Impact of the National Policy on Integrative and Complementary Practices on Brazilian Public Homeopathy Services

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. Conclusions 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.

Historical Perspective of Homeopathy in the Brazilian Public Health System

“…Guidelines were established to structure and strengthen homeopathic care at different system levels, guaranteeing access to homeopathic medicines, with guiding elements in relation to the dissemination and spreading of this medical philosophy and the qualification of professionals, with incentives for research and follow-up action in evaluating homeopathic practice. 5 16 17…”

“…24 25 26 This persisting lack of awareness among professionals and managers poses a significant obstacle to the advancement of homeopathic practice, as it is not considered a priority in health care management. 17 26…”

“…22 Nevertheless, inadequate recording of homeopathic consultations in the electronic medical record of the Ministry of Health (e-SUS) impedes accurate data collection, hindering financial support and the integration of homeopathy into the Brazilian health system. 17…”

“…Guidelines were established to structure and strengthen homeopathic care at different system levels, guaranteeing access to homeopathic medicines, with guiding elements in relation to the dissemination and spreading of this medical philosophy and the qualification of professionals, with incentives for research and follow-up action in evaluating homeopathic practice. 5,16,17 This Policy, which was expanded in 2017 and 2018 in 24 new practices, offering a total of 29 integrative practices in the public health system, answers the desire of many users and health professionals, presented in the recommendations of Brazil's National Health Conferences since 1988, 6 in addition to meeting the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO)-contained in the document 'WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002-2005'-to encourage the integration of traditional medicine/complementary and alternative medicine into the national health system. 15,18 The National Health Conferences From the historical account presented here, one can see the important role of the National Health Conferences in the implementation of homeopathy in public health care, highlighting the 8th, 10th, 11th and 12th Conferences, as they all contributed in a certain way, via their deliberations, to the publication of the NPICP.…”

Five Successful Publication Years

“…The impact of national strategic guidelines on developing public homeopathy services in Brazil is the subject of work reported from São Paulo. 1 Randomized trials from Kolkata 2 and Bhopal, 3 on acne and COVID-19 respectively, and a parallel cluster cohort study from COVID-19 containment areas of Delhi, 4 feature as our clinical research in this issue. The findings from three in vitro studies are intriguing, for each of them indicates a homeopathic medicine's potential benefits that ensued from the inhibition of a harmful underlying biological process: limiting the development of blow-fly larvae that causes myiasis in sheep; 5 retarding the growth or migration of breast cancer cells.…”