O uso de plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos na atenção primária: uma revisão integrativa de literatura

Abstract

For centuries, the use of medicinal plants was the only resource available to treat people's health, this use improved knowledge and spread this culture throughout the world and from this, phytotherapy was created. Medicinal plants and herbal //medicines are among the main therapeutic resources of Traditional Medicine and Complementary and Alternative Medicine and have been among society for a long time. The objective of this work was to seek information on how the use of medicinal plants and herbal medicines has been implemented in primary care. To this end, an integrative literature review of the data was carried out, available in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) database and in the Virtual Health Library (VHL), through the Health Descriptors (Decs): < Phytotherapy=, < Plants Medicinal= and <Primary Health Care=. Articles included were articles in Portuguese, with full text available and that addressed the topic, from 2018 to 2022. The following were excluded: articles repeated in the databases, incomplete, literature reviews, and studies that did not address the topic.It was evident that the community has a better acceptance of phytotherapy and the use of medicinal plants as they perceive it to be a less aggressive therapy in terms of side and adverse effects. However, there is a lack of knowledge among health professionals about public policies and programs related to phytotherapy and the use of medicinal plants. It is concluded that medicinal plants and herbal medicines are used by the community in a lay and cultural way, as health professionals do not know the public policies and programs that are related to herbal medicine and the use of medicinal plants, and feel insecure in prescribing this therapy to their patients. Therefore, it is essential that the professional has knowledge about medicinal plants and herbal medicines, to support guidance regarding their rational and safe use