Medicinal Plants and Public Health: The Living Pharmacies as a linkage agent-patient
: Phytotherapy, Integrative medicine, Biodiversity, Brazilian Health System.
Resumo (Abstract) do trabalho em Inglês: The use of medicinal plants was officially recognized by the WHO in 1978 during the International Conference on Primary Health Care, through the Declaration of Alma-Ata. Despite incentives in Brazil, through public policies and specific programs for medicinal plants and phytotherapeutics, knowledge of this subject by public managers and professionals in the health area is narrow. With regards to a scarce formation and training of the professional who prescribes and the insecurity due to the lack of scientific and clinical references, there are several factors limiting the use of medicinal plants in the Brazilian Health System (SUS). In this work, the authors propose to evaluate the inclusion and use of medicinal plants in primary health care and to investigate the main factors that restrain a greater engagement of health professionals in recommending medicinal plants in basic health units (UBS) in the municipality of Teixeira de Freitas, Bahia. The project will be divided into two phases: (i) to associate an integrative literature review with the diagnosis of knowledge about medicinal plants by health professionals and the patients attending the 15 UBS operated under the Requalifica model, using a direct approach based on semistructured interviews; (ii) to build a practical guide for the implementation of Living Pharmacies I, for wide distribution among health agents and professionals in the territory. With the results of the project, the authors hope to contribute more efficiently to the construction and implementation of local public policies aimed at the use of medicinal plants in the SUS and the adoption of living pharmacies among the UBS in the municipality of Teixeira de Freitas-BA.