Contrast in beliefs and knowledge about dementia risk reduction in Southern Latin American Indigenous and non‐Indigenous older adults: A qualitative analysis
Jose M Aravena, Habana Muñoz, Daniela Vargas, Cecilia Albala, Becca R Levy · 2025
Read Contrast in beliefs and knowledge about dementia risk reduction in Southern Latin American Indigenous and non‐Indigenous older adults: A qualitative analysis by Jose M Aravena, Habana Muñoz, Daniela Vargas, Cecilia Albala, Becca R Levy (2025) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-11715910.txt.
Description
Jose M Aravena and four co-authors compare how Indigenous Mapuche and non-Indigenous older adults in Chile think about dementia and brain health. Their 2025 study notes that no earlier work set the two groups side by side in the same territory. Twenty-four people aged sixty and up gave deep interviews about aging, memory, risk factors, and habits for a healthy brain.
The views parted in telling ways. Mapuche elders who kept cultural religious practice described dementia as a passage toward the ancestors' spiritual plane. They named trauma and grief, poor food, social troubles, and alcohol as chief risks. Non-Mapuche elders named loneliness and depression instead, and prized an active attitude, social life, and mental exercise. Mapuche elders prized balance, avoiding excess, natural food, good sleep, pride in identity, and traditional work such as farming and crafts. The authors urge culturally shaped prevention programs.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Jose M Aravena, Habana Muñoz, Daniela Vargas, Cecilia Albala, Becca R Levy |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2025 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 3 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |