Epidemiological characterization of patients treated at a rehabilitation center: retrospective analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Although essential in the context of the Unified Health System (SUS), physiotherapy faces challenges in the field. Assessing the supply and demand for this service guides public policies and improves the clinical practice of these professionals. Objective: To analyze the sociodemographic and clinical profile of physiotherapy service users at a Rehabilitation Center. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study based on medical record analysis. Statistical analysis used the following tests: measures of central tendency, frequency analysis, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Spearman's correlation test. Results: A total of 300 medical records were collected, with a majority of patients being women (68%) and Black individuals (61%). The most common injuries were trauma-orthopedic (54.7%), rheumatological (34.3%), and neurofunctional (9%). Young men were more likely to have cardiorespiratory diseases, and older adults were more likely to have neurological injuries. Sessions lasted an average of 28 minutes, with electrotherapy being the most commonly used physiotherapy resource. Rheumatological diseases received more combined treatment. Women received less kinesiotherapy and more manual therapy. Black people received more combined therapies, and white people received more single resources. Conclusion: In the sample analyzed, there was inequality in treatment regarding sex and race. Furthermore, the results indicate that the approach, methods and techniques, and treatment time need to be rethought, considering the biopsychosocial model, scientific guidelines, and the principle of SUS.