Social Determination of the Health of Families from Two Neighborhoods in Medellín, Colombia / Determinación social de la salud de las familias de dos barrios de Medellín, Colombia / Determinação social da saúde das famílias em dois bairros de Medellín, Colômbia

ABSTRACT

Objective. To understand the health process, from the approach of the social determination of health in two neighborhoods in Medellín - Colombia, to contribute to the care of people, families, and collectives in their multidimensional reality. Methods. Qualitative research from the ethnographic perspective, approaching the general dimension with documentary analysis of social policies and community documents, the particular dimension through focal groups and interviews to community leaders, and the singular dimension with the family visit. Results. Families and collectives live within a sociocultural setting of resistance, overshadowed by moments of flight and displacement derived from violence, with scant participation in city plans and programs and with structural problems of economic and political exclusion. They constructed the territory as space and shelter in the weave that protects and violates them, with processes from uprooting to rooting. The families have maintained protective processes, like family participation in decision making, knowledge on health care, among others, and destructive processes, like informal labor and job instability, without spaces for recreation and with limitations in transportation, in access to health programs and in obtaining food. Conclusion. The health of the families has been determined by historical exclusion to work to obtain resources for a minimum vital subsistence, which is why they suffer social vulnerability due to few opportunities for development; they have lived a transformation process of the territory with resistance, solidarity, and construction of social networks.

RESUMEN

Objective. To understand the health process, from the approach of the social determination of health in two neighborhoods in Medellín - Colombia, to contribute to the care of people, families, and collectives in their multidimensional reality. Methods. Qualitative research from the ethnographic perspective, approaching the general dimension with documentary analysis of social policies and community documents, the particular dimension through focal groups and interviews to community leaders, and the singular dimension with the family visit. Results. Families and collectives live within a sociocultural setting of resistance, overshadowed by moments of flight and displacement derived from violence, with scant participation in city plans and programs and with structural problems of economic and political exclusion. They constructed the territory as space and shelter in the weave that protects and violates them, with processes from uprooting to rooting. The families have maintained protective processes, like family participation in decision making, knowledge on health care, among others, and destructive processes, like informal labor and job instability, without spaces for recreation and with limitations in transportation, in access to health programs and in obtaining food. Conclusion. The health of the families has been determined by historical exclusion to work to obtain resources for a minimum vital subsistence, which is why they suffer social vulnerability due to few opportunities for development; they have lived a transformation process of the territory with resistance, solidarity, and construction of social networks.

RESUMO

Objetivo. Compreender o processo de saúde, a partir da abordagem da determinação social da saúde em dois bairros de Medellín, para contribuir com o cuidado de indivíduos, famílias e grupos em sua realidade multidimensional. Métodos. Pesquisa qualitativa na perspectiva etnográfica; abordou a dimensão geral com análise documental de políticas sociais e documentos comunitários, a dimensão particular por meio de grupos focais e entrevistas com lideranças comunitárias e a dimensão singular com a visita familiar. Resultados. Famílias e grupos vivem em um espaço sociocultural de resistência, matizado por momentos de fuga e deslocamento derivados da violência, com pouca participação nos planos e programas da cidade e com problemas estruturais de exclusão econômica e política. Construíram o território como espaço e refúgio na urdidura que os protege e os viola, com processos de desenraizamento ao enraizamento. As famílias têm mantido processos protetivos como a participação da família na tomada de decisões, o conhecimento dos cuidados de saúde, entre outros, e processos destrutivos como o trabalho informal e a precarização do emprego, sem espaços de lazer e com limitações no transporte, no acesso aos programas de saúde e na obtenção de alimentos. Conclusão. A saúde das famílias tem sido determinada pela exclusão histórica do trabalho para obtenção de recursos para um mínimo vital de subsistência, pelo qual sofrem vulnerabilidade social devido às escassas oportunidades de desenvolvimento; vivenciaram um processo de transformação do território com resistência, solidariedade e construção de redes sociais.