The explanatory models of Quechuan mothers who have children with Pott's disease in the district of Chuquisaca, Bolivia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the Exploratory Models of Quechuan mothers who have children with Pott's disease. The conceptual model for this study was Kleinman's Explanatory Models framework. This study was an ethnography that utilized the clinical features of Kleinman Explanatory Models as probing questions. Descriptive ethnographic interviews, field notes, and participant observation were conducted with three informants in the District of Chuquisaca, Bolivia during a period of two weeks. Content analysis was used to group the domains and categories into five taxonomies. Five taxonomies were identified from the data: (a) etiology; (b) severity of illness; (c) time and onset of symptoms; (d) pathophysiology; and ( e) treatment. The results indicated that Pott's disease have a magical/mysterious origin. Wasasanay and Chuypa are the Quechuan words for back pain, which connotates the symptoms, etiology, and pathophysiology of Pott's disease. Pott's disease is not believed to be a disease, since everybody in the area suffers from back pain as a result of their work. Only when the disease is in the advanced stages is medical treatment sought. The poverty and isolation of the Quechuan people contribute, not only to the devastating effects of Pott's disease, but to the further marginalization of these people. The Quechuan people in this study were victims, not only of a fatal disease, but of a political and social system that promotes poverty.