MARIA DO ROSÁRIO DIAS (*)
JOSÉ AMÉRICO A. BRITO (*)
RESUMO
A dor é um dos sintomas que levam os indivíduos a procurar cuidados de saúde, sendo importante continuar a estudar os factores implicados na percepção da dor e, consequentemente, na procura desses cuidados. Pretende-se, neste estudo, estudar a relação existente entre a percepção da dor que os sujeitos sentem no momento e a procura de locais de prestação de cuidados de saúde que reduzam a intensidade da dor percepcionada, numa amostra de 1357 sujeitos, de ambos os sexos (M=675 e F=682), com idades compreendidas entre os 15 e os 90 anos, que se encontravam nos estabelecimentos de saúde seleccionados para este estudo, na Região de «Lisboa e Vale do Tejo». O instrumento utilizado foi a tradução portuguesa do West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (WHYMPI). Os resultados do presente estudo, ao mesmo exploratório e pioneiro, sugerem a existência de uma relação entre dor percepcionada e local escolhido para a prestação dos cuidados de saúde, revelando-se o hospital como o local de maior prevalência de escolha. Recomenda-se o aprofundamento da investigação neste contexto, cuja pertinência se ancora na necessidade de uma resposta optimizada do sistema de saúde, quer em termos da melhoria da qualidade de vida dos doentes com dor, quer em termos de racionalidade económica dos serviços prestados.
Palavras-chave: Dor, percepção da dor, procura de cuidados de saúde, locais de prestação de cuidados de saúde.
]]> ABSTRACT
Pain is one of the symptoms that primarily prompt the individual's search of health care. Then, it is important to continue research on those factors implicated on pain perception and consequently on the individual's health-care seeking behavior. In this study, the relationship between the perceived pain and the individual's search of health care, aiming at the reduction or control of pain, is assessed in a sample of 1357 patients reporting pain, both male (N=675) and female (N=682), aged between 15 and 90 years, and selected at health care units in the region of «Lisboa e Vale do Tejo». The West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (WHYMPI), which assesses chronic pain, was translated to the Portuguese language and applied. Results suggest an association between the level of pain perception and the selection of the health care unit, being the hospital the most chosen unit. Further and deeper research in this context is recommended, being its pertinence anchored in the need of an optimized response of the health care system, both on the improvement of patients' quality of life and on the economic effectiveness of the health services provided.
Key words: Pain, pain perception, health care seeking, health care units.
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