O acesso ao cuidado especializado em saúde por pessoas acometidas por lesões neurológicas

Abstract

Objective: To assess adult access with Neurological Injury (NI) to specialized care in Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy, in hospital and home contexts, as well as health and quality of life (QOL) of these people. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive, document and quantitative study. The sample consisted of individuals with NI, aged over 18 years old who have gone to a public and regional hospital between March 2015 and February 2016. The data was collected by form, semi-structured interviews, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Bref. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistica 9.1 software. Results: The results are discussed in two articles: the first Characterization of Individuals with Neurological Injury and Access to Hospital Care in Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy aimed to characterize the health conditions of 391 individuals with NI and analyze the access to specialized care in Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy during hospitalization. The average age was 53.9 years, predominantly males (57.3%) and white (91.8%). NI for Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) [36.3%] predominated; 66.5% of the hemorrhagic type. The prevalent risk factors were systemic arterial hypertension (49%), smoking (29.9%) and diabetes mellitus (19.9%). Access to Physiotherapy care was 36%, to Speech Therapy, 23.5%, while to Occupational Therapy, 5.6%. In the Emergency Department, Speech Therapy has taken care of 10% of individuals, while Occupational Therapy of 0.3%; in the Anesthetic Recovery Room, 0.5% and 0%; in the Intensive Care Unit, 30% and 0.2%; in the Medical Clinic, 30.6% and 14.4 and in the Home Care Service, 76.3% and 15.8%, respectively. The second article Access to Specialized Care: An Analysis of Health Conditions and Quality of Life of Individuals with Neurological Injury analyzed the access to neurological rehabilitation after hospital discharge, the health and QOL of 45 individuals resident in the hospital s city. Most (68.2%) had no access to Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy cares; 46.7% attributed this difficulty to the disorganization of services; 95%, to the absence of information. Damages from Traumatic Brain Injury (39%) and Cerebrovascular Accident (32%) were prominent. Most, according to ICF, has physical (60.9%) and/or mental (58.7%) changes, which hampered the return to everyday life (87%); the overall mean of QOL was 64.1, and the physical and environmental field, the most affected. Conclusion: The access to Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy, fundamental to minimize aggravations of NI, was restricted in hospitals and outpatient contexts due to the fragmentation and failure of Neurologic Care in Public Health and/or absence of information of individuals with NI on health caring. The NI were predominantly related to hemorrhagic stroke and traumatic brain injury, affecting male individuals in working-age, creating restrictions and disabilities (physical and mental) that decrease the QOL of those individuals (in physical and environmental fields).