[Use of rehabilitation services by technology-dependent children and adolescents in a maternal and child hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]

Abstract

The objective of this study was to describe the dependence on technology and use of rehabilitation services by children and adolescents in a maternal and child hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Using a cross-sectional design, the following variables were analyzed: gender and age of the children and adolescents, socioeconomic characteristics of the family, technology dependence, and use of rehabilitation services. The majority of the study population consisted of preschoolers (56.3%), boys (58.3%), residing in Greater Metropolitan Rio de Janeiro (89.3%), from low-income families (70.9%), and cared for mainly by their mothers (93.8%), who in turn have low schooling (54.2%) and are unemployed (89.6%). Of the entire study population, 22.9% were dependent on more than three different technologies, with medication as the most prevalent. Government and nonprofit institutions fund the rehabilitation, and physical therapists are the most widely used health professionals during treatment (60.4%). The target hospital provides all of the specialized medical treatment and most of the rehabilitation.