Abstract
Introduction:
Access to physiotherapy services needs to be timely, avoiding the establishment of disabilities in users. Analyzing the demands in physiotherapy provides a basis for planning both the management of queues and preventive actions and the reorganization of services, directing them to the main needs of the public.
Objective:
To identify users who needed outpatient physiotherapy services in the Unified Health System (SUS) in Campo Grande/MS and to characterize those cared for and repressed demand, as well as analyzing absenteeism and the waiting time for access.
Methods:
We used secondary data from the Vacancy Regulation System and performed association and multivariate analyses, with a significance level of 5%.
Results:
Females were predominant and their number increased year by year; the largest number of requests was for adult motor disorders. The average waiting time in the period (2017-2019) was approximately 2.5 months. Absenteeism was 34% and increased yearly. Most appointments and absenteeism were from users from the region of greatest social exclusion. Most referrals of repressed demand were for primary care and for physical therapy treatment in adult motor disorders.
Conclusion:
The results showed excessive waiting time between the request and the scheduling, high rates of absenteeism and repressed demand. These aspects act synergistically as barriers to access to outpatient physical therapy care in the public network in the capital city studied, with significant negative impacts on users’ recovery.
Keywords:
Access to health services; Physical therapy modalities; Primary health care; Rehabilitation