Suárez-Rienda V, López-Sánchez O. [Between chemotherapies, herbalism and spiritualities: Anthropological study of therapeutic pluralism in adults with cancer in Mexico].
Rev Salud Publica (Bogota) 2023;
22:351-359. [PMID:
36753163 DOI:
10.15446/rsap.v22n3.84791]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
To analyze the characteristics of therapeutic pluralism in adult patients at a hospital Cancer Center, based on their health/illness/care-neglect trajectories.
METHODS
Analytical-explanatory, ethnographic, transversal-applied qualitative study. Data was provided by ten participants with cancer treated at the Veracruz State Cancer Center. Ethnographic records, participant observation and semi-structured interviews were carried out using observational guides, semi-structured interview guides and hospital clinical records. Participants were identified with pseudonyms for privacy and confidentiality.
RESULTS
Two main results were: 1) characterization of the diversity of therapies utilized by participants throughout their biographical trajectory related to their health/disease/care-neglect processes; 2) identification of the cultural characteristics involved in these complex processes of therapeutic plurality, closely related to the appearance of cancer.
CONCLUSION
Sociocultural aspects are interwoven with emerging therapeutic pluralities in the complex disease processes in cancer. The implications of these factors in the health/disease/care-neglect processes in cancer are manifest even before the first symptoms, in daily actions of self-care and preventive care. The mixing of therapies is an effect of the globalization characteristic of capitalist societies, in which therapeutic pluralism becomes an optimal phenomenon for commercialization and consumption.
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