus the UPA in Rocinha doesn't have the same facilities as the UPA in Manguinhos (where crack is trafficked good).
It was interesting to learn this, but now it's unclear to me how exactly the money is used to help the people in each UPA. Does SUS provide facilities depending on the types of health problems that are seen in the area? If they do, by providing these facilities for crack-dependents, are they really alleviating the problem?
There were quite a few brochures in all of the health clinics on smoking, dengue, and other health issues such as diabetes. But I didn't find any on drug abuse, which to me, was a little strange considering it's a health problem that should be dealth with. In addition, the health professionals in the clinics seemed to suggest that the facilities were provided for abusers if they overdosed and needed to get better, or if they were mentally unstable, etc. There wasn't much discussion on helping the patients stop abusing the drugs. Dealing with health issues related to drug trafficking is a tricky issue, but I'd like to know---culturally, at least-- how to approach this issue in Brazil. What form of communication do they find best to bring up discussions on these topics? A face to face conversation? Pamphlets? Videos?
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