Salud mental en población Mbya Guaraní: Análisis de prácticas culturales en búsqueda del bienestar

Given the relevant prevalence of mental health problems in Mbyá Guaraní indigenous population and the lack of specific information for a more effective care in these communities, it is necessary to delve into their conceptions on mental health, illness and their use of therapeutic systems. Positive associations of the indigenous conception of well-being and certain cultural practices are found in the literature.

The aim of this work is to synthesize the existing literature on conceptions of mental health, illness, cultural practices, and use of therapeutic systems in the indigenous population. A systematic search of the existing literature was carried out in order to review findings on the conceptions of mental health in indigenous population. The databases used were Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Scielo, and Redalyc. The findings show that the conception of mental health is closely related to the idea of well-being or good living, disease is conceived as disease of the spirit; and because of the variability of its causes, indigenous people resort to different types of care, including self-care in the first place, consultation to the Opygúa and medical advice from the white doctor on some problems for which medication can prove effective.