Work, illness, and healing among women workers in nontraditional agriculture in the San Felipe Valley, Dominican Republic

172 Pages·1998·7.2 MB·English

by  Bonilla-Vega, Zobeida Enid, 1969-

WORK,ILLNESS,ANDHEALINGAMONGWOMENWORKERS
INNONTRADITIONALAGRICULTURE
INTHESANFELIPEVALLEY,DOMINICANREPUBLIC
By
ZOBEDDAENIDBONILLA-VEGA
ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL
OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT
OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF
DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA
1998
Copyright1998
by
ZobeidaEnidBonilla-Vega
LASGUERRERASsonlascuatrodirecciones,lascuatroesquinasdeuncuadrado,los
cuatrovientos. LadelEste,llamadaorden,esoptimista,suave,persistentecomouna
brisaconstante. ElNorte,llmadafuerza,tienerecursos,esbrusca,tenazcomoelviento
duro. ElOeste,llamadasentimiento,esintrospectiva,taimada,comounardfagade
vientofrlo. ElSur,llamadacrecimiento,nutre,esbullanguera,animadacomoelviento
caliente. Sereunentodassolopararealizarunatareaestrenua. Soloencircumstancias
muyespecialesdebenjuntarsusmanos: estecontactolasfusionaenunsoloser.
(AgendaPapelesdeAkelarre1992-1993:148)
TothethreewindsofThePandilla.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Firstandforemost,Iwishtoextendmygratitudetoallthewomenwho
participatedinthisstudyforsharingwithmetheirexperiencesofworkandlife. To
themIoweinvaluablelifelessons.
Ihavebeenveryfortunateforhavingtheencouragementoffriends,
colleagues,andmentorsduringthedevelopmentandwritingofthisdissertation.
SharonMorrison,NadineBrown,andMarciaGood-Mausthavebeenasourceof
continuousencouragementandsupportfromthegenesisofthisstudytoits
conclusion. TothemIgivemanythanksfortheenrichingconversationsovercoffee,
oftenferventbecauseofourcommonviewsandheateddisagreements.
Iwishtoexpressmydeepestgratitudetothemembersofmycommittee.Dr.
AllanF.Bums,Dr.BarbaraA.Zsembik,Dr.SusanAnton,Dr.IrmaMcClaunn,Dr.
R.PaulDuncan,andDr.CarlosBuitrago,whohavegreatlysupportedmeatdifferent
stagesofthiswork. Tomymentors.Dr.AllanF.BumsandDr.BarbaraA.Zsembik,
Iowelonghoursofpatientguidance,thefinestadviceandperspectives,supportand
encouragementalongtheway,andinvaluableinvolvementinmyacademiccareer.
Dr.SusanAnton,surroundedwithhomimdskulls,enrichedmyacademiccareerand
alwaysprovidedadifferentperspectiveandadvicetothisnoviceinsocial
anthropology. IthankDr.IrmaP.McClaurinforhersharpviewsandperspectiveson
women’sandgenderstudies. IwishtothankDr.R.PaulDuncanforgivingmethe
IV
opportunitytoworkwithagroupofstudentsinthehealthprofessionsandfor
introducingmetoadifferentarenainhealthstudies. ManythankstoDr.Carlos
BuitragoOrtizwhofromdistancehasalwayssupportedmyworkfrommyearlyand
timidincursionsasanundergraduatestudentattheUniversityofPuertoRicointhe
fieldofsocialanthropology.
IwanttoextendmygratitudetoKarenJonesandPatriciaGaitherwhoalways
easedtheadministrativeportionofcompletingtherequirementsofmygraduate
studies.
Tomyparents,HipolitoBonillaandVirginiaVega,whostilltodayarenot
quitesurewhatitisthatIamdoingthathastakenmesolongtofinish. Ithankthem
fortheirencouragementandforalwaysgivingmetherightadviceevenwhenthey
didnotunderstandwhattheirdaughterwasdoing. Ialsowithtothankmysister
CarmenBonillaforallthedifferentformsofsupportthatIhavereceivedfromher;
“remittances”flowindifferentdirections.
ManythankstothefollowingindividualsfromtheDominicanRepublicwho
indifferentwayssupportedthisstudy:
CEDEEandalltheteammembers,
JesusSosa,
JoseRafael,
FrankDiaz,
Themanagersofthetomatoandbananacompanies,
AugustoVillar,
LuisAgramonte,
Theagronomistsofthetomatoandthebananacompanies
MiladysandCarmela,
Fabiola,Marcia,Mayra,Jeremias,Tony,andJuanjo
FamiliaFabian,
FederaciondeCampesinosIndependientesMamaTingo
LuisCabreras,
LazaroVidalCampillo.
Thefollowingindividualsprovidedadviceandsuggestionsatdifferentstages
ofthedevelopmentofthisstudyand1alsowishtoextendmygratitudetothem: Dr.
LeslieSueLieberman,Dr.WilliamR.Leonard,Dr.LauraT.Raynolds,andDr.
DouglasMurray. IwishtothanktheGraduateSchooloftheUniversityofFloridafor
grantingmetheCLASfellowship,whichallowedthecompletionofthisresearch
SpecialthanksandlovetoDr.PaulD.Edwards-Paul-whohassupported
andencouragedmywork andenrichedmyviewsaboutwomen’shealthstudies.
Finally,thisdissertationisthesoleandexclusiveproductoftheauthor. I
assumefullresponsibilityforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayappear.
vi
7
TABLEOFCONTENTS
page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
iv
ABSTRACT
A
CHAPTERS
1 INTRODUCTION ,
TheProblem
WhyWomen'sHealth 5j
WhyWomen'sHealthintheDominicanRepublic 9
MethodologicalConsiderations: TowardsaMulti-dimensionalApproach 12
Summary
13
2 WOMEN’SWORK,ILLNESS,ANDHEALING: FORMULATINGAN
ORGANIZING FRAMEWORK
17
Introduction
1
TrendsinWomen'sHealthResearchintheCaribbeanandLatinAmerica 22
InterdependentContexts 27
NontraditionalAgricultureintheSanFelipeValley 28
Women'sLaborinNontraditionalAgriculture 30
ReviewofTheoriesinMedicalAnthropology 32
TheBioculturalModelofHealthandIllness 34
MedicalPluralism 36
FormulatinganOrganizingFramework: IntegratingTheory,Methodology,and
Women'sExperiences 37
Summary 39
3 RESEARCHDESIGN,SETTING,ANDSAMPLECHARACTERISTICS 40
Introduction 40
TheProvinceofSanFelipeintheContextoftheDominicanRepublic 43
ReseachDesign 46
MethodsofDataCollection 48
ConstructingaSample 50
TheSelectionofWomenTomatoPickers 54
vii
TheSelectionofBananaPackers 56
TheSelectionofAgro-idustrialWorkers 57
DemographicCharacteristicsoftheSample ”58
AgeComposition sg
EducationalStatus 59
GeographicalDistribution 6j
CivilStatus
SocioeconomicIndicators 65
Income 65
LivingStandards 66
DataCollectionTales 70
4 WOMEN'SCONSTRUCTIONOFILLNESSCAUSATION 64
Introduction 76
Women'sConceptualizationofIllness: Enfermedad,Estropeos and
Quebrantos , 79
FirstComponentoftheOrganizingFramework: Women'sConstructionof
Illness g2
OverviewoftheProblem: ADayintheLifeofWomenTomatoPickers,
BananaPackersandAgro-industrialWorkers >. 85
HealthConditionsofAgriculturalWorkers 89
WomenTomatoPickers 89
WomenBananaPackers 91
AgroindustrialWorkers 93
InfluencesonHealth 94
RiskFactorsofAgriculturalWork 97
EnvironmentalInfluencesonHealth 100
OtherInfluencesonHealth 101
RiskFactorsofSocialReproductiveRoles 101
RiskFactorsofPoverty 102
Summary 104
5 WOMENFACINGILLNESS 105
Introduction 105
SectorsofHealthCare 108
Biomedicine: TheProfessionalSector 108
TraditionalMedicine 109
MedicalPluralisminSanFelipe Ill
AboutPhysician’sAttitudetowardstheUseofHomeRemedies 114
ResponsestoIllness 116
InitialIllnessDiagnosis 117
InitialConsultation 117
InitialTreatment 120
viii
Summary PQ
6 CONCLUDINGSUMMARY U3
Introduction
SummaryofFindingsandEmergingIssues P3
ASigFniinfailcNaoncteeofthisStudy jpp6
APPENDICES
A APPENDIXA: CUESTIONARIODESALUDYTRABAJO 133
B APPENDIXB: LISTOFEIEALTHPROBLEMSTFIATWOMEN
REPORTED
REFERENCES
138
BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH
158
ix
AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchool
oftheUniversityofFloridainPartialFulfillmentofthe
RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy
WORK,ILLNESSANDHEALING
AMONGWOMENWORKERSINNONTRADITIONALAGRICULTURE
INTFFESANFELIPEVALLEY,DOMINICANREPUBLIC
By
ZobeidaEnidBonilla-Vega
August,1998
Chairman: AllanF.Bums
MajorDepartment: Anthropology
Thisdissertationanalyzeswork,illness,andhealingstrategiesamongwomen
agriculturalworkersintheSouthwestoftheDominicanRepublic.Thisstudyusesan
organizingframeworkderivedfromthebioculturalandmedicalpluralismmodelsin
medicalanthropologyaswellasfromwomen'sconstructionsofcausesofillnessand
theiridentificationofhealingchoices. Thepresentworkisawoman-centricstudy
situatedwithinthefieldofwomen’shealth.Methodologically,thisstudyhasemphasized
theimportanceofthewaysinwhichwomenexperienceillnessasanimportant
componentintheprocessofdevelopingnewknowledgeinwomen'shealth.
Atotalof111womenwhoworkinthenontraditionalagriculturalexport(NTAE)
sectorintheSanFelipevalleywereinterviewed. TheNTAEsectorisaplanof
developmentimplementedthroughoutdevelopingcountriestoaddresstheeconomic