Perceptions and practices on health-disease and death of a mother emberá chamí, an ethnographic approximation

Abstract

This article explores the perceptions about health-illness and death of an Emberá Chamí mother, a Colombian indigenous woman who experienced the illness of one of her children. The research was carried out through a qualitative interpretative type case study with an ethnographic approach. The data analysis was classified by categories and subcategories structuring the information in this way. Mother Embera Chami's perception of the concept of health, illness and death, are constructs formed through her experiences with a child with cancer, cultural beliefs, Western medicine and the process of Acculturation of her community. The present work as health professionals allowed an enriching cultural approach identifying the cultural diversity of patients in the Colombian context to which they are confronted, customs and worldview, the need to apply cross-cultural care and palliative care as an essential part of the attention of patients with chronic diseases. Understanding the situation of the other helps to broaden the perspectives of management regarding care by reaching cultural agreements that benefit the health of the indigenous population.

Keywords

• Salud
• Enfermedad
• Muerte
• Percepciones