[Juvenile homicides and informal work in a Brazilian city in the Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina tri-border area].

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the spatial distribution of juvenile homicide mortality for males in the city of Foz do Iguaçu (state of Paraná), located in the Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina tri-border area, between 2000 and 2007.

METHODS

The data were obtained from the Ministry of Health's Mortality Information System (SIM) and the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE). Spatial analysis of 873 deaths distributed in 11 demographic expansion areas (AEDs) was performed using ArcGIS® 9.2 and GeoDaTM software.

RESULTS

A negative spatial autocorrelation was observed (I = -0.3563; P = 0.0250), indicating high, but dissimilar, homicide rates in all AEDs. Of 14 socioeconomic indicators analyzed, a negative (I = -0.2574; P = 0.0360) and positive (I = 0.2574; P = 0.0310) spatial autocorrelation was recorded for informal and formal work, respectively, indicating that the higher the number of informal jobs in a specific AED, the lower the homicide rate in neighboring AEDs. We identified a high rate of juvenile homicides, informal jobs, and importation of juvenile homicide victims from other AEDs into AED 6, located near the Paraguayan border.

CONCLUSIONS

The high rate of juvenile homicides in some areas of Foz do Iguaçu is influenced by the high rate of informal occupations. This points to a serious social problem; namely, unemployment associated with lack of professional training.