Culturally sensitive care of Misak Indigenous patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Colombia.

Introduction: To describe and understand the attitudes, cultural knowledge, and therapeutic practices of the Misak people concerning rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inscribed in an emergent culturally sensitive healthcare model along with the indigenous community and health professionals, following a respectful and empathic relational contact approach to the inter-ethnic encounter.

Methods: A qualitative study that used ethnographic methods using observation techniques and in-depth interviews was carried out in the Misak community, Colombia, by a multidisciplinary team (rheumatology, physiotherapy, and anthropology). A thematic analysis based around the concept of explanatory models (EMs) was carried out.

Results: Researchers interviewed 20 patients with RA, 12 traditional healers, and 5 health professionals. The following themes were identified: (1) the traditional healers are allowed to practice only if the community recognizes their vocation; (2) two types of EM were observed: Misak community EM related to conception of RA and its treatment, shared by patients and the traditional healers; and biomedical EM. The interaction of the two types is still a healthcare challenge that requires articulating to achieve better clinical outcomes for patients.

Conclusion: The EMs of RA care identified in the Misak community are focused on both the patients and the traditional healers. However, this predominant EM and the biomedical EM of RA care need to be brought closer together to contribute to the construction of a unifying model of a culturally sensitive care.