Scenario of access to speech therapy based on the profile of children and adolescents referred to primary care

Abstract

Purpose: to analyze the profile and access of patients who need speech-language pathology care in a Primary Health Unit (UBS). Methods: a descriptive analytical study, including data obtained from a spreadsheet with information provided by patients from May 2013 to February 2020. The following variables were analyzed: gender, age at referral, speech-language pathology complaint, year of referral, year of the first visit and service, and professional responsible for the health referral, speech therapy conduct after first visit, and outcome after therapy. Categorical variables were analyzed by means of frequency and numeric variables by measures of central tendency and dispersion. For inferential statistical analysis, the Mann-Whitney test was used, considering 5% as the significance level. Results: in total, 171 individuals were referred, most were males, aged 4 to 6 years, with language complaints; 73.66% were referred by professionals from the UBS, mainly by pediatricians. After the speech-language pathology assessment, 27.49% were referred to the specialty. Among the 78 individuals who started speech-language therapy at the UBS, 24.36% were discharged and 32.05% were dismissed, due to absences. A statistically significant correlation was observed when analyzing data of waiting time and non-attendance at the first speech therapy visit. Conclusion: as it addresses a large part of the demands in Primary Care, speech-language pathology helps to increase solubility at this level of the health system. Lack of compliance is considered a barrier in service organization and in promoting access to other patients.