Introduction.

Culture is essential to approach the practices and knowledge of a community taking into account its perspective on health and disease, in order to provide a culturally consistent care. The nurse performance should have its foundation in the acquisition of cultural competences to obtain good and effective results.

Objective.

To understand the knowledge and practices performed for the prevention and treatment of respiratory and gastrointestinal issues in Guambian children under one year.

Methodology.

A focused ethnography was conducted using in-depth interviews. A traditional doctor was part of the research, three midwives (two of them traditional doctors) and nine mothers of children under one-year age with a history of IRA and EDA.

Findings.

Seven domains emerged, among them: The scare, the child energetic management and the healing power of plants, which showed that participants world-view is oriented towards preserving the harmony between them and Mother Nature.

Conclusion.

The Guambian culture considers that a disease is originated when the person losses harmony with nature, the spirit and the body. Consequently, indigenous people adopt lifestyles and customs which seeks the preservation of such balance and, in general, between the individual and the environment.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )