Concepções de mulheres negras sobre autocuidado em saúde reprodutiva

Abstract

Low-income black women have their health affected by several social determinants of health, such as race, gender, and class, which negatively influence their access processes, health utilization, and even getting sick. The morbidities that afflict black women are genetically determined, acquired, and aggravated by difficult treatment, in either case knowledge about health and self-care as a practice can prevent and treat illness. This concept of Women's Health requires an integral approach to care beyond Reproductive Health and its aspects addressed from the first health policies with gender cut. However, if we cut race together with gender, it is necessary to address issues of Reproductive Health because of the delay in addressing such care in black women. Thus, the present research aimed to understand the perception of self-care in reproductive health among black women in socioeconomic vulnerability of a neighborhood of the Northwest Zone/Santos. It was a qualitative research with semi-structured interviews with 19 self-declared black women (black and brown) over 18 years of age. The data saturation criterion was used to delimit the number of participants, and the results collected were analyzed using the Bardin systematized content analysis method. The results revealed conceptions about health and self-care that involve three aspects (individual, social and programmatic) and place medical knowledge as the main, often invisibilizing their own attitudes and practices of self-care and health maintenance; there was also difficulty in the perception of race as capable of influencing health and illness, and the understanding of Reproductive Health as ""reproduction"" or linked to gestation. It was concluded that women give great importance to health and self-care, although they do not recognize their own maintenance actions to self-care, and mostly recognize the role of the medical professional as a self-care holder.