a Department of Anthropology , University of South Florida , Tampa , Florida , USA.
Med Anthropol. 2018 Apr;37(3):236-252. doi: 10.1080/01459740.2017.1360878. Epub 2017 Aug 30.
Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease; the only viable drugs are outdated and produce frequent side effects, and the overwhelming majority of cases are undiagnosed and untreated. Globally, people encounter numerous impediments to accessing biomedical treatment for Chagas disease. However, little is known about how people with Chagas disease manage their health outside the biomedical system. In this article, I discuss knowledge of ethnomedical treatments among marginalized patients in an endemic area of Bolivia. I interviewed 68 patients, 63 (93 percent) of whom had positive diagnoses for Chagas disease. Participants free listed 66 ethnomedical remedies either for Chagas disease (n = 39) or its cardiac symptoms. Participants stressed the accessibility of ethnomedical remedies in contrast to the multiple barriers to accessing biomedical treatment. Far from eroding in the face of globalization and sociopolitical marginalization, ethnomedical knowledge in the study area is dynamic and flexible, communicated through various channels.
恰加斯病是一种被忽视的热带病；唯一可行的药物已经过时，且经常产生副作用，绝大多数病例都未被诊断和治疗。在全球范围内，人们在获得恰加斯病的生物医学治疗方面面临着诸多障碍。然而，人们对恰加斯病患者在生物医学体系之外如何管理自身健康知之甚少。在本文中，我讨论了玻利维亚一个流行地区边缘患者对民族医学治疗的了解。我采访了 68 名患者，其中 63 名（93%）的患者对恰加斯病的诊断呈阳性。参与者自由列出了 66 种民族医学疗法，用于治疗恰加斯病（n=39）或其心脏症状。参与者强调了民族医学疗法的可及性，与获得生物医学治疗的多种障碍形成对比。在全球化和社会政治边缘化的背景下，研究地区的民族医学知识非但没有减弱，反而具有动态性和灵活性，并通过多种渠道进行传播。
