The participant development in traditional indigenous medicine area, Project Vigisus II/Funasa

Abstract

The article presents the participative planning of health care actions in the Indigenous Traditional Medicine Department, of Project Vigisus II/Funasa (National Foundation for Health). This department's function is to build strategies for the articulation between the indigenous medicine systems and the official health care system, was is established at the National Health Care Policy for Indigenous People. The main activities developed were participant projects of research-action organized along three transverse axes: indigenous childbirth's traditional systems; medicine plants; shamanism and intermedicine. Qualitative results reached at the indigenous systems of childbirth axis are presented here, in order to show how the articulation with traditional indigenous medicine is a core condition to fulfill the principle of integrality in a differentiated model of indigenous health care.