El conjuro: Una práctica de cuidado cultural para la Leishmaniasis Cutánea Americana en Florián, Santander (Colombia)

Justification: The American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is an endemic tropical cutaneous pathology in Colombia that during the last decade has received special attention from the national health services regarding the registry, basic attention and prevention among others, improving the local and regional epidemiology of this ailment in the country. Nevertheless, in the State of Santander there still a little knowledge about the practices used by the rural population affected in the cultural or generic care of the disease. Objective: To discover the practices of care, factors that determines its used and cultural believes to cure the American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the rural population of the municipality of Florián-Santander (Colombia). Methodology: Qualitative-descriptive study done in the rural zone during March 2008, with the participation of the people and conjurors from Florián-Santander (Colombia). The information was collected by semi-structured individual interviews to then analyze the content. Results and Conclusion: The pray spelled by the Conjurer emerged as the central practice of the cultural care. This tradition is complement with other cares to increase the efficacy. The modest socioeconomic situation, the shortage of ways of transportation, as well as the beliefs around the medical treatment with Glucantime®, were identified as the factors that help to consolidate the pray in the rural population as the major practice to "heal the ulcer".