Abstract
The knowledge of the population’s reality is an essential stage for the discussion about health care. Thus this study aimed to get to know the profile of bedridden users and their caregivers in the riverside region of Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), and to assess the access to physical therapy services. This is a cross-sectional study in which home interviews were conducted with bedridden users and their caregivers living in the Aquidauana, MS, riverside region, assisted by the Family Health Strategy. Fourteen bedridden users participated in the study, most of them women (64.3%), of socioeconomic class D (78.6%), who were referred to some rehabilitation service (78.6%) and to physical therapy, which was the most referenced service (81.8%). The most frequent clinical conditions were senility (35.7%) and mental dysfunction (28.6%). All bedridden users had caregivers, most of whom were women (64.3%), with some degree of kinship, being daughters (28.6%) and wives (21.4%), which did not receive guidance on how to provide care (57.1%). Thus the data indicate that the majority of bedridden users were elderly women, of low socioeconomic status, with total functional independence, and who were referred to rehabilitation services; and, among caregivers, the majority were elderly women, family members, and with some level of burden.
Keywords
primary health care; physical therapy specialty; health vulnerability; caregivers; disabled persons