Perspectivas dos fisioterapeutas sobre a atuação na Chikungunya no contexto da atenção primária

Abstract

The objective of this work was to investigate the performance of physiotherapy in the context of Primary Health Care (PHC) in the care of elderly people affected by Chikungunya fever, who developed rheumatic manifestations. It consists of an exploratory and qualitative study. A purposeful sample of ten physiotherapists who work in PHC in Rio Grande do Norte were interviewed. The interviews were carried out remotely via the Google Meet platform, following a semi-structured script and their transcription was submitted to Content Analysis. Respondents reported that, in addition to intervening in the pain and movement limitations of users affected by chikungunya fever, they also act in the promotion and prevention of injuries. They identify that the potential of this profession is many, but they are still quite limited due to obstacles, which include the high demand for few active professionals and the lack of resources. Despite these weaknesses, physiotherapists emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary work, aiming at health promotion and disease prevention in order to minimize the flow in secondary and tertiary complexities.