Dialogue and respect: the basis for constructing an intercultural health system for indigenous communities in Puerto...

This paper presents the ideas on health and disease as well as proposals regarding the health care system voiced by indigenous communities belonging to the Tikunas, Cocama and Yagua ethnicities of the Puerto Nariño municipality in the department of Amazonas, Colombia. The study was conducted between 2010 and 2013. The tools used to obtain the data were participant observation, interviews and discussion groups. The study evidenced a profound lack of information and understanding on the part of state health agencies. As a principal demand, indigenous communities ask to be heard when decisions affecting their health or their way of understanding health are made. These results should be taken into account in the development of future health programs and provide a basis for the construction of an adequate intercultural health system for the town of Port Nariño.