Decodificando o universo reificado : análise de resumos científicos sobre poluição atmosférica e saúde respiratória através do método de Reinert

Abstract

The objective was to present and discuss the relevance of the contributions of social representations (SR) to understanding how studies on atmospheric pollution associated with respiratory diseases and health were consolidated in scientific publications, from 2002 to 2022, revealing how the scientific community produces practical knowledge that guides their interactions with life in society. This object of study is justified by the growing need to understand the consequences of air pollution on human health, in a context of accelerated environmental changes and intensive urbanization. The theoretical contribution of the Theory of Social Representations (TRS) and the Theory in the Central Nucleus was used to analyze the structure, communication and interpretation of scientific knowledge. The systematization methodology involved the analysis of 3,332 scientific articles taken from the ScienceDirect database, cataloged by year of publication in Atmospheric Pollution (PAT). These articles were subdivided into two categories: Pollution and Aerosols (PAE) and Pollution and Respiratory Diseases (PDR). The publications were organized into triennia and the R programming language was used for lexical analysis, together with the Rainette library. The Méthode des Mondes Lexicaux was implemented, which classified and grouped vocabulary using statistical parameters distinguishing function and content words (lexemes). As a result, we obtained a continuous and considerable increase in the number of publications, especially in the last three years, as a result of the pandemic process experienced. From 2002 to 2014, the notional field of atmosphere was prevalent in all dendrograms, being consolidated as a universe reified by lexemes and air quality manifested itself as the social representation with the greatest symbolic value, with visible concern regarding the normative pressure to the understanding and common understanding of related variables such as air pollution, aerosols and air quality monitoring. In the subsequent three years, areas emerged anchored in the interest in public health and social concern and the objectification linked to air quality as an environmental indicator, reflecting a social representation that manifests itself in more complex and in-depth studies of atmospheric components aimed at a more sophisticated understanding of impacts of pollutants on respiratory health.