Abstract:

Introduction:
Sticking with a rehabilitation program is still a source of concern to all healthcare professionals. Patients have no longer a passive role towards medical prescriptions and have now an individual responsibility in their own health and control of the disease. However, the default rates associated with these programs are still very high. So, regarding this subject, the main goal of this study was to determine the influence of socialdemographic and labor factors in healthcare professionals perception towards patient adhesion to rehabilitation treatments.

Methods:
This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study in witch a questionnaire was submitted to 98 healthcare professionals, mostly female, with ages between 22 and 58 years old. They answered questions about socio-demographic profiles in order to measure the scale of patient adhesion to rehabilitation programs.

Results:
The score of healthcare professionals towards patient adhesion to rehabilitation programs is 6.48, a value above average. This study shows that are mostly female healthcare professionals who present the higher perception towards patient adhesion. Study results also reveal that strategies used by specialist nurses are more likely to prove patient adhesion than those used by doctors. When it comes to the methods used to promote patient adhesion there is a higher score in cardio-respiratory pathology when compared to the ones used in trauma and rheumatology. Healthcare professionals who work with neurology patients have a higher score than the ones who work with trauma and cardio-respiratory patients.

Conclusions:
Study results suggest that there is still a long way to go when it comes to finding strategies to improve patient adhesion to rehabilitation programs. To contribute for the professional development in this field, services must provide both continuous training and formation to the healthcare professionals as well as promote public awareness campaigns to encourage patients to keep up with their rehabilitation programs. Study findings also suggest that academic contents should be reviewed in order to help healthcare professionals to be prepared to encourage their patients while in treatment.

Keywords:

Perception, healthcare professionals, adhesion, rehabilitation programs.