Defesa Sanitária Animal: efeitos da educação sanitária como ferramenta de fortalecimento do setor agropecuário no município de Morros – MA

Abstract

Sanitary education is a fundamental strategy for strengthening animal health defense. As it promotes changes in attitudes and encourages the adoption of behaviors that contribute to ecosystem protection, health promotion, and disease prevention. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the effects of sanitary education on animal health defense in the municipality of Morros, Maranhão State, Brazil, based on the analysis of the level of knowledge of rural livestock farmers. This is a mixed-methods study with an exploratory and intervention-based approach, conducted with 51 livestock farmers registered with the Maranhão State Agency for Agricultural Defense (AGED-MA), and children from municipal schools. The data was collected through questionnaires applied before and after educational interventions, in addition to lectures and playful educational activities. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative interpretative analysis. The results indicated an increase in the participants’ level of knowledge regarding animal health defense and notifiable diseases. Prior to the interventions, nearly 90% of the farmers reported not being aware of official sanitary programs. After the educational actions, an increase was observed in the recognition of these programs and in the understanding of AGED’s institutional role, with the total number of mentions rising from 55 to 68. Awareness of the concept of zoonoses increased from 3 to 47 correct responses. Regarding notifiable diseases, there was an increase in mentions of rabies (from 11 to 21), tuberculosis (from 0 to 13), and Newcastle disease (from 0 to 4), as well as a reduction in the number of participants who were unable to identify such diseases (from 28 to 5). While the findings suggest that educational initiatives contribute to expanding farmers' knowledge, the sample's small size and non-probabilistic nature limit the generalizability of the results, which should be interpreted as local trends. It is concluded that sanitary education has definitively contributed to the strengthening of animal health defense defense in the municipality of Morros – MA, highlighting the relevance of continuous educational strategies within the One Health approach