Clínica Integral Almas: Tackling the Social Determinants of Health while Cultivating a Community of Care in Rural Guarijío-Makurawe Communities of Sonora, México

Abstract

The Mexican health system is fragmented into sub-systems and levels of care, including private and public services, which create inequalities in access and quality of services and treatment in rural and Indigenous communities. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the lack of medical and healthcare services (Gomez, 2011 and Doubova et al., 2022). This project aimed to explore how Clínica Integral Almas (CIA), a rural Sonoran non-profit clinic run by a team of Mexican healthcare providers, has addressed the social determinants of health, and has provided services to Guarijío-Makurawe communities of thirteen villages and surrounding municipalities in Álamos. Over the course of two months, eighteen semi-structured interviews and multiple field observations were conducted with Mexican physicians (n=4), patients (n=5), Clínica Integral Almas staff (n=2), community health workers (n=4), and U.S and Mexican healthcare workers (n=3). Patients and community health workers included Guarijío-Makurawe individuals, an Indigenous group from north-central México. Patients, doctors, and staff included Álamos non-Guarijío-Makurawe participants. Lastly, healthcare workers included participants from México and the US. With non-governmental medical healthcare resources and expertise, the cultivation of care, accompaniment, and the use of traditional medicine, Clínica Integral Almas (CIA) physicians and community health workers have been able to address, many of the social determinants of health that can lead to negative health outcomes in rural communities of Álamos, Sonora, México.