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Abstract Detail


Teaching Section

Michel, Joanna [1], Kelley, Michele [2], Mahady, Gail [3], Caceres, Armando [4], Soejarto, Dr. Djaja D. [5].

Ethnobotany and Youth Action Research: From the rainforest of Guatemala to the Urban Streets of Chicago.

This project reports both study results and applied action outcomes of a community collaborative inquiry to document cultural,environmental, and social factors associated with health beliefs and practices among the Q'eqchi Maya of Guatemala. Participant observation, interviews, and focus groups with midwives, curanderos, and community members revealed relationships between community member status, plant species used, and the location where collected. All healers expressed concern about the loss of medicinal species, the degradation of traditional knowledge and lack of interest among youth. Consequently, youth-oriented participatory action curricula were developed. These curricula, informed by ethnobotany,empowered youth with the knowledge and skills to collect and preserve their own cultural heritage related to health. The curriculum includes field manuals,ethnomedical flash cards, a botany lab, a solar herb dryer, and plans for a rural herbarium. Implications for the adaptation of such curriculum to urban,immigrant Latino populations in the US are also discussed.

Broader Impacts:


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1 - University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine , Medical Education, 808 South Wood Street, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
2 - University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Community Health Sciences, 1603 W Taylor Street, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
3 - University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Practice, 833 South Wood, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
4 - Universidad de San Carlos , Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacia , Edificio T-10. Ap. Postal 1160 , Zona 12, Guatemala City, 1160, Guatemala
5 - College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, 833 S. Wood St., Chicago, IL, 60612, USA

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 37
Location: Waterman Room/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
Time: 2:05 PM
Number: 37004
Abstract ID:45


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