Symptoms, Attitudes and Treatment Choices Surrounding Menopause Among the Q'eqchi Maya of Livingston, Guatemala  

Oleh:

Michel, Joanna L. ; Mahady, Gail B. ; Veliz, Mario ; Soejarto, Doel D. ; Caceres, Armando

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Social Science & Medicine (www.elsevier.com/locate/sosscimed) vol. 63 no. 3 (Aug. 2006), page 732-742.
Topik: SYMPTOMS; guatemala; menopause; maya women; herbal medicine; q'eqchi; women's health

Ketersediaan

Perpustakaan Pusat (Semanggi) Nomor Panggil: SS53.5 Non-tandon: 1 (dapat dipinjam: 0) Tandon: tidak ada

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Isi artikel

The present study explored symptoms, attitudes and treatments surrounding women's health and menopause among the q'eqchi maya of the eastern tropical lowlands of guatemala. Data were obtained through participant observation, semistructured interviews, focus groups and plant walks with 50 Q'eqchi community members from the state of izabal. Municipality of livingston, including five midwives, five traditional male healers and eight postmenopausal women. Results indicate that the q'eqchi maya of livingston possess their own cultural perceptions of women's health which affect attitudes, symptoms and treatment choices during the menopausal transition. Since discussions of menstruation and menopause are considered cultural taboos among the q'eqchi many women mentioned experiencing excessive preoccupation when unanticipated and unfamiliar symptoms occured. Furthermore, many women suffered from additional hardship when their spose misinterpreted menopausal symptoms (vaginal dryness sexual disinterest). Seven of the eight postmenopausal women interviewed indicated experiencing one or more symptoms during the menopausal transition, including headaches, anxiety, muscular pain, depression and hot flashes. These results differ from conducted among other maya groups from the highlands of guatemala. Although the q'eqchi did not use a specific term for hot flash, three q'echi women used the expression baja presion, or a lowering of blood pressure to explain mentioned a number of herbal remedies to treat menopausal symptoms. Further research on these botanical treatments is needed in order to ascertain their safety and efficacy for continued use.

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