Bad air in Ecuador

  • Juan Pablo Albán Pinto Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
  • Diego Paúl Vaca Cazares Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
  • María Fernanda Tobar Bejarano Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
  • Bertha Margarita Cabezas Godoy Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
  • Kevin Steven Miranda Suárez Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
  • Irina Nicole Barragán Cisneros Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
  • Miguel Ochoa-Andrade Ecuador Central University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.16921/pfr.v8i1.265
Keywords: bad air, traditional medicine, western medicine, social representations, culture

Abstract

Introduction: Bad air is considered one of the diseases caused by evil spirits with affection in various parts of the body, causing pain or discomfort. The understanding of this term as a disease is the importance of the present study.

Objective: To characterize the worldview and social representations of bad air in the rural areas of Pujilí and Esmeraldas, through ethnographic research.

Materials and Methods: Qualitative study of an ethnographic nature, carried out through the application of interviews in the general population, information was collected from people between 20 and 50 years of age suffering from "bad air", carried out in rural areas of Pujilí and Esmeraldas.

Results: The general population defines this condition as a disease caused by passing abandoned places, cemeteries where bad things have happened, and doctors as a traditional belief, with the agreement of expression of symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, headache, but each one from different positions.

Conclusions: The importance of the social representations of bad air is a disease affecting rural populations, with direct separation from Western medicine because it is not a biomedical disease.

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Published
2023-03-30
How to Cite
1.
Albán Pinto JP, Vaca Cazares DP, Tobar Bejarano MF, Cabezas Godoy BM, Miranda Suárez KS, Barragán Cisneros IN, Ochoa-Andrade M. Bad air in Ecuador. PFR [Internet]. 2023Mar.30 [cited 2024Nov.21];8(1):e-265. Available from: https://practicafamiliarrural.org/index.php/pfr/article/view/265
Issue
Vol. 8 No. 1 (2023): Medicine 3.0
Section
Artículos Originales

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