Ethnography is utilized more and more frequently to study different subjects within the domain of health: the functioning and evaluation of health systems; epidemiological research; scientific research conducted in laboratories; research on biotechnology; genetic research, among others. Some methodological questions arise from critical reading of these studies: How has ethnographic research evolved in the last decades? Which elements characterize ethnographic research applied to health? This paper is an attempt to reflect upon these issues by: 1 analyzing the development of the ethnographic method and its use in research on health; 2 discussing the methodological aspects of an ethnography carried out with elderly people in the city of Fortaleza, focusing particularly on participant observation.
Ethnography; Qualitative research; Observation; Public health