Osteopathy in primary health care: partial results of continuing education experience and some initial outcomes

This paper presents partial results of a research-intervention, through training of PHC work teams. Initial consultation was made in a group by HC professionals, and the osteopath then performed the consultation. The socialization and training of practical knowledge and techniques of the osteopathic approach was done between consultations. Multiprofessional teams from three health centers from Florianópolis, southern Brazil, participated in the training, and the process was audio and videorecorded, along with a final interview. Data was analyzed using the Grounded Theory. Apprehending the osteopathic knowledge was a triggering tool for reflective processes about care. Faced with the efficiency and resolution of this approach in practice, participants showed a willingness to transform their acts of care of patients and also their self-care. The professionals argue that the common understanding about self-regulating mechanisms and the inclusion of the tissue mobility in their anamnesis, including the stimulation of endogenous mechanisms, contributed to less protocol-based care, more appropriate care for each case, better multidisciplinary team work, the rational use of additional tests, medication, and surgical procedures.