Role of bilingual guides in access to health care among Indigenous Wayuu population of Colombia

Abstract

Anas Wayuu is an Indigenous-led non-profit health insurance organization in Colombia. It provides health care coverage to approximately 220,000 people, mostly Indigenous Wayuu, the largest Indigenous population in Columbia, living in La Guajira, the northeast region of the country, and in neighboring Venezuela. Anas Wayuu offers several intercultural health initiatives, among them the inclusion of bilingual guides for Wayuu families. The objective of the study was to describe the use of Anas Wayuu’s bilingual guides and determine whether use was associated with access and quality of care. A 34-item survey was conducted in 2020 to 2021 with a final sample of 2,113 Anas Wayuu enrollees and non-enrollees. Study findings demonstrated the relevance of bilingual guides programming. They suggested that bilingual guides improved individual’s capabilities to navigate the health care system, increased access to care, and increased their experience of quality of care. The findings strengthen the case for Indigenous self-governance over health care.