OBJECTIVES: To investigate the characteristics of individuals with spinal cord injury being treated in public hospitals, in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, and to assess the functional independence according to the degree of injury, the time after injury and the rehabilitation. METHODS: Is a cross-sectional observational study conducted from January 2003 to July 2006, comprising 22 patients being treated on these hospitals, with assessment of functional capacity through the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scale. RESULTS: Of 22 patients who survived after hospital discharge, 91 % were men, with age from 30 to 39 years (36.4 %). The main etiology of the above-mentioned injury was an accident of traffic (50%), 11 patients (50%) presented cervical injury, 10 (45.5%) had chest injury and lumbar injury. In individuals with cervical injury the total FIM score was low, implying less functional capacity. It was observed an increase of the FIM scores with the increase of time after injury, regardless of participation in rehabilitation programs. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the essential aspects found in this research must be proposed in rehabilitation programs to treat the population within the studied context.
Spinal cord injuries; Recovery of Function; Outcome assessment (health care)
