Global Studies and the World Health Organization in the legitimation of the ties between spirituality and health

• Grant number: 16/13245-0
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology
• Principal researcher: Ronaldo Romulo Machado de Almeida
• Grantee: Rodrigo Ferreira Toniol
• Supervisor abroad: Birgit Meyer
• Home Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Utrecht University (UU), Netherlands
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/18386-8 - Capturing spirituality: anthropological study about the spiritual dimension of health on scientific medical research, BP.PD

Abstract

The fundamental theme of this study are the uses, appropriations and various repercussions of the category of spirituality in the field of health. It involves investigating how this category acquired legitimacy and became a constant subject of research in the medical sciences. To do so, I will use as a starting point the daily work of and the results of the studies by Brazilian and Dutch laboratories, which participate in an international network of scientific cooperation about the topic spirituality and health. Combined with an interest in the characteristics of this scientific production, I will also analyze the role that the World Health Organization has performed in the recognition of spirituality as a dimension of human health. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to analyze, based on the work of agencies such as WHO and studies about spirituality conducted in the field of the medical sciences, how this category has been articulated and has mobilized actors and institutions dedicated to healthcare.