Bilingual guides: a strategy to decrease cultural barriers to health care access in the Wayuu communities of Maicao, Colombia

Abstract

The article examines the use of bilingual guides to decrease cultural barriers to health care access in the Wayuu indigenous communities of Colombia. Within a larger project on HIV carried out between 2012 and 2014, 24 interviews were conducted with key actors in the administrative and health areas, including Wayuu bilingual guides. As a result of the qualitative analysis, the study identified three cultural barriers to health care access: a) language; b) the Wayuu worldview regarding the body, health, and illness; and c) information about sexual and reproductive health and HIV not adapted to the Wayuu culture. The study identifies the bilingual guides as key actors in reducing these barriers and concludes with a discussion of the role of the guides, the tensions inherent to their work, and the complexity of their contributions as cultural mediators.

Keywords

• Salud Indígena
• Atención a la Salud
• VIH
• Equidad en el Acceso
• Asistencia Sanitaria Culturalmente Competente
• Colombia