Chagas disease awareness and socioeconomic characteristics of Bolivian immigrants living in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract In this study, part of a research project on Chagas disease among residents of Bolivia in São Paulo, we describe socioeconomic characteristics, knowledge about the disease and access to health services. A structured questionnaire was applied to a sample of 472 Bolivian adults (> 18 years) living in São Paulo enrolled in the Barra Funda School Health Center. The median age of participants was 28.5 years, 75.0% from the Bolivian department of La Paz, who were living in São Paulo for an average of 5.8 years. Regarding knowledge about the disease and exposure to certain risk factors, 47.7% indicated familiarity with the vector, 23.9% had seen vinchuca in their homes in Bolivia and 6.4% reported having been bitten by a triatomine. The conditions of living in rural areas in Bolivia or in other department than La Paz, have a relative with illness, high school graduation and have seen or been bitten by a vinchuca were significantly associated with the knowledge of the vector. This study provides a view on migration that has important implications for the distribution of Chagas’ disease and access to health care by providing subsidies for proposing public health policies. Author summary This article expresses part of the results of a research project called “Chagas disease in a population of Bolivian immigrants in São Paulo: an analysis of the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection and morbidity of Chagas disease, knowledge of the population about the disease and access to different levels of health care”. The problem of chronic Chagas disease occurs in many countries, including those not considered endemic, as a result of population movements, mainly by immigration due to urbanization which has led to its globalization. It is now considered an emerging disease with significant potential for transmission via blood transfusions, organ transplants and congenital via, in the absence of appropriate strategies in terms of public health, as well as reactivation of chronic disease in urban centers. It’s no different this phenomenon to the city of Sao Paulo. This study analyzed the sociodemographic inserts, labor, migration and knowledge about Chagas disease and its impact on personal, family and professional life of Bolivian immigrants living in São Paulo.