Work

Healthcare Access and Health Beliefs of the Indigenous Peoples in Remote Amazonian Peru

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: Little is published about the health issues of traditional communities in the remote Peruvian Amazon. This study assessed healthcare access, health perceptions, and beliefs of the indigenous population along the Ampiyacu and Yaguasyacu rivers in north-eastern Peru. One hundred and seventy-nine adult inhabitants of 10 remote settlements attending health clinics were interviewed during a medical services trip in April 2012. Demographics, health status, access to healthcare, health education, sanitation, alcohol use, and smoke exposure were recorded. Our findings indicate that poverty, household overcrowding, and poor sanitation remain commonplace in this group. Furthermore, there are poor levels of health education and on-going barriers to accessing healthcare. Healthcare access and health education remain poor in the remote Peruvian Amazon. This combined with poverty and its sequelae render this population vulnerable to disease.

Source: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.13-0547

Authors: Charlotte K. Brierley, Nicolas Suarez, Gitanjli Arora, Devon Graham

Institutions: University of California, Los Angeles, Florida International University, University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Indigenous Health and Education

Subfield: General Health Professions

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: University of Oxford