Capture-recapture to estimate the number of street children in a city in Brazil.
| Autor: | Gurgel RQ; Nucleus for Postgraduate Medicine, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil., da Fonseca JD, Neyra-Castañeda D, Gill GV, Cuevas LE |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Zdroj: | Archives of disease in childhood [Arch Dis Child] 2004 Mar; Vol. 89 (3), pp. 222-4. |
| DOI: | 10.1136/adc.2002.023481 |
| Abstrakt: | Background: Street children are an increasing problem in Latin America. It is however difficult to estimate the number of children in the street as this is a highly mobile population. Aims: To estimate the number of street children in Aracaju, northeast Brazil, and describe the characteristics of this population. Methods: Three independent lists of street children were constructed from a non-governmental organisation and cross-sectional surveys. The number of street children was estimated using the capture-recapture method. The characteristics of the children were recorded during the surveys. Results: The estimated number of street children was 1456. The estimated number of street children before these surveys was 526, although non-official estimates suggested that there was a much larger population. Most street children are male, maintain contact with their families, and are attending school. Children contribute to the family budget a weekly average of R21.2 dollars (4.25 pounds sterling, 6.0 euros, US7.5 dollars) for boys and R17.7 dollars(3.55 pounds sterling, 5.0 euros, US6.3 dollars) for girls. Conclusion: Street children of Aracaju have similar characteristics to street children from other cities in Brazil. The capture-recapture method could be a useful method to estimate the size of this highly mobile population. The major advantage of the method is its reproducibility, which makes it more acceptable than estimates from interested parties. |
| Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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