Background:

Stroke is a public health problem of the first magnitude, being the first cause of disability in Spain. Although the fundamental role of psychophysical rehabilitation is known in patients suffering from this pathology, little is known about the integral and functional recovery of this type of patient. The Public Health Systems pay for or manage part of the treatment, but never its entirety. The aim of our study was to identify the factors that hinder access to the different treatments and care that allow the functional recovery of stroke patients.

Methods:

Bivariate correlational descriptive analysis was performed on a sample of 102 stroke patients, over 30 years of age, admitted to the University Clinical Hospital of Valladolid, who required comprehensive rehabilitation upon discharge from hospital. Additionally, a multivariable analysis (logistic regression) was carried out to adjust results and eliminate confusing variables.

Results:

The study showed that the factors initially associated with access to total rehabilitation were age (p<0.001), place of residence (p<0.001), marital status (p=0.007) and the existence of family support (p=0.01). Sex (p=0.18) and income (p=0.62) were not statistically significant. Age and place of residence (rural or urban) were the explanatory factors for access to comprehensive rehabilitation (values adjusted for all other variables p<0.001 were obtained).

Conclusions:

The results show the existence of very unequal access variables to comprehensive rehabilitation, with the consequences of loss of quality of life and impossibility of functional recovery that this implies, both for stroke patients of advanced age and for patients residing in rural areas.

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