Bringing together researchers from Unicamp, the Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning (Cebrap) and the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), the research "Effects of isolation and social distance policies related to Covid-19 on the lives of vulnerable Brazilian families " began to be applied in the country. The coordinator, at Unicamp, is the professor of the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH) Taniele Cristina Rui.
The professor explains that the study involves a qualitative and quantitative profile of families living in peripheral areas of the cities of Campinas (SP), São Paulo (SP), Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Altamira (PA). The focus is to understand how policies related to the pandemic, such as isolation and social distancing, affect families' daily lives. To this end, the researchers will observe and monitor family dynamics, addressing topics such as the inflow and outflow of money and food, situations of illness (related or not to Covid-19), social contacts made and the sources of information about the pandemic. .
The methodology encompasses a questionnaire administered periodically to all members of the family unit. “We will accompany the families for three months. We talk to these families every week on the phone to see, week by week, how they are doing. If someone got sick, if they lost their job, if emergency aid fell, among other points”, explains Taniele.
There will be a number of 16 families accompanied in Brazil. In the other countries involved in the research - Chile, China, South Korea, India and Haiti - the methodology and questionnaire applied will be the same, in order to enable a comparative approach. “The idea is to do something very in-depth. We take a family unit and, on one hand, we have very detailed information about it. On the other hand, we will be able to think about it in comparison with other countries in the world”, she observes.
The study is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), in the United States. The researchers' expectation is that the research, in addition to seeking to understand how policies related to Covid-19 affect the lives and daily lives of vulnerable families, can inform public policies to guarantee the social rights of families with this profile in Brazil.
