The Health of Women Living in Rural Settlements: The Women of the Mandacaru Settlement

Abstract

The health of women living in rural settlements in Brazil goes through a diversity of situations that requires intensity and dedication, as it goes through the struggle for land, housing, survival. These women struggle for space, autonomy, work, and their health care practices are strongly aligned with these processes. Thus, the objective of this research was to understand how these women live in the Mandacaru Settlement and the relationship between their experiences and life experiences and health. This is a qualitative research with ethnographic approach through immersion in the field and using the technique of participant observation. The analyses were performed from the interpretative analysis. These women seek to carry out their care practices within a logic that permeates work, the struggle for land and autonomy as women farmers and rural workers.