ISPPPPP

Below is my very rough brainstorm of what my TCR, Topical Critical Review, will look like. I have spent the majority of today-in between snacking on cupuaçu yogurt, watching youtube clips, and napping-doing research and taking notes on the plethora of sources I've been compiling and reading over the past few weeks here:

Begin with discussion of PSA, brief history and project aims. Next, discuss ecological public health [2 chapters, 1 overview of where public health is at and where needs to go, 1 on how it relates back to sustainability]) In the context of this new ecological public health under the umbrella of sustainability, how can communities and organizations avoid falling into the trap of the global commons? If ecological crises are formulated as global in nature, and therefore mandating global intervention, how can movements for sustainable health remain culturally autonomous and in the hands of the people? Explore Goldman/Escobar. Where do PSA fall in? From here, into the topic of whose knowledge is given precedence, and then go into Fischer and local knowledge. The system of development, in general, is one over the privileging of certain kinds of knowledge, science and technology, more Fischer on this. Go into At the Edge of Development, epidemiological transitions and state of health in Brazil in rural context. Go into the biggest barriers to providing healthcare, especially overlap between biomedicine/scientific experts and traditional knowledge. How does PSA relate? Lastly, go into subject of participatory science and research. PSA began, and continues to operate, under the importance of participatory research and assessment. Under community health program, they have a segment on participatory epidemiological monitoring. The rest of their health, environment, and education programs center around helping to train people to train others in the community and be self sufficient. Go into Phil Brown’s definition of popular epidemiology, how it differs from standard epidemiology, and the ways it incorporates everyday knowledge and understanding of the environment/workplace/home and community health surveys to place communities in active dialog with experts, both public and governmental/technocratic in nature. Since PSA is now in partnership with the Federal Government and IBAMA, this is something important to look into. Therefore, I could conclude that my ISP at this point will be how and if, in PSA’s holistic struggle for health and happiness, participatory epidemiology functions under the wider context of cultural autonomy and ecological public health. As PSA has recently expanded its focus from ~30 communities to ~140 in the Tapajos Region, and thus began fresh with a mix of preventative and curative health systems and forest economy programs within the context of governmental regulation, it is important to investigate how citizens can still remain, to a certain extent, their own experts in the decisions made over their well being.

It's really rough, but tomorrow I am meeting with Gustavo to talk about it, and then I have all of Thursday night to get it done and write it out. Maybe I'll start tonight. Maybe. I'm pretty beat. But, I happen to really like the topic I am looking into. Part of the whole thing is that if I spend a month studying all about participatory community based development as it pertains to environmental health monitoring, it can give me a lot to bring back to the US and work with in terms of new ways to think about advocacy, a career, and how to provide empowerment working within culture to achieve the same ends. It's all about the means, after all. At the same time, the whole point of participatory epidemiology, popular epidemiology, or whatever you plan on calling it, is that it is intended to be understood and interpreted in the categories of that culture, so that the people living there within that particular logic are the best equipped to notice changes in health/environment patterns and make referrals based upon their own understandings of the world. I think the Edge of Development book I'm using, even though it's from the early 80's, put it nicely. Biomedicine needs to use the culture they are working with as an anchor, and then blend biomedical understandings of disease and technology to fit in with that reality. Otherwise, you are speaking in, more or less, two different "cultural languages". But as their studies also show, traditional health care has, by and large, been pretty receptive to biomedical advances when this cultural translation is made clear, and the benefits evident. As their main point states (although I'm sure I can see people take issue with the statement in terms of universalizing), the desire for health (defined in the broadest sense, physical, communal, familial, individual) transcends all cultural boundaries. It's not like you are dealing with some alien species here; we all are, after all, human. And since one's immediate community and environment are what matter most, I think it's a fair enough statement to make. Perhaps even by working with PSA, I could help in their project in whatever way I can, so that my status as a researcher also dissolves from the whole concept of a neutral, value-free, observer, to someone who is participating and collaborating with those he or she is working with.

The chapter in Health Ecology that I am reading now also puts things in perspective, ecologically:
"The physical environment, our habitat, is the most important determinant of human health. Protection of the environment and preservation of ecosystems are, in public health terms, the most fundamental steps in preventing human illness" (118).

Works for me.

This past week otherwise has been pretty uneventful. We were all pretty drained from Cirio Weekend. And it's somewhat still going on this week, minus the enormous procession. We had another Portuguese oral test, which I think I did fine on, judging by how the conversation went. Last night a few of us went out for sushi. I had a "Filadelfia Roll". It was cooked salmon and cream cheese in a roll. Needless to say, not as good as Philly-style. You also pump your wasabi in liquid half-soy-sauce form. But, it was cream cheese, which I miss, so, made me happy enough. I also decided to buy some new clothes yesterday, half because most of my shirts smell like boat-funk, and half because us Americans here in Brazil are experiencing Brazil's 50% off sale, as we like to joke, even though in reality it's terrible because the economy back home is dying, as you all know better than I. But still, it means you get a shirt here, which costs $R 30, but in U.S$ cost ~$13. Oh yeah.