Population movements, borders, and Chagas disease.

Currently, Chagas disease is a complex global health problem with local and global implications. In the present article, we approach this complexity from the perspective of human mobility and its effects on people's health in places of origin and in transit and destination. We raise key concepts such as human mobility - understood as a possible socio-structural and economic determination of health -, the associated social and institutional barriers and the processes of social exclusion related to Chagas disease. We also propose what we identify as emerging opportunities from the perspective of health as a right. Finally, we propose strategies aimed at addressing Chagas disease from a multidimensional and intersectional perspective in complex, diverse and interconnected territories through migration.

"You will ask me: which am I?": the clinical practice of Chagas as a latent risk. / "Tú me dirás: yo, ¿de cuáles soy?": la práctica clínica del Chagas como riesgo latente.

Drawing on observation-based ethnography, interviews of health personnel and document review, this article describes and examines how, in clinical handling of Chagas disease, infection is treated as latent risk. It suggests that how this risk is managed has enabled a clinical practice to be conducted among people classified as at the indeterminate stage, by adding a dimension of possibility (Is it going to happen?) and potentiality (When and where?). This allows measures to be taken, including administration of medication or permanent monitoring. The reification of latent risk as a phenomenon that is manageable through a process of medicalisation engages, in turn, with other conceptions and specific experiences of risk among the affected groups. Framing the clinical practices deployed to address this risk as objects of study is a first step towards being able to describe and include them concretely in health system organisation.

A través de una etnografía basada en la observación, entrevistas a profesionales y el vaciado de documentación, en este artículo describo y analizo cómo, en la práctica clínica del Chagas, la infección es tratada como un riesgo latente. Sugiero que la gestión que se hace de este riesgo ha posibilitado la práctica clínica entre las personas clasificadas en la etapa indeterminada, añadiendo una dimensión de posibilidad (¿va a pasar?) y de potencialidad (¿cuándo y dónde?) que permite tomar acciones tales como la administración de un medicamento o una monitorización permanente. La reificación del riesgo latente como fenómeno gestionable a través de un proceso de medicalización se articula, a su vez, con otras concepciones y experiencias concretas del riesgo entre los grupos afectados. Situar la práctica clínica de dicho riesgo como objeto de estudio es un primer paso para poderlas describir e incluir como realidades en la organización del sistema de salud.

"Tú me dirás: yo, ¿de cuáles soy?": la práctica clínica del Chagas como riesgo latente / "You will ask me: which am I?": the clinical practice of Chagas as a latent risk

Resumen A través de una etnografía basada en la observación, entrevistas a profesionales y el vaciado de documentación, en este artículo describo y analizo cómo, en la práctica clínica del Chagas, la infección es tratada como un riesgo latente. Sugiero que la gestión que se hace de este riesgo ha posibilitado la práctica clínica entre las personas clasificadas en la etapa indeterminada, añadiendo una dimensión de posibilidad (¿va a pasar?) y de potencialidad (¿cuándo y dónde?) que permite tomar acciones tales como la administración de un medicamento o una monitorización permanente. La reificación del riesgo latente como fenómeno gestionable a través de un proceso de medicalización se articula, a su vez, con otras concepciones y experiencias concretas del riesgo entre los grupos afectados. Situar la práctica clínica de dicho riesgo como objeto de estudio es un primer paso para poderlas describir e incluir como realidades en la organización del sistema de salud.

Abstract Drawing on observation-based ethnography, interviews of health personnel and document review, this article describes and examines how, in clinical handling of Chagas disease, infection is treated as latent risk. It suggests that how this risk is managed has enabled a clinical practice to be conducted among people classified as at the indeterminate stage, by adding a dimension of possibility (Is it going to happen?) and potentiality (When and where?). This allows measures to be taken, including administration of medication or permanent monitoring. The reification of latent risk as a phenomenon that is manageable through a process of medicalisation engages, in turn, with other conceptions and specific experiences of risk among the affected groups. Framing the clinical practices deployed to address this risk as objects of study is a first step towards being able to describe and include them concretely in health system organisation.

Population movements, borders, and Chagas disease

Currently, Chagas disease is a complex global health problem with local and global implications. In the present article, we approach this complexity from the perspective of human mobility and its effects on people's health in places of origin and in transit and destination. We raise key concepts such as human mobility - understood as a possible socio-structural and economic determination of health -, the associated social and institutional barriers and the processes of social exclusion related to Chagas disease. We also propose what we identify as emerging opportunities from the perspective of health as a right. Finally, we propose strategies aimed at addressing Chagas disease from a multidimensional and intersectional perspective in complex, diverse and interconnected territories through migration.

Chagas, Risk and Health Seeking among Bolivian Women in Catalonia.

In this article, we explore relationships between risk and emotions among Bolivian women living with Chagas disease, and the implications of this for their diagnosis and treatment in Catalonia, Spain. Here, risk is a social phenomenon, while emotions are conceived as embedded in the sociocultural and relational world. Emotions play key risk-related roles as both a cause and consequence of Chagas disease, are the basis of health practices, and allow us to link risk to wider social inequalities. The way we conceive emotions is crucial both theorically and practically.

Socio-cultural aspects of Chagas disease: a systematic review of qualitative research.

BACKGROUND: Globally, more than 10 million people are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes about 20 000 annual deaths. Although Chagas disease is endemic to certain regions of Latin America, migratory flows have enabled its expansion into areas where it was previously unknown. Economic, social and cultural factors play a significant role in its presence and perpetuation. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of qualitative research on Chagas disease, both in endemic and non-endemic countries. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Searches were carried out in ten databases, and the bibliographies of retrieved studies were examined. Data from thirty-three identified studies were extracted, and findings were analyzed and synthesized along key themes. Themes identified for endemic countries included: socio-structural determinants of Chagas disease; health practices; biomedical conceptions of Chagas disease; patient's experience; and institutional strategies adopted. Concerning non-endemic countries, identified issues related to access to health services and health seeking. CONCLUSIONS: The emergence and perpetuation of Chagas disease depends largely on socio-cultural aspects influencing health. As most interventions do not address the clinical, environmental, social and cultural aspects jointly, an explicitly multidimensional approach, incorporating the experiences of those affected is a potential tool for the development of long-term successful programs. Further research is needed to evaluate this approach.