Forms of medical pluralism among the Polish Community in Misiones, Argentina

ABSTRACT

The paper addresses forms of medical pluralism, studied from the microsocial perspective, among the Polish community in Misiones, Argentina. It shows different attitudes to health treatment within the field of home medicine, local non-biomedical specialists and biomedicine. It points out the relationship between the diversity of offers of medical assistance and community members’ negotiations between various medical approaches. It also identifies the factors influencing these choices. While prior research examines Indigenous and Mestizo medical ethnobotany in this region, there has not been research on medical pluralism and very little study of complementary and alternative medicine among the inhabitants of Misiones. The study group comprises Polish peasants who settled in northern Misiones between 1936 and 1938 and their descendants born in Argentina. Field research was based on semi-structured, in-depth and free-listing interviews. The analysis was carried out using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The results show that Polish settlers tried to reconstruct bits and pieces of their familiar and traditional healing practices in the new environment. Phytotherapy plays the most important role among home therapies. It is at home that most treatments start. Members of the Polish community also treat folk illnesses at home and report them to local healers. The growing influence of biomedicine does not contribute to the elimination of home medicine or non-biomedical specialists in the study area. There has been a medicalization of childbirth and fractures, but folk experts such as curanderos, hueseros and naturistas are still very popular in the region.

KEYWORDS:

• Medical ethnobotany
• complementary medicine
• non-biomedical specialist
• Polish migrants
• Atlantic Forest

Acknowledgments

The author's special thanks go to the study participants from Wanda and Lanusse. The author is also very grateful to the Instituto de Biología Subtropical in Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina for providing the logistic base for the project development. Finally, the author would like to thank to two anonymous reviewers for very constructive remarks and suggestions for change. The author declares not having any competing interests.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Centre in Poland [NN109051138], and Fundacion Argentina.