Abstract

ARBOLEDA-SARMIENTO**, Juan Camilo  and  SUAREZ-MONTANEZ***, Roberto. Medical Care and Cultural Difference. Access to Medical Care by Muslim Women in Bogota. Rev. Gerenc. Polit. Salud [online]. 2016, vol.15, n.31, pp.30-49. ISSN 1657-7027.  https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.rgyps15-31.amdc.

Since 1991, Colombia has been defined as a multicultural country. However, the application of this definition is uncertain still. With this background, our text explores the relationship between cultural diversity and the access to health services based on the case of Muslim women in Bogota, Colombia. We propose how lifestyles, gender, and belief systems affect the path of care and the therapeutic meeting of people defined as Muslim in the health care services. We developed a qualitative work articulating public health and medical anthropology. We found that the access to medical care of Muslim women is mediated by social interactions facilitating medical disagreements. From there we surmise that health promotion and disease prevention require the understanding and integration of culture as a mediating category in public health.

Keywords : multiculturalism; Islam; gender; therapeutic paths; access to health care.

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