Rural context and professional rehabilitation in a region of the Ribeira Valley

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the sociodemographic, of work and health profile of region workers, and to identify the barriers and facilitators in the INSS Professional Rehabilitation process of insured persons in the Vale do Ribeira-SP. Methods: A socio-demographic, work and health questionnaire was applied among active rural workers. And a list of reference professionals was obtained from the INSS Professional Rehabilitation Coordination linked to the Vale do Ribeira-SP region. Two reference professionals were identified, and individual interviews were conducted to analyze the thematic content. Results: The majority of workers worked on banana plantations, lived on farms, had low schooling, and all of them referred musculoskeletal symptoms. Among the main barriers to professional rehabilitation were: the profile of rural insured people with low schooling, difficulties in transportation, few courses offered, and the evaluation of the expert physician based on the biomedical model. Among the facilitators are the reception of the professionals of reference, the bond established and the empathy. Several situations caused suffering for reference professionals. Conclusion: There is a need for Public Policies that can guarantee the rights of workers and also to promote improvements in the current model of Professional Rehabilitation.