Indigenous populations show high prevalence rates of mental disorders and limited access to mental health services. The aim of this study was to analyze the mental health care trajectories of indigenous youth living in the Metropolitan Area of Oaxaca, Mexico. Between May and August 2023, we conducted a qualitative study involving non-participant observation, in-depth interviews with seven indigenous youth, and semi-structured interviews with nine health professionals, healers, or leaders of mutual support groups. We identified processes, not exempt of tensions, in how these young people perceive themselves as both young and indigenous, in the development of their mental disorders, and in the ways they seek treatment. Their care involved the use of psychological and psychiatric services, mutual support groups, and, to a limited extent, traditional medicine. This study concludes that these dynamics are interwoven and amplified by interpersonal, institutional and epistemic racism, which must be dismantled to improve the mental health of indigenous youth.

This article analyzes the impact of psychotropic drug use on individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, and severe depression in Chile. Using a qualitative narrative approach, the experiences of 25 patients from 2018 to 2021 are examined. Participants describe how these medications, while effective in symptom control, generate psychological suffering and a sense of coercion in daily life. The results reveal that prolonged use of psychotropic drugs leads to significant side effects, including physical, cognitive, and social deterioration, as well as a persistent sense of dependence on these medications. Furthermore, the article critiques the medicalization of mental disorders within modern psychiatry, where the biomedical approach predominates, reducing human distress to a neurochemical problem and disregarding social factors. The study concludes that while psychotropic drugs can stabilize patients, they also perpetuate forms of control and suffering.

The use of psychotropic drugs has become a public health issue due to their high consumption worldwide. In the context of traditional populations, the literature on the use of these medications is scarce. This study presents a descriptive analysis of psychotropic drug use among Indigenous and Quilombola communities in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas, and Piauí in Brazil. Data collection was conducted between March and June 2023 using two structured questionnaires with closed-ended questions applied during home visits. These questionnaires gathered sociodemographic profiles of the Indigenous and Quilombola communities and general psychotropic drug usage. Out of 335 individuals from the four states who responded to the questionnaires on general psychotropic drug use, 53 reported using these medications. The users were predominantly adult women with low educational attainment, older age, low income, and reliance on social programs. Antidepressants were the most commonly used therapeutic class. The study concludes that economic and social vulnerability is likely a significant factor in the social determinants of psychological distress and psychotropic drug use.

This study aims to analyze the configuration of inequalities in one of Argentina's most significant production zones for fresh vegetables and cut flowers, located in Greater La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. This ongoing anthropological research, initiated in 2021, employs methods such as participant observation, interviews, food mapping, and digital ethnography. Among the main findings, we highlight that this production zone exhibits, in both its origins and daily operations, certain racist dynamics that are not solely generated by the host society toward migrants but are disseminated throughout the social fabric, including by migrant producers themselves. Positive valuations of ultra-processed foods by those living and working in the area reflect the importance of belonging to the host society, running parallel to strategies for preserving food preparations from before migration. These include the recreation of a "food identity" and the proliferation of "legumbrerías" (legume shops) and "paisano eateries" (restaurants serving traditional food). These transformations are intertwined with the productive changes migrants have experienced, shifting from peasant economies in their places of origin to intensive production in Greater La Plata.

This article discusses the experience of a permanent health education initiative focused on institutional racism with health professionals from the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) holding management positions in a municipality in the interior of Bahia, in Northeastern Brazil. A workshop was held in September 2022, based on a problematizing methodology called the Maguerez Arc, conducted by residents of the Multiprofessional Family Health Program. Ten managers participated in the workshop, most of whom were women. Despite acknowledging the presence and impact of racism in health services, managers find it challenging to recognize and address racism in its institutional dimension. A recurring discourse aligned with the myth of racial democracy was notable, and a higher level of commitment among Black women was observed throughout the workshop. Permanent health education emerges as an essential strategy to combat racism, necessary to expand such discussions within health services.

This article explores the life and work of Jeremiah Noah Morris (1910-2009), a pioneer in social epidemiology. Morris advocated for a social interpretation of health and disease, emphasizing the impact of social inequalities on morbidity and mortality. His work, Uses of epidemiology, promoted the study of chronic diseases from a population-based perspective. He contributed to the development of the Black report in 1980, which highlighted health inequalities in the United Kingdom, and to the concept of a "minimum income for a healthy life." His research linked physical activity to the prevention of coronary diseases, and he championed the role of community physicians in public health care. Morris saw epidemiology as a historical science oriented towards solving practical problems, and in doing so he showed an openness to other knowledge, including researchers from different disciplines, which allowed him to approach the complexity of social problems. This article reviews his contributions and key debates, addressing the relevance of his ideas in today's context and the apparent neglect of his legacy in modern epidemiology.

The aim was to investigate and analyze the social, health, and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Indigenous communities in the province of Catamarca (Argentina), while also identifying the various strategies developed by these communities to address this phenomenon. The research was conducted between December 2021 and December 2022, with an exploratory nature and a predominantly qualitative methodological design. During the fieldwork, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with community authorities, community members, territorial technicians, and health workers, complemented by 30 structured interviews with individuals from different communities in the Santa María Department. Although tensions between the official health system and Indigenous communities (with their worldviews and ancestral practices) are evident, the importance of community self-management and territorial control over Indigenous organizational processes is also observed in health prevention and care actions, as well as in establishing dialogues and negotiations with local health authorities regarding the implementation of measures in the territories.

Physiotherapy rehabilitation must address the cultural preferences of the population, and as its main tool, physical activity should be analyzed from an intercultural health approach. This study aims to characterize the experiences of physical therapy care related to physical activity from an intercultural perspective. Using a qualitative approach, between June 2021 and March 2023, eight semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with adult Mapuche individuals, professionals in the field, and workers from the Indigenous Health Program in primary care centers in an urban municipality in Santiago, Chile. There are challenges to implementing interculturality, such as the gap between health programs, lack of professional training, and discrimination against the Mapuche community. In rehabilitation services, particularly in physical activity practices as a treatment strategy for Mapuche individuals, cultural relevance is limited or nonexistent.

The aim of this study, based on health care and social learning theories, is to understand the degree of implementation and reach of the "Brief Anti-Alcohol Counseling in Pediatric Age" protocol, a preventive intervention addressing alcohol consumption among minors within the Health Service of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Using a qualitative methodology, based on thirteen semi-structured interviews conducted in June 2022, the study analyzes the development of the protocol, the perceptions of pediatric service professionals regarding its implementation, and their cultural representations of alcohol consumption within the Asturian and Spanish context. The results reveal limited reach due to the heterogeneity in its application and the difficulty in measuring its impact compared to other areas of pediatric health. Furthermore, the importance of the educational and caregiving dimensions of the pediatric and nursing areas is emphasized, as well as the need for a comprehensive approach that involves families and other institutions to improve alcohol consumption prevention from an early age.

Adherence to psychopharmacological treatment essentially involves a process of meaning-making. The objective of this study was to explore the experience of people undergoing chronic psychiatric treatment from the patients' perspective. In 2018, using the photovoice methodology, four sessions were conducted with the participation of 11 individuals from a community school in a socially marginalized neighborhood of a southeastern Spanish city, some of whom were also users of a social rehabilitation and integration center and a day center. Participants took and selected 41 photographs under the premise: "Photograph your experience regarding health and medication." A categorization of the emerging narratives was carried out during a dialogical session between participants and researchers, which was recorded for subsequent transcription and analysis. The experiences were divided into two major symbolic themes that seek to give therapeutic meaning to medication: one of conflict and the other of motivation.

This essay explores the affective maps or emotional archives of racialized communities in Spain, specifically focusing on the Caribbean Afro-diaspora in Madrid. It questions how migratory grief is prescribed by the government without taking into account the colonial wound, racial trauma, and the geopolitics of emotions, while delving into everyday structural racism. Drawing from decolonial theory and Black feminism, as well as narrative healing practices created by migrant collectives, qualitative research was conducted during the period 2023-2024, involving 25 in-depth interviews and two group workshops with the participation of 15 anti-racist activists. After an introduction framed by an autobiographical narrative within the anti-racist conversation, key aspects of the notion of migratory grief are highlighted, associating it with the colonial wound. Subsequently, some characteristics of memory as geographies of abandonment are emphasized. Finally, I turn to the notion of imagination, in the form of collective daydreams or fantasies that activate the hope of transcending the borders of European racism. The article builds bridges between community health, an intercultural perspective, and anti-racism.

Dengue is a disease that constitutes a public health problem difficult to control due to the multidimensionality of associated factors and the particularities of the territories. This article analyzes the notion of family empowerment related to the prevention and control of dengue in Córdoba, Colombia. From July to October 2023, using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 family groups located in the municipalities of San Andrés de Sotavento, San Bernardo del Viento, Pueblo Nuevo, and Montería, selected for being indigenous, Afro-descendant, or rural and urban populations in vulnerable conditions. The results show that families, beyond their particular arrangements in terms of structure and dynamics, are aware of their role in the prevention and control of diseases, identifying the capacities required to face dengue. However, they reproduce narratives of conceptual and power dominance that assign a greater commitment on the part of educational and health agents to promote alternatives that contribute to reducing the risks of dengue. The challenges that must be faced for effective family empowerment are discussed, so that prevention practices gain greater strength.

The experience of homelessness is associated with strong stigmatization processes, which are often reflected in the treatment received from professionals and the healthcare system itself. This article aims to analyze the experiences of participants in a program for homeless individuals in Barcelona called Primer la Llar within the healthcare system, and how the stigma they suffer affects the care processes. This program follows the Housing First model, a social intervention that proposes providing housing without preconditions to individuals with long histories of street living, who suffer from severe mental disorders and/or addictions. Based on individual interviews with 20 participants conducted between 2016 and 2020, it is observed that in certain cases, entering the program, having housing availability, support from professionals, and the development of their own strategies had positive effects on improving their health, although they continue to perceive discriminatory attitudes in some medical settings. It is suggested that the transformation regarding stigmatization be understood broadly, affecting individuals, institutions, and society as a whole.

The purpose of this paper is to delve into the ethical aspects experienced by the healthcare team when they receive the directive to limit therapeutic effort or a do-not-resuscitate order. From an interpretative, qualitative paradigm with a content analysis approach, a process based on three phases was conducted: pre-analysis in which categories were identified, the projection of the analysis, and inductive analysis. During 2023, interviews were conducted in the clinical setting of a high-complexity hospital in Chile with 56 members of the healthcare teams from critical and emergency units, from which four categories emerged: a) the risk of violating patients' rights by using do-not-resuscitate orders and limiting therapeutic effort; b) the gap in the interpretation of the legal framework addressing the care and attention of patients at the end of life or with terminal illnesses by the healthcare team; c) ethical conflicts in end-of-life care; and d) efficient care versus holistic care in patients with terminal illness. There are significant gaps in bioethics training and aspects of a good death in healthcare teams facing the directive to limit therapeutic effort and not resuscitate. It is suggested to train personnel and work on a consensus guide to address the ethical aspects of a good death.

A whole series of processes lead to the decrease in the use of traditional medicine by the indigenous peoples of Mexico, including the reduction in the number of traditional healers and the direct and indirect expansion of biomedicine. This essay addresses the central role these processes play in the relations of hegemony/subalternity that occur in different fields of reality, and especially in the health-illness-care-prevention processes, given that counter-hegemonic processes are not generated, or those that do arise have been ineffective in confronting social hegemony in general and biomedical hegemony in particular.

The availability of medications to induce abortion, especially in contexts of restricted access, has transformed practices and allowed women and/or their community organizations to assist other women in obtaining abortions, whether or not they interact with the healthcare system. This study recovers the experience of a feminist community organization that, from the province of Neuquén, extends throughout the country, creating a network of community care. An exploratory descriptive study with a qualitative approach was conducted to analyze the experiences of women who facilitate access to permitted abortion in Argentina. Through in-depth interviews with three leaders of the feminist collective La Revuelta and semi-structured interviews with 33 members of the socorrista groups, conducted between November 2019 and December 2020, we describe their history and processes of work and growth; we explore their motivations and feelings and characterize the interactions of these organizations with public and private health systems. The results of this work align with the international conversation and bibliographic production about these organizations and their particularities, and with the need to incorporate these forms of care into institutional health systems.

We reconstruct the life path of the Argentine nurse and popular activist Irma Carrica, understood as a political-professional experience tied to her social networks and marked by conflicts and contradictions inherent to her historical context. From this analytical perspective and considering the precautions suggested by the biographical method of social sciences, we delve into the political and health debates of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly concerning disputes over the meaning of "community" in the health field. Specifically, we focus on the contributions of a collective historical actor - heterogeneous and plural, yet identifiable in its various forms - that we have termed the Peronist Left in health. By analyzing their professional and intellectual networks, we emphasize the role played by Irma Carrica as a representative of this Peronist Left in health, in constructing alternative dynamics for community health approaches, which challenged the dominant epistemological and pedagogical paradigms.

The aim of this essay is to analyze plays as a central element in the practices that construct micropolitics within the social institutions of the State. The main concepts addressed are: plays, practices, and micropolitics. The analysis focuses on institutions within social fields, emphasizing material size. The hypothesis posits that the size of the organization is inversely proportional to the development of plays within the institutions. This discussion takes place in a context marked by a strong detachment from the public and the state, exacerbating profound social inequalities, nihilism, and aporophobia, alongside a crisis of legitimacy of public institutions in the face of the advance of non-democratic ideas in democratically elected governments in several countries in Latin America and other continents.

Although evidence of the benefits of breastfeeding is widespread, there are several challenges to initiate and sustain it. Infant formula companies use marketing strategies that violate existing regulations, contributing to its early abandonment. We explore the digital marketing exposure of infant formulas in Argentina by analyzing people's interactions with brands and the traces of these interactions in conversations engaged in Facebook groups during 2022, from a qualitative approach based on digital ethnography. Results show that companies deploy regulatory avoidance tactics and seek contact with mothers. Users do not interact with the accounts but are exposed to their strategies given the correlation between product attributes present in advertising with their motivations and aspirations. The mediators between marketing and mothers are medical professionals, used as marketing resources. We conclude that authorities should promote new agreements on the practices of medical professionals and develop regulations taking into account digital environments.