Epidemiological Profile of Cases of Physiotherapy in Primary Health Care in a Region of Brazil

INTRODUCTION
The insertion of the physiotherapist in primary health care became a reality with the creation of the Nuclei of Support to Family Health - NASF, which is an innovative strategy that aims to support and expand the care and management of health in Primary Care / Health Family. Your participation is defined through a survey of the area's needs and demand of the local population, discussed in meetings with teams from the Family Health Strategy - ESF.

METHODOLOGY
Data was extracted from the spreadsheet in meetings between the NASF team and ESF team, carried out from February to December 2009. Inclusion criteria were only the cases targeted for physiotherapy. The area covered by this NASF team was composed of four basic health units, totaling sixteen ESF, located in the region of São Mateus, east of the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

RESULTS
The sample size was 591 patients. Of this, 64.6% was represented by females. The groups most prevalent pathologies were: traumatology/orthopedics (36.2%, with 41.5% among females), 25.9% neurology (25.9%, with 40.9% among males) and rheumatology (24.8%, with 31.4% among females). With respect to age, 22.9% were between 45 and 54 years (69.8% females) and 18.1% between 55 and 64 years (61% females).

CONCLUSION
Although the primary health care is a new area of intensive physiotherapy, there was great demand for this profession. Thus, it is interesting to extend the promotion and prevention strategies in this field, in order to have a better quality of life in the population.