RESUMO
The article results from a qualitative research on the perception of health of the Guarany Mbyá ethnic group held in 3 villages in the South of Brazil. The cultural characteristics of the group were surveyed in the literature, observed in fieldwork and confirmed in the 20 open interviews conducted with community members and health professionals from the National Health Foundation (FUNASA), responsible for the basic assistance to the villages. The results show that the Mbyá consider the cultural shock with the surrounding society the main factor of illness, emphasizing the importance of preserving and enhancing their traditional way of living for maintaining the health of individuals and communities. The data allow to associate their health representations to the land and social justice problems experienced by the groups. They point to the importance of improving the training of the technical health staff, specifically related to the understanding of the inter-ethnic differences between the Mbyá and Western culture to ensure the effectiveness of treatments and programs. The analyses also highlights positive and negative aspects of the operationalization of health care in the villages and in the final considerations are given suggestions aiming its improvement.
Assuntos
Atitude Frente a Saúde , Características Culturais , Atenção à Saúde , Indígenas Sul-Americanos , Brasil , HumanosRESUMO
O artigo resulta de pesquisa qualitativa sobre a percepção de saúde da etnia Guarani Mbyá, realizada em três aldeias no Rio Grande do Sul e uma em Santa Catarina. As características culturais da etnia foram pesquisadas na literatura, observadas no trabalho de campo e confirmadas nas vinte entrevistas abertas realizadas com membros das comunidades e profissionais de saúde da Fundação Nacional de Saúde (Funasa) que responde pela assistência básica às aldeias. Os resultados mostram que os Mbyá consideram o choque cultural com a sociedade envolvente o principal fator de adoecimento, enfatizando a importância de preservar e valorizar seu modo de vida tradicional para a manutenção da saúde de indivíduos e coletividades. Os dados permitem associar suas representações sobre saúde aos problemas fundiários e de justiça social vivenciados pelos grupos. Apontam a importância de aprimorar a formação dos quadros técnicos de saúde, especificamente no que diz respeito à compreensão das diferenças interétnicas entre a cultura Mbyá e ocidental para garantir a efetividade de tratamentos e programas. A análise ressalta ainda aspectos positivos e negativos na operacionalização da assistência à saúde nas aldeias e, nas considerações finais, são apresentadas sugestões para seu aprimoramento.
The article results from a qualitative research on the perception of health of the Guarany Mbyá ethnic group held in 3 villages in the South of Brazil. The cultural characteristics of the group were surveyed in the literature, observed in fieldwork and confirmed in the 20 open interviews conducted with community members and health professionals from the National Health Foundation (FUNASA), responsible for the basic assistance to the villages. The results show that the Mbyá consider the cultural shock with the surrounding society the main factor of illness, emphasizing the importance of preserving and enhancing their traditional way of living for maintaining the health of individuals and communities. The data allow to associate their health representations to the land and social justice problems experienced by the groups. They point to the importance of improving the training of the technical health staff, specifically related to the understanding of the inter-ethnic differences between the Mbyá and Western culture to ensure the effectiveness of treatments and programs. The analyses also highlights positive and negative aspects of the operationalization of health care in the villages and in the final considerations are given suggestions aiming its improvement.