Associação entre indicadores de Saúde Mental e ambientes destinados à prática de atividade física na cidade de Maringá

The objective of this article is to analyze how the areas available for the practice of physical activities and leisure can contribute to the reduction of mental health indicators, measured through the prescriptions referring to the dispensing of psychotropic drugs in the territory carried out by the teams of the Nucleus Family Health Program (NASF) distributed in Basic Health Units (UBS) in the city of Maringá-Paraná. For this, an ecological, descriptive study was used, which evaluated the existing sports centers in relation to UBSs and the dispensation of psychotropic drugs. The findings here indicate the possibility of prescribing physical activities as a complement to mental health treatment, in public environments such as sports centers, parks or gyms for the elderly. The study was limited to assessing the distance between the sports centers and the UBSs, and the dispensing of medications in these UBSs, as well as for which public this occurs. It is recommended, as a health promotion practice, that there may be interventions and deeper investigations about the prescription or not of physical activities for individuals with mental health problems.