Daniel Alves

The project’s primary objective was to understand, together with the Kalunga communities in the North of Goiás, in the Brazilian Cerrado region, cultural strategies and tactics regarding care and health. Quantitative research was carried out on social determinants of health in seven communities in three cities in the region inhabited by the Kalunga. This interdisciplinary research allowed the identification of issues in public health. Based on collective analysis of data in meetings communities can recognize the strengths and weaknesses of public and community management, and build collective and organized ways to solve the identified issues. At the same time, we seek to study popular healing resources such as the benzeção, understanding though qualitative approach subtleties of this local knowledge, its relation with territory and its contemporary transformations. The data was mobilized in feedback research in scientific communities and is currently used to involve the community, public authorities and the third sector.