Traditional and Complementary Medicine in Primary Health Care in Brazil

Abstract

We present the situation of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) in Brazilian Primary Health Care (PHC), its problems and coping strategies. Databases, legislation, regulations and government  reports were analyzed, in particular, the first national  survey on T&CM. In 2017-2018, 29 T&CM modalities  were institutionalized in the Unified Health System  (SUS). According to official data, they expanded and  were offered by 20% of the PHC teams in 2016, in  56% of the municipalities, but the survey found offer  in only 8% of them. Such discrepancy is probably due to the registration / disclosure of data: a professional, once having recorded the exercise of a T&CM  converts his / her municipality into a bidder in  government statistics. There is little national training and practice regulation in T&CM. Most professionals  are conventional PHC practitioners, on their own  initiative, playing an important role in the (small)  expansion. The insertion of the theme in education is  incipient and there are researches in the area, but few  publications. T&CM institutionalization strategies in PHC involve federal stimulus to municipalities,  through competent professionals, matrixing,  permanent education in service, and governmental  action for their insertion in the professional training.