Fitoterapia e profissionais da saúde na Estratégia Saúde da Família

Abstract

Introduction: Herbal medicine is an area of medicine that uses medical plants to prevent and treat diseases. In the last decades there has been the deployment of public polities directed to add herbal medicine in the primary care. The correct indication and use of herbal plants and herbal medicines are connected to the prior knowledge of healthcare professionals about this therapeutic. Objective: evaluate the perception and interest of healthcare professionals from Health Family Strategy about herbal medicine in the primary care. Methods: it has been done a transversal and analytic study, based on the target audience 411 of the professional teams in the Health Family Strategy located in the urban areas of Montes Claros city, Minas Gerais, Brazil. To collect data, it has been done two surveys structured and self-applied directed to superior level professionals (physicians, dental surgeons and nurses) and high school (nursing technicians and community agents). The surveys had general data, knowledge and interest in herbal therapy and herbal medicines, therapeutic use and. It was done descriptive analysis and bivariate analysis through the test of Chi-square (c²). Result: one hundred eighty three professionals answered the superior level survey and two hundred twenty eight answered the high school level. Most of the graduated professionals (81,8%) did not have herbal medicine content related, 69,2% do not know the Herbal Medicines and Herbal Therapy National Polity, 96,7% consider important the incorporation of herbal medicines and herbal therapeutic as treatment to the attended population. A big part of the attendees (87,3%) has interest in working with herbal therapy and 75,1% believe in its reliability. Between the superior level professionals, 65,6% did not indicate herbal medicines and herbal therapy in the clinical practice and the high school the use is predominant (80,3%), making this significant data (p=0,001). In the big picture, the indication and use of herbal medicines and herbal therapy were correct; therefore it was found some mistakes in both groups. Conclusions: it was understood that there are not much knowledge about herbal therapy between the healthcare professionals in the primary care, however they consider important the use of herbal medicines and herbal therapy. It has been noted that it is necessary the inception of the Herbal Therapy subject in the curricular grating of the healthcare courses and act in the permanent education to make it used safely and efficiently.