EnglishTherapeutic itinerary, biomedicine and the action of multidisciplinary health teams applied to tribes Xukuru do Ororubá and Tapuias de Tapará, in Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte states, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to address the role and the action strategies of Multidisciplinary Indigenous Health Teams (MIHT) that work with Xukuru and Tapuias de Tapará tribes, in Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte states, Brazil, respectively, by having the concept of interculturality as theoretical epistemological principle. Research that opened room for the present study aimed at understanding the relationships among professional health teams, traditional healers and the therapeutic itineraries adopted by these peoples. Their itineraries encompass elements that allow better understanding the Indigenous Healthcare Sub-system implemented by the Unified Health System (UHS) to assist indigenous peoples in Brazil that live in completely different realities and contexts. However, these peoples are used to biomedicine practices for a long time. Biomedicine is inserted in their routine, and it makes them share the practices and language used by non-indigenous health professionals.