| Summary: | Objective: To present the perception that nursing staff, health service users and traditional physicians have in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, concerning health, sickness, pain management culture, and traditional healing methods. Methodology: Exploratory study. Population composed of 153 nurses, 253 patients and 6 healers. Results: Nursing staff: 40.52% graduate level with some specialty; 63.39 % defined health as a physical well-being; 36.60 % defined sickness as a misbalance in one’s organism; 60.78 % defined pain as a manifestation of physical discomfort. Patients: 70.68% were male; for 78% of them, elementary school was the highest academic level. From these, 37.74% defined health as the most important part of their lives, 52.60 % defined sickness as something harmful for human beings; 50.60% defined pain as a discomfort. Healers considered it as their mission to use herbs, candles, spirits and praying to help people regain health. Conclusions: Nursing staff must bear in mind that there is much cultural diversity in all the different population groups, when offering nursing services to their patients in a respectful way.
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