Medicinal plants and herbal medicines in Primary Health Care: the perception of the professionals

Abstract

The Ministry of Health through the National Policy on Integrative and Complementary Practices (PNPIC) encourages the offer of Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Herbal Medicine, Hydrotherapy and Anthroposophical Medicine in the Unified Health System (SUS). This study evaluated the profile for the prescription/suggestion and credibility of herbal medicine usage as complementary therapy among the 157 professionals from the 66 Family Health Strategy (FHS) teams in Blumenau city. Data collection was conducted between the years of 2014 and 2015 through a semi-structured questionnaire applied to a sample comprised of 42 (26.8%) physicians, 40 (25.5%) nurses, 66 (42%) nursing technicians, 5 (3.2%) dentists and 4 (2.5%) oral health technicians. Bivariate associations were assessed using the Chi-Square test or Fisher's exact test for variables. Despite 65.6% of respondents being aware of the existence of the PNPIC, the presence of herbal medicines on the National List of Medicines was unknown by 85.4%. The majority (96.2%) of the professionals believe in the therapeutic effects of medicinal plants but do not prescribe this medicine. However, 98.7% agreed with the initiative to offer this complementary and integrative practice through SUS after training in the area.