Integrative and complementary practices: experiences and reflections in quilombola communities

According to the World Health Organization, 80% of the population makes use of traditional practices in Primary Care. Brazil’s National Policy of Integrative and Complementary Practices considers medicinal plants to be the most inserted practices in society, because they have continually been present to the family and religious environment, which apply their knowledge. The objective of this work was to know the usual integrative and complementary practices in quilombola communities of the semi-arid region of Piaui. This is a descriptive research with a quali-quantitative approach.The research participants are mostly female, married and depend on subsistence agriculture. The data showed that the use of medicinal plants in the form of teas, mostly using the leaves, comprise the most used practices in the communities in a prophylactic way, or for the treatment of diseases. Some of the respondents reported having respiratory diseases, such as asthma and renitis that are caused or aggravated by the use of smoking, or even by the fact that they are a passive smoker. In addition, the consumption of alcohol that causes diseases such as liver cirrhosis, gastric problems, and behavioral problems that interfere with the well-being. In this perspective, the development of new researches is essential to deepen knowledge about this theme in traditional quilombola communities, as it provides subsidies for health education interventions in these communities.