‘Leave it alone’: Therapeutic itinerary and access to health in rural communities of the Cerrado biome of Goiás

Abstract

Abstract Therapeutic itineraries are adapted to the sociocultural context, revealing ways of caring for the body. In this sense, the objective was to describe the therapeutic itineraries of people living in two rural settlements and a quilombola community in the Goian cerrado. Data were obtained from the social actors' representation of the health/illness process, using a qualitative approach with participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and field diaries. The therapeutic itineraries of residents in rural cerrado environments have a socio-historical trajectory, traversing tortuous paths. They require experiences of seeking health, uncovering possible routes. Thus, access and accessibility, knowledge, and acceptance are considered regarding: a) the rural routes taken by their residents, whether in the tortuous tree vegetation of the Goian cerrado or on winding roads, with impassable or non-existent roads; b) the sufferings, afflictions, and bodily harms and their health, diverging between popular and scientifically considered knowledge; c) the products used and the environment where they are sought. The experiences of rural residents revealed ways of survival or care for the body and the cerrado biome, demonstrating difficulties, dangers, and harms, including those of social injustice and a supposed urban progress.