Health inequalities from an ethnography of Argentina’s “neighborhood pharmacies” Desigualdades en salud desde una etnografía en “farmacias de barrio” en Argentina

Abstract

In the framework of research on the pharmaceutical profession in Buenos Aires province (Argentine), this article highlights the centrality of “farmacias de barrio” (neighborhood pharmacies) as an entry point to understanding health inequalities. From ethnographic fieldwork developed in "farmacias de barrio" of Buenos Aires province, we were able to realize the characteristics of pharmaceutical care linked with the particularities of each population, the everyday interactions through the counter between "patients/clients" and pharmaceuticals employees; and the way that these everyday interactions become a place of healthcare. The proposal is to show the way in which social inequalities enter in pharmacies like differentiated consumption of medicine and medical products, social assurance and demands of healthcare. The material of analysis came from a fieldwork done in three cities of Buenos Aires province, the most populated in the country, these cities are: Ensenada, Florencio Varela y Mar del Plata.