Networks, mediators and care domains during the Zika congenital syndrome epidemic

Abstract

On the basis of ethnographic research with mothers, managerial and health care services and research teams during the Zika epidemic in Brazil since 2015, mediation activities of eight women in different care domains operating during the emergency situation are presented. The article discusses the concept of mediation as multifaceted, polysemic, and transitory, shown in cases of actors who “know how to go after” benefits in connections between family domains of care that are organized by a morality of everyday relationships, mangerial and professional care service domains by a morality of preservation of the service system network, and research domain, by a morality of knowledge. The practice of mediation is seen as preserving the social networks of mediators, who make complementary connections with other domains by way of specific acts, expressing emotions of different intensities which contribute to mutual confidence and the obtention of services.  Examples are drawn for four mediators from the mangerial and health service care, two from research teams, and two from associations that represent the families. Final considerations emphasize the importance of the time of emergency for the creation of more intense mediation, while the transient nature of the epidemic as an event is unfavorable for continuity.