Exploring the correlation between sanitation standards and school performance in Brazil: a clustering analysis

Sanitation and education are two critical areas requiring immediate attention and improvement in Brazil. By increasing investments in these sectors, we can enhance the population's overall well-being through improved education and health outcomes. When students face health issues, it becomes challenging for them to succeed academically, as they may experience hospitalizations, difficulties concentrating due to illness, and even absences from classes. Although various factors can contribute to illness, this paper specifically focuses on diseases resulting from inadequate sanitation conditions. The primary objective of this research is to examine the correlation between sanitation standards and academic performance indices, considering sanitation, education, and health indicators. This research explores both positive and negative correlations, going deeper into the states’ clustering based on these indexes and their correlations. The data collected in this study are sourced from prominent government databases, namely the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics [IBGE], Anísio Teixeira National Institute for Educational Study and Research [INEP], and the Unified Health System [SUS], covering the period from 2010 to 2020. Results indicate a clear link between inadequate sanitation standards and higher rates of hospitalization, or low sanitation rates and poorer school performance indexes.