Me dijeron que soy crónico: lo que estoy haciendo para cuidarme.

Objective: To describe the trajectory of popular care in a group of older people with chronic diseases living in a marginal urban area of the city of Bogotá, Colombia. Materials and Methods: Qualitative ethnographic study which included participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The data analysis was manual and followed the phases proposed by Leininger. Results: Of the 18 senior people interviewed three cultural patterns emerged: 1) I am declared chronically ill, 2) as I am chronically ill, I seek help from those who know about the disease, 3) the chronically ill take care of the body in many ways. Conclusions: The trajectory of popular care reveals various forms of care. It begins with the construction of meanings about chronic disease, then proceeds to decision making (where the family is quickly involved in moments of crisis of the disease) and, finally, popular care, being the most striking letting the body rest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]