Privatization and the New Medical Pluralism is the first collection of its kind to explore the contemporary terrain of healthcare in Guatemala through reflective ethnography. This volume offers a nuanced portrait of the effects of healthcare privatization for indigenous Maya people, who have historically endured numerous disparities in health and healthcare access. The collection provides an updated understanding of medical pluralism, which concerns not only the tensions and exchanges between ethnomedicine and biomedicine that have historically shaped Maya people's experiences of health, but also the multiple competing biomedical institutions that have emerged in a highly privatized, market-driven environment of care. The contributors examine the macro-structural and micro-level implications of the proliferation of non-governmental organizations, private fee-for-service clinics, and new pharmaceuticals against the backdrop of a deteriorating public health system. In this environment, health seekers encounter new challenges and opportunities, relationships between the public, private, and civil sectors transform, and new forms of inequality in access to healthcare abound. This volume connects these themes to critical studies of global and public health, exposing the strictures and apertures of healthcare privatization for marginalized populations in Guatemala.
Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Peter Rohloff & Anita Chary Part One: The Public-Private Interface Chapter 1 Strategic Alliances: The Shifting Motivations for NGO Collaboration with Government Programs Jonathan Maupin Chapter 2 "Mi Familia Pobreza": Conditional Cash Transfers and Maternal-Child Health in Rural Guatemala Shom Dasgupta-Tsinikas and Paul Wise Chapter 3 Forced Motherhood in Guatemala: An Analysis of the Thousand Days Initiative Alejandra Colom Part Two: Commoditizing Care Chapter 4 "This Disease Is for Those Who Can Afford It": Diabetes in Indigenous Maya Communities David Flood and Peter Rohloff Chapter 5 Capitalizing on Care: Marketplace Quasi-pharmaceuticals in the Guatemalan Health-seeking Landscape Rachel Hall-Clifford Part Three: Navigating Novel Resources Chapter 6 Engaging Mental Healthcare in a Disengaged System Carla Pezzia Chapter 7 Hysterectomies and Healer Shopping: Cervical Cancer and Therapeutic Anarchy in Guatemala Anita Chary Chapter 8 Leveraging Resources in Contemporary Maya Midwifery Nora King, Anita Chary, and Peter Rohloff Chapter 9 Conclusion: A Bad Conscience of Justice! Peter Benson References Contributors Index
