Abstract
This article analyzes the use of medicines and related perceptions among Guaraní Indians on the coast of Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The ethnographic research included participant observation, open and semi-structured interviews, and household surveys. Analyzing six months of prescriptions from 2008, 458 medicines were prescribed in 236 medical consultations, featuring cough and cold preparations, analgesics, and anti-helminthics, among drugs. In the three household surveys, analgesics and cough and cold preparations were the most frequently found in 2006 and 2007, while drugs for anemia were the most common in 2008. The Guaraní mainly used the primary healthcare services for colds, coughs, and diarrhea, and their practices also included turning to the shaman and self-care with medicines and herbal remedies, recognizing the efficacy of medicines and evaluating the treatment according to their experiences and their conceptions of the health-disease-care process. The study indicates the need for dialogue between professionals and users, linking the various forms of health knowledge.
Highlights
This article analyzes the use of medicines and related perceptions among Guaraní Indians on the coast of Santa Catarina State, Brazil
Analyzing six months of prescriptions from 2008, 458 medicines were prescribed in 236 medical consultations, featuring cough and cold preparations, analgesics, and anti-helminthics, among drugs
The Guaraní mainly used the primary healthcare services for colds, coughs, and diarrhea, and their practices included turning to the shaman and self-care with medicines and herbal remedies, recognizing the efficacy of medicines and evaluating the treatment according to their experiences and their conceptions of the health-disease-care process
Summary
A pesquisa de campo foi realizada em uma aldeia Guaraní, nos meses de março a maio de 2006 e de agosto de 2007 a junho de 2008, totalizando 103 dias. Foram anotados os nomes dos índios (e a idade quando presentes) e dos medicamentos (incluindo dosagem, quantidade prescrita, posologia e data da prescrição). Esses dados foram obtidos em três períodos: março a maio de 2006; agosto a dezembro de 2007; e abril a junho de 2008. Para as questões relativas ao uso e percepções de medicamentos e/ou recursos com propriedades terapêuticas, foram utilizadas a observação participante e as entrevistas abertas e/ou semi-estruturadas, estas últimas gravadas após o consentimento do entrevistado e assinatura do TCLE. Todos os procedimentos legais que envolvem os aspectos éticos e a permissão para entrada em Terra Indígena foram cumpridos: aprovações no Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa com Seres Humanos da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
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