Males diarreicos en la costa ecuatoriana: cambios socioambientales y concepciones de salud

Abstract

The authors present an ethnoepidemiological study of diarrheal illnesses in 21 communities on the northern coast of Ecuador, where numerous social and environmental changes have taken place since 2001 due to a new highway. As communities realize that nature itself is changing, changes occur in their interpretations of health and disease, which the authors present through a taxonomic classification of diarrheal illnesses. Given the high incidence of diarrheal diseases, alternative concepts have emerged (as compared to those of biomedicine) in relation to causes, symptoms, and treatments. The non-biomedical and biomedical systems overlap, with mixtures of coexistence and resistance. Recognizing this reality means understanding a series of challenges for the official health system, including the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, non-use of health services for some diseases, and perceived relations between environmental contamination and the efficacy of modern and traditional medicines.

Gut microbiome, enteric infections and child growth across a rural–urban gradient: protocol for the ECoMiD prospective cohort study

“…[51][52][53] Diarrhoea incidence Variables associated with the child's diarrhoea are collected through weekly surveys, administered either through household visits or telephone calls. These include (1) caregiver-reported symptomatic diarrheal disease (defined as 3 or more loose stools in a 24-hour period 54 ), (2) caregiver's perception of diarrhoea using locally relevant terms, 55 (3) features of diarrheal severity, 56 57 such as caregiver-reported dysentery, vomiting and fever and (4) antibiotic usage.…”

Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas asociados a diarrea aguda en la zona norte de Bucaramanga. Estudio observacional analítico, 2014 - 2015

“…Los signos de alarma para consulta inmediata a los servicios de salud más comúnmente identificados fueron la duración de la diarrea por más de 24 horas, fiebre de 39 grados centígrados o más y la intolerancia a la vía oral, a diferencia de los signos de deshidratación. Este desconocimiento del cuidador sobre signos de deshidratación se ha relacionado como un factor de riesgo en muerte por diarrea 21,22,23 . En otro estudio realizado por Lapeira, Acosta refiere que el 14,9% reconoce los ojos hundidos como principal signo de alarma lo cual está relacionado de igual manera con un mayor riesgo de muerte.…”

The Bumpy Road to Universal Health Coverage: Access to Primary and Emergency Care in Rural Tropical Ecuador

“…Traditional practices are dynamic and change with the changing natural environment and society (Trostle et al 2010). Traditional and allopathic ('Western') medicine are not exclusive choices for treatment, but rather different options which in many occasions get used complementary (Knipper 2001;Trostle et al 2010). Treatments have to be paid OOP and can be expensive.…”

“…herbalists (hierbateros), healers (curanderos), bone healers (sobadores), visionaries (yachak) and market vendors selling medicinal herbs. Members of the general population also have knowledge about traditional medicine and some practice it (Andrade, Lucero Mosquera & Armijos 2017;Bussmann & Sharon 2006;Trostle et al 2010). This is the case in rural North-Western Ecuador as well and population based studies need to be sensitive about practices of traditional medicine.…”

“…Such choices need to be respected by practitioners of allopathic medicine, as the country's constitution clearly protects it (Asamblea Constituyente 2008). However, besides mere acceptance (Trostle et al 2010) active cooperation between traditional and modern medical providers is desirable and has been shown to work (Calvet-Mir, Reyes-García & Tanner 2008).…”