Inside out: women's world view and family health in an Ecuadorian Indian community.

Saraguro Indian women regard the home as a refuge from illness, while the outside world is considered dangerous and filled with disease. The likelihood of falling ill is thought to increase with distance from the home, so mothers employ preventive measures to guard family members leaving the house. Qualitative and quantitative data collected in the community between 1978 and 1984 suggest that world view influences therapeutic choice, by reinforcing fear of strangers and reliance on mothers for family health care.