Estilos de vida en individuos con enfermedad de chagas. Estado Aragua, Venezuela.

Lifestyles or "subcultures," are social processes that include traditions, behaviors, beliefs and thoughts of people or population groups who share the same habitat and are influenced by the community context. For people with Chagas disease in its chronic form, these processes are the consequence of the risk of exposure to factors that determine this disease, since for many years, man has invaded the natural spaces of the vector and used materials for building his house that are ideal nests for these insects; furthermore, men have kept animals close to their homes. The precarious conditions of sanitation and the lack of adequate information are part of some of these factors which make man susceptible to this disease. The purpose of this study was to identify the lifestyles of individuals from rural, semi-urban and urban areas diagnosed with Chagas disease in its chronic phase. The research had a qualitative design in the ethnographic mode, using in-depth interviews with seven key informants, who, through their testimony, made it possible to identify: categories related to housing during their childhood and youth; beliefs about the disease; the lifestyles adopted; and their interaction with health personnel. The need to develop educational activities and information strategies became apparent, in terms of incorporating the subjects in analyzing and understanding the disease that affects them and modifying behavior that favors maintaining their health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]