Abstract

BIDEGAIN, Evangelina A.. Mobility and living conditions of patients undergoing treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis. Alteridades [online]. 2022, vol.32, n.63, pp.119-133.  Epub Sep 19, 2022. ISSN 2448-850X.  https://doi.org/10.24275/uam/izt/dcsh/alteridades/2022v32n63/bidegain.

This article focusses on the mobility of patients in treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis and the relationship of this behavior with the ways in which this disease is understood and cared for. We performed ethnographic research between 2016 and 2017 in Baja California, Mexico, with participant observation; interviews and conversations with patients in treatment and health personnel. We found that men and women showed different mobility patterns and frequency in their movements. The disease implied moves and/or changes in the use of patients’ domestic interior space. We concluded that mobility is associated with ways of living and material conditions, as well as the types of domestic cohabitation. This article contributes to the knowledge of persons’ mobility in the context of the disease and the implications for epidemiological control and surveillance. It also delves into perceptions of insecurity in the shared use of space related to diseases such as pulmonary tuberculosis, influenza and COVID19.

Keywords : use of space; mobility patterns; respiratory diseases; indoor; outdoor; pulmonary tuberculosis; medical anthropology; situated body.