Hilgert Norma I, Gil Guillermo E
Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, CONICET, Casilla de Correo 8 (3370) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2007 May 2;3:19. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-3-19.
The state of conservation of the traditional cultures of Northwest Argentina is variable and somewhat problematic but to a lesser or a greater extent all the peoples are related to an hegemonic culture. We present a case study carried out in the rural communities of the Yungas biome (Salta) where the extent of isolation varies as does the type of access to public health services. The use of medicinal plants in the area is ordinary and widely spread.
The data can be organized in two categories, as medical systems public records (for the regional hospital at Los Toldos), and as ethnobotanical sets. A total of 59 surveys to 40 interviewees were undertaken using a semi structured questionnaire. We present an analysis of the relative importance of the medicinal herbs used in reproductive medicine considering the plants used in the traditional medical system and the factors that can affect the relationship between formal medicine and patients. We further analyzed how the degree of accessibility to the local hospital influences the diversity of use of plant species used to assist deliveries and to decrease infant mortality in children minor than one year of age.
In reproductive medicine, 13 ailments and/or different physiological states are locally identified and treated. Local population uses 108 ethnospecies for this kind of illnesses. According to the local conception the hot/cold imbalance could be the principal cause for reproductive illnesses; pregnancy may have natural or supernatural origin, post partum and menstruation involve similar sanitary risks, and neonatal care has a strong magic connotation. In relation with the formal medicine, the more accessible is the health center the more women assist to it. We have not found a relation between accessibility and infant mortality.
In the local reproductive medicine, most of the practices are concerned with the hot/cold balance. According to their importance the factors involved are: the family medicine, the midwife, and the formal doctors. Plants have an important role; however there is a lack of total agreement among the families who use them. Reluctance to institutional deliveries may be due to the weak relationship between patients and doctors, and the lack of logistic assistance to delivering mothers coming from far away locations.
阿根廷西北部传统文化的保护状况参差不齐且存在一定问题，但所有民族在不同程度上都与一种霸权文化相关联。我们展示了一项在云加斯生物群落（萨尔塔省）农村社区开展的案例研究，这些社区的隔离程度各不相同，获得公共卫生服务的类型也有所差异。该地区药用植物的使用很普遍且分布广泛。
数据可分为两类，一类是医疗系统公共记录（针对洛斯托尔多斯地区医院），另一类是民族植物学数据集。使用半结构化问卷对40名受访者进行了共计59次调查。我们分析了生殖医学中使用的草药的相对重要性，考量了传统医疗系统中使用的植物以及可能影响正规医学与患者之间关系的因素。我们还进一步分析了当地医院的可达程度如何影响用于协助分娩以及降低一岁以下儿童婴儿死亡率的植物物种使用多样性。
在生殖医学方面，当地识别并治疗了13种疾病和/或不同的生理状态。当地居民针对这类疾病使用了108种民族植物。根据当地观念，热/冷失衡可能是生殖疾病的主要原因；怀孕可能有自然或超自然的起源，产后和月经涉及类似的卫生风险，新生儿护理具有浓厚的魔法内涵。关于正规医学，卫生中心越容易到达，去就诊的女性就越多。我们未发现可达程度与婴儿死亡率之间存在关联。
在当地生殖医学中，大多数做法都与热/冷平衡有关。按重要性排序，涉及的因素有：家庭医学、助产士和正规医生。植物发挥着重要作用；然而，使用植物的家庭之间并未完全达成一致。不愿去医疗机构分娩可能是由于患者与医生之间关系薄弱，以及缺乏对来自偏远地区产妇的后勤援助。
