The path of the state policy of integrative and complementary practices of rio grande do sul: A narrative of potentialities and resistances

Abstract

The State Policy for Integrative and Complementary Practices of Rio Grande do Sul (PEPIC/RS) was implemented in 2013 to institutionalize health practices based on the principle of integrality. This study aimed to investigate the potentialities, resistances, and peculiarities underlying PEPIC/ RS elaboration and publication. Three managers involved in the PEPIC/RS formulation commission were interviewed about the important aspects of the early stages of the policy process. This study was conducted from June to November 2018 using an oral history methodological approach. Collected data were analyzed based on thematic content. Two categories were emphasized: “PEPIC/RS: agenda setting, formulation, and decision-making,” which investigated the policy path until its publication and “PICS: policy potentialities and resistance,” approaching the incentives and antagonisms around PICS consolidation as a public policy. The protagonism of actors that joined efforts to institutionalize access to the PICS in the context of Rio Grande do Sul public health triggered the formulation of a state policy.