On December 03, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated, established in 1992 by the United Nations (UN). It is estimated that approximately 10% of the world's population have some form of disability. In Brazil, considering the population residing in the country, 23.9% had at least one of the disabilities investigated by the IBGE in the 2010 population census: visual, auditory, motor and mental or intellectual. Among the Brazilian states, Rio Grande do Norte had the highest rate of disability, with a rate of 27.76%, above the national average.
Since 2016, Instituto Santos Dumont (ISD) has been working in the context of the health of Persons with Disabilities (PwD), when the Ministry of Health enabled the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center (CEPS), in Macaíba (RN), as a Center Specialized in Rehabilitation (CER III). The following year, CEPS Anita Garibaldi's CER began to offer clinics for physical, intellectual and hearing disabilities, serving users in the municipalities of Macaíba, Natal, São Gonçalo do Amarante, Extremoz and Parnamirim. The CER managed by ISD is the first in the Northeast region to take care of the health of PwDs integrated into a research and innovation system, through work developed jointly with the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (IIN-ELS).
The CER/ISD Coordinator, Hougelle Simplicio, explains that the work is implemented in an environment with excellent care offered by a multidisciplinary team specialized in different areas of rehabilitation, such as spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, autism spectrum disorder, microcephaly, neurogenic bladder, prematurity, epilepsy and hearing deficiency. In addition to assistance, the CER team also offers health education activities in the fields in which it operates.
The fact that the ISD CER is integrated with the work carried out by the IIN-ELS, enables the development of scientific research, the results of which may be used in clinical practice in the future: “health professionals who are immersed in a research environment need to have knowledge of the state of the art and the best treatments available in each area of rehabilitation. Thus, they can provide excellent care for their patients, improving their quality of life”, says Hougelle.
This scenario of practices enabled the creation of the Multiprofessional Residency in Health Care for Persons with Disabilities, offered by CEPS since 2018 to professionals in the areas of physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychology and social work.
The Director General of ISD, Reginaldo Freitas Junior, mentions the fact that the Residence of the Institute is a pioneer in Brazil for being specifically focused on health care for people with disabilities, bringing the perspective of expanded care and interprofessionality.
Gleyca Rocha, a social worker who was part of the first group of the CEPS/ISD Residency, says that the experience is innovative because it brings a broad view of PwD's health and recognizes that the teachings of the two years of practice will be a great differential for all professionals who pass through the experience in the ISD CER.
Reginaldo recalls that the National Health Policy for People with Disabilities proposes, in its guideline, among other actions, the training of human resources and institutional responsibilities and points out as a priority the training of health professionals for the development of actions resulting from this Policy: “ Creating the Residence is one of our strategies to strengthen the Unified Health System (SUS). The System is made by people, so let's train them with a different vision, let's make them multipliers of this knowledge”, he emphasized.
ISD's performance in the field of PwD's health consolidates the teaching-research-extension integration that guides its institutional mission, as well as strengthens the Care Network for Persons with Disabilities and the National Plan for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Viver sem Limites) .
More about the work of the ISD CER HERE and on the Multiprofessional Residency in Health Care for People with Disabilities HERE.
Text and photos: Ariane Mondo / Ascom – ISD
Communication Office
comunicacao@isd.org.br
(84) 99416-1880
Santos Dumont Institute (ISD)
Social organization that maintains ties with the Ministry of Education (MEC) and whose mission is to promote education for life, forming citizens through integrated teaching, research and extension actions and to contribute to a fairer and more humane transformation of the Brazilian social reality.
