Abstract
Investigating “alterity” in hospitals: the challenges of a qualitative study about nonconventional therapies in official healthcare spaces (Argentina).
Interface (Botucatu) [online]. 2019, vol.23, e170758. Epub 21-Ene-2019. ISSN 1414-3283. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/interface.170758.
The present article addresses the issues faced in a qualitative ethnographic study that explores the phenomenon of nonconventional medicine in hospital environments in Buenos Aires (Argentina). While dialoguing with the academic literature that explores the methodological, ethical and political challenges of ethnography in the health field, the article is divided into two sections: 1) an exploration of the difficulties associated with access; and 2) an analysis of the barriers that result from the sensitive and marginal nature of the investigated phenomenon. The characteristics of the knowledge construction process are not unassociated from the power relations that involve the investigated field, and that the social dynamics generated in hospitals requires negotiated and flexible responses from the researcher.
Key words : Hospitals; Nonconventional medicine; Ethnographic challenges.
