Characteristics and functional demands of patients at a local rehabilitation network: analysis from first contact.

The cross sectional study aims to create the patients' profile and understand their demands for seeking public rehabilitation services from Belo Horizonte. Data were analyzed from 516 patients who gained entry into the health care system by means of the Protocol for Identification of Problems for Rehabilitation (PLPR). It allows for gathering information related to one's health and the social context, including a brief functional description (BFD) with 25 items. Most patients were females, mean age of 57 years, and 54% declared to be responsible for the family income. Severe or complete difficulty in at least one item from the BFD was reported by 87%. Pain and Mobility domains showed greater disability. The patient's demand for services referred them mostly to physical therapy (89%), and psychology (14%); 77% were referred to basic care (BC) and 21% to specialized care (SC). Those that started rehabilitation in SC were younger, had increased number of high ratings in item's qualifiers and higher total score in the BFD, indicating increased functional limitation and restriction. It is intended that the information provided by the PLPR may contribute to the organization of patients' flow and the planning of actions.