“Cancer is in style”: lifestyle change and the perceived impact of globalization on Andean indigenous communities in Ecuador

ABSTRACT

Introduction: There is a paucity of information on cancer among Indigenous populations in Latin America.

Methods: Guided by tenets of community engaged research and syndemic theory, we conducted eight focus groups (n = 59) with Kichwa men and women in the province of Imbabura, Ecuador. Data were analyzed using applied thematic analysis techniques.

Results: Cancer emerged as an important health problem and was reported as a growing concern. Kichwa participants in this study attributed the rise in cancer to (1) exposure to chemicals and pesticides, (2) urbanization and development, and (3) the rise of innutritious, westernized diets.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the Kichwa are attuned to the global phenomena in which traditional diet has been replaced by western, processed foods and fast food, which result in higher levels of chronic diseases such as cancer. More research is needed to understand the cancer burden among Indigenous peoples in Latin America.

KEYWORDS:

• Cancer
• Indigenous populations
• Latin America
• focus groups
• Kichwa

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank USF Health and the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida for their support and for providing the funding to make this research possible. We would also like to thank the University San Francisco Quito and the Comité Central de Mujeres de la Unión de Organizaciones Campesinas e Indígenas de Cotacachi (UNORCAC) for helping us with translation from and to Kichwa/Spanish when needed. Special acknowledgement to the community leaders in Cotacachi, Iluman and Otavalo who were invaluable and vital to our research and the Jambi Huasi in Cotacachi for enabling access to the Indigenous communities. We also appreciate the efforts of Shirley Bejarano for her assistance with data collection and analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of South Florida College of Public Health Interdisciplinary Research Team Award.