THE FORMER AND NEW: EVERY HEALTH CARE OF AN ITALIAN CULTURE

Abstract

A qualitative approach was utillized in order todescribe health care practices in everyday life of people living in a rural community of Silveira Martins-RS. Those people were, in its majority, descendents of italian immigrants. Leininger and Kleinman’s anthropological views to study cultures were utilized as framework of this research. Leininger’s method of Observation-Participation-Reflection (O-P-R) was used with the purpose of understanding families ways of caring. During the development of the study a theme appeared constantly in the different sectors of the everyday life of the individuals studied: the coexistance of both the former and the new in their ways of living and caring for their health.

Keywords

• Heath Care
• Rural population
• Emigration and migration