ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Homeopathy has been experiencing a period of expansion in Brazil due to its practical relevance in the face of new global and national health demands, culminating in the launch in 2006 of the National Policy for Integrative and Complementary Practices (NPICP) by the Ministry of Health of Brazil, which standardized and regularized the position of homeopathy within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). AIMS: To understand the impact of the guidelines proposed by the NPICP on homeopathy services in the SUS, specifically in the south-east region of Brazil, according to the perceptions of their managers. METHODS: This is a descriptive, exploratory research study with a qualitative approach, conducted in homeopathy services in the south-east region of Brazil, through semi-structured interviews and with data processed using content analysis. RESULTS: The data show the importance of the NPICP in regulating and offering homeopathy in the services studied. However, the NPICP's objective of promoting and fully developing integrative and complementary practices has not been achieved because it has failed to translate strategies into actions. CONCLUSION: Though important to the development of homeopathy services in any given location, policies stated in the NPICP were revealed to have limited impact on the implementation and development of new services. Without further legislation, training programs and appropriate budget allocation, new services will be unable to thrive and their users unable to benefit from a more comprehensive approach to healthcare.
Subject(s)
Homeopathy , Brazil , National Health Programs , Delivery of Health Care , PolicyABSTRACT
The current COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) epidemic has proved challenging due to its high impact on physical and mental health. According to Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, in an epidemic the most severe symptoms of the clinical condition presented by the population in question should be the basis for selecting the medication that is as similar as possible to them, and which should be administered to individuals who have been exposed to the disease but have not yet developed it. This medicine is called the genus epidemicus. This study aims to demonstrate the reasoning used to propose the homeopathic medicine Antimonium tartaricum (Ant-t) as a genus epidemicus in the COVID-19 epidemic. It was decided to develop the reasoning based on the respiratory symptoms described in the epidemiological bulletins presented by the Health Surveillance Secretariat of the Ministry of Health of Brazil, as these symptoms are the most serious of the disease. After repertorization, it was confirmed in the Materia Medica that Ant-t has a high degree of similarity with these respiratory symptoms, including the most serious situations, of COVID-19. Homeopathic Ant-t is thus a possible prophylactic genus epidemicus in the COVID-19 epidemic; further studies are needed to test this conclusion.
Subject(s)
Antimony Potassium Tartrate/therapeutic use , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , COVID-19/epidemiology , Epidemics/prevention & control , Homeopathy/methods , Materia Medica/therapeutic use , Symptom Assessment , Brazil/epidemiology , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Homeopathy/history , Humans , Materia Medica/history , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Desde sua introdução no Brasil, em 1843, a Homeopatia apresenta uma história peculiar, com avanços e retrocessos no cenário nacional, até que, em 2006, éimplantada, pelo Ministério da Saúde do Brasil, a Política Nacional de Práticas Integrativas e Complementares (PNPIC), sendo regida por diretrizes para normatizar e oficializar a prática da Homeopatia, Acupuntura, Fitoterapia, Termalismo e Antroposofia no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Este estudo teve como objetivo compreender o impacto destas diretrizes propostas pela PNPIC em Serviços de Homeopatia do SUS, que já caminhavam em seu processo de consolidação. Tratase de um estudo de abordagem qualitativa, que utilizou o referencial metodológico da Análise de Conteúdo. A coleta dos dados se deu por meio da aplicação de entrevistas semiestruturadas gravadas em áudio e transcritas na íntegra no períodoentre 2012 e 2013. Foram entrevistados médicos homeopatas coordenadores ougestores de sete Serviços de Homeopatia da região Sudeste do Brasil. A análise dasentrevistas desvelou categorias temáticas referentes às questões formuladas, descortinando as percepções sobre o impacto de cada uma das sete diretrizes,próprias da área homeopática da PNPIC. Pode-se observar que avanços eestagnações foram percebidos após a introdução da PNPIC. Alguns ganhos forampercebidos, como criação de metas, moldes, ações norteadoras, divulgação eeventos específicos. No entanto, chama atenção como a PNIPIC criou umaexpectativa nos serviços de Homeopatia já instituídos em relação a financiamentosque não vieram a ocorrer[...] Este novo cenário ainda apresenta uma série de desafios para a concretização de todo potencial que as PICS podem trazer para a busca integral à saúde dentro do SUS, evidenciando que seus recursos ainda estão sendo subutilizados. Torna-se necessário encontrar meios de viabilizar e transformar em ações, toda capacidade transformadora contida na PNPIC. (AU)
Since its introduction in Brazil in 1843, Homeopathy has presented a unique history with improvements and setbacks. In 2006 the Brazilian Ministry of Health finally introduces the National Policy on Integrative and Complementary Practices (PNPIC, in Portuguese), a set of guidelines aiming to standardize and formalize the practices of Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Hydrotherapy and Anthroposophy offered by the National Health System (SUS, in Portuguese). The aim of this study is to understand the impacts of those guidelines, already in process of consolidation, on Homeopathy service offered by SUS. This is a qualitative study that used the methodological framework of Content Analysis and collected data between 2012 and 2013 through the application of recorded semi-structured interviews that were later fully transcribed and analyzed. Those interviews were conducted with medical coordinator and/or managers of seven Homeopathy Services located in Southeastern Brazil. The analysis of the interviews unveiled themes relating to the formulated questions, revealing perceptions about the impact of each one of the seven PNPIC guidelines related to the homeopathic area. It is possible to observe that, given thepeculiar process of construction and structuring of SUS Homeopathic Services both progress and stagnation could be perceived after the introduction of PNPIC.Established goals, formatted templates, guiding actions, publicity and some specificevents could be mentioned as some of PNPIC's sensed benefits. [...]. This new scenario still presents several challenges to PNPIC's full potential in reaching an integrative medicine model within SUS, revealing its resources may be still underutilized. It is still necessary to find ways to transform all PNPIC potential into viable actions. (AU)
