SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE STROKE IN THE STATE OF RORAIMA - BRAZIL: A HOSPITAL BASED COHORT STUDY

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Background: Cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) are a public health problem in Brazil. In Roraima, the problem may be even more serious, since there is no specific acute phase treatment capable of modifying the natural history of stoke. Objective: to evaluate the clinical and socioeconomic consequences of the stroke in Roraima, a Brazilian state in Amazonian region. Method: Observational, descriptive, quantitative cohort study. Fifty adult patients were included consecutively, when they were treated and diagnosed with stroke in the General Hospital of Roraima from 01/01/2016 to 06/30/2016. The patients were followed up during hospitalization and reassessed six months after the event, as an outpatient setting. Sociodemographic and clinical data were analyzed in the study as descriptive and explanatory variables. As outcome variables were considered the labor/social security situation and definitive functional sequels. For the evaluation of the definitive functional incapacity the modified Rankin scale was used. Results: The stroke in Roraima has an important personal impact, generating significant disability in those treated with supportive therapy. There was no statistically significant difference in the degree of disability at admission and six months after the reevaluation. There was a significant increase in the demand for government benefits, associated with a significant decrease in personal income and the contribution in family income, due to unemployment and retirement. Conclusion: this study highlights the need and importance of health managers to invest in treatment programs that may modify the natural history of the disease in the state of Roraima, due to its high clinical, social and economic impact.