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Background: The current focus on monitoring health inequalities and the complexity around ethnicity requires careful consideration of how ethnic disparities are measured and presented. This paper aims to determine how inequalities in maternal healthcare by ethnicity change according to different criteria used to classify indigenous populations., Methods: Nationally representative demographic surveys from Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru (2008-2016) were used to explore coverage gaps across maternal health care by ethnicity using different criteria. Women were classified as indigenous through self-identification (SI), spoken indigenous language (SIL), or indigenous household (IH). We compared the gaps through measuring coverage ratios (CR) with adjusted Poisson regression models., Results: Proportions of indigenous women changed significantly according to the identification criterion (Bolivia:SI-63.1%/SIL-37.7%; Guatemala:SI-49.7%/SIL-28.2%; Peru:SI-34%/SIL-6.3% & Mexico:SI-29.7%/SIL-6.9%). Indigenous in all countries, regardless of their identification, had less coverage. Gaps in care between indigenous and non-indigenous populations changed, for all indicators and countries, depending on the criterion used (e.g., Bolivia CR for contraceptive-use SI = 0.70, SIL = 0.89; Guatemala CR for skilled-birth-attendant SI = 0.77, SIL = 0.59). The heterogeneity persists when the reference groups are modified and compare just to non-indigenous (e.g., Bolivia CR for contraceptive-use under SI = 0.64, SIL = 0.70; Guatemala CR for Skilled-birth-attendant under SI = 0.77, SIL = 0.57)., Conclusions: The indigenous identification criteria could have an impact on the measurement of inequalities in the coverage of maternal health care. Given the complexity and diversity observed, it is not possible to provide a definitive direction on the best way to define indigenous populations to measure inequalities. In practice, the categorization will depend on the information available. Our results call for greater care in the analysis of ethnicity-based inequalities. A greater understanding on how the indigenous are classified when assessing inequalities by ethnicity can help stakeholders to deliver interventions responsive to the needs of these groups.

The growing value of forest resources has produced an increasing regulation of the use of forest resources in the national states of the Amazonian region. The new generation of forest norms have established a standardised system for the utilisation of forest resources based on two main aspects: the elaboration of forest management plans, and the granting of forest licences by the State's authorities. However, this system has also increased the barriers for applying TFRK in indigenous lands because the current forest norms do not always consider their knowledge, their customary law, and their values. In view of this problem, this paper identifies the gaps and opportunities of the ICH Convention for protecting the TFRK of Amazonian indigenous peoples, considering the national legal frameworks of Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. For doing this, firstly the connection between TFRK and intangible cultural heritage is shown. Secondly, the duties of the national States in relation to TFRK established by the ICH Convention are identified. Thirdly, it is discussed the form TFRK of Amazonian indigenous peoples is regulated in the national legal systems. Finally, it is analysed how the national norms that regulate TFRK of Amazonian indigenous peoples accommodate the ICH Convention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every woman experiences the menopause transition period in a very individual way. Menopause symptoms and management are greatly influenced by socioeconomic status in addition to genetic background and medical history. Because of their very unique cultural heritage and often holistic view of health and well-being, menopause symptoms and management might differ greatly in aboriginals compared to non-aboriginals. Our aim was to investigate the extent and scope of the current literature in describing the menopause experience of aboriginal women. Our systematic literature review included nine health-related databases using the keywords ‘menopause’ and ‘climacteric symptoms’ in combination with various keywords describing aboriginal populations. Data were collected from selected articles and descriptive analysis was applied. Twenty-eight relevant articles were included in our analysis. These articles represent data from 12 countries and aboriginal groups from at least eight distinctive geographical regions. Knowledge of menopause and symptom experience vary greatly among study groups. The average age of menopause onset appears earlier in most aboriginal groups, often attributed to malnutrition and a harsher lifestyle. This literature review highlights a need for further research of the menopause transition period among aboriginal women to fully explore understanding and treatment of menopause symptoms and ultimately advance an important dialogue about women’s health care. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Copyright of International Journal for Equity in Health is the property of BioMed Central and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The different strategies of resistance deployed by discriminated ethnic groups in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia are analysed here. In Brazil, Afro movements and indigenous populations are increasingly fighting against discrimination and developing their cultural identities, while demystifying the idea of Brazil's national identity as a racial democracy. In Peru and Bolivia, indigenous populations are challenging the generally accepted idea of integration through miscegenation (racial mixing). Assimilation through race-mixing has been the apparent solution in most Latin American countries since the building of the nation states. Its positive side is that a peaceful interethnic relationship has been constructed but its negative side, stressed in recent multicultural strategies, is that different ethnicities and cultures have been accepted only as parts of this intermingling and rarely recognised as the targets of discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]