Brazilian Children’s Understanding of the Quality of Life in Their Living Environment: A Qualitative Study

(1) Objective: To understand the perception of Brazilian children about the Quality of Life (QoL) considering their living environment. (2) Methods: This is a qualitative study conducted with children aged 6–10 years, from a medium-sized Brazilian municipality, recruited from public and private scho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2020-07, Vol.17 (14), p.5101
Main Authors: Oliveira, Camilla Aparecida Silva de, Vargas, Andréa Maria Duarte, Ferreira, Fernanda de Morais, Ferreira, Efigênia Ferreira e
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Age
Children
Children & youth
Content analysis
Data collection
Elementary schools
Environments
Graphical representations
Housing
Literacy
Neighborhoods
Population
Public schools
Qualitative research
Quality of life
Researchers
Responsible persons
Schools
Social environment
Socioeconomic factors
Studies
Subjectivity
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Summary:(1) Objective: To understand the perception of Brazilian children about the Quality of Life (QoL) considering their living environment. (2) Methods: This is a qualitative study conducted with children aged 6–10 years, from a medium-sized Brazilian municipality, recruited from public and private schools. An adaptation of the “draw, write, and say” method was used to collect data. At first, all children (n = 252) drew a “neighborhood with QoL”. On the same day, the researcher analyzed the graphic elements of the representations and intentionally selected the two best-detailed drawings from each class (n = 49) and the children were invited to narrate them. The narratives were analyzed through content analysis. (3) Results: Two major themes emerged from the content analysis, namely, the physical environment and social environment. The first included the needs to live in a community, such as housing, places of leisure, essential services, and natural elements. The second was relationships with family and friends. (4) Conclusion: The children presented the meaning of an environment with QoL, pointing out essential items to have this ideal environment. The social environment and the physical environment were perceived interdependently; that is, any change in one of these aspects may affect children’s QoL.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph17145101