Access of individuals after stroke to physiotherapy services: integrative literature review

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Stroke can cause dependence on the activities of daily living of individuals and, to minimize these damages, it is essential that access to rehabilitation services be immediate and uninterrupted. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the access to physical therapy rehabilitation of individuals after a stroke. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study is an integrative literature review, in which an online search was performed in the databases Scielo, Pubmed, Lilacs, PEDro, Cochrane and Scopus In a complementary way, secondary searches were carried out in the lists references of the analyzed studies. The research restricted articles published between the years 2009 to 2019, written in Portuguese, English and Spanish, with specific descriptors. In total, 129 articles were identified, of which 7 were selected for analysis in this review after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS: Based on what was revealed by the research, more than half of the interviewed individuals were not referred to physiotherapy services, and the main barriers reported were the difficulty of physical and financial access to services and to continue treatment. Another highlight is the small percentage of users with neurological problems identified in the outpatient physiotherapy network. CONCLUSION: In general, access to physical therapy rehabilitation was classified as insufficient in most of the studies analyzed. It is in this perspective that the importance of the reorganization of health services is perceived, emphasizing the need for the insertion of the professional Physiotherapist in the Family Health Teams.