PERCEPCIONES SOBRE LA SALUD SEXUAL Y REPRODUCTIVA DE LAS MUJERES INDÍGENAS KICHWAS Y SHUARAS. ECUADOR 2016

Cervical cancer is a health problem unresolved in de-veloping countries; this disease is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancer in Ecuador. Coverage of preventive screening is influenced by cultural con-ceptions of the population, which are based on the per-ceptions of each ethnic group on the etiologic process health-disease complex.OBJECTIVE: To interpret the perceptions of women of in-digenous peoples and nationalities Shuar of Sevilla Don Bosco and Kichwas of Quilloac and Saraguro, about sexual and reproductive health, sexually transmitted in-fections, cervical cancer and associated conditions. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted through 17 focus groups and 13 stories of life study. A total of 102 people interviewed. RESULTS: The stories of women understood as collective constructions of their respective ethnic groups in the context of a Western, patriarchal and maleness hege-monic culture, mainly refer to destructive processes of sexual and reproductive health, manifested as infideli-ty and male promiscuity and as the lack of protection with condoms, which affects the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and Cervical Cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Women have awareness of a broad concept of health, including notions of sexual and re-productive health; however, relate obstacles in their full exercise, related to inequalities of class, gender, and generational etnia1 expressed as destructive processes of their health