Abstract
The housing shortage in Brazil results from the lack of urban planning and implementation of bad housing policies. Adequate housing is a health-promoting action and is present in the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Thus, this study aims to analyze the determinants of quality of life (QOL) and the impact on the lives of those responsible for families benefiting from a social housing program, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre/RS. This is a mixed research carried out in two steps: an observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional quantitative step; a qualitative step, carried out with Bardin’s analysis of content. The methodology used for the quantitative collection includes a sociodemographic questionnaire and the WHOQOL-BREF; for qualitative collection, a structured questionnaire was used. Of the 122 families from a social housing project, 63.93% (78) responded to the quantitative survey. The qualitative research was answered by eight beneficiaries. The sociodemographic profile is 89.74% women, 51.28% single, 46.15% with incomplete elementary education, and 50% as the sole economically responsible for the family, with average family income of R$ 1,051.12 for three people per apartment. The classification, both general and in the WHOQOL-BREF domains, was of regular QOL, and the qualitative research identified that the families recognize the importance of the new home but keep good memories of the previous house. The new housing unit positively impacted the lives of those surveyed; however, intersectoral policies are needed to improve the QOL of the beneficiary public. The results show the need for complimentary health-promoting public policies, as reviewed in the theoretical references.
Keywords:
Housing; Quality of Life; Health Promotion; Vulnerable Population