Healthcare for children with congenital Zika syndrome: analysis of access to social rights

Niteroi Coletiva, Abstract The objective of this study was to des-cribe if the victims of the Zika have access to es-sential public policies to guarantee social rights. Methods: We used a cross-sectional study of a historical cohort of children with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) in a reference hospital. CZS diagnosis was based on the Ministry of Health protocol. The variables analyzed were sociode-mographic and social rights of children. Results: Of the 161 children seen from April 2016 to July 2018, 42 were diagnosed with CZS. Of these, 37 children participated in the study and 75.7% of them had severe neurological disorders. Anticon-vulsants were used by 73% of the children, with 81% paid by families. The families were also res-ponsible for purchasing nutritional formulas and diapers in, respectively, 79% and 100% of cases, and 89% of the children had access to rehabilita-tion therapy, although 70% of them faced several barriers to do it. Of the 24 working mothers, 83% did not return to the labor market after the birth of their children. Conclusions: The results showed that the families were at an intersection between the integral activity of caring for a child with se-vere disabilities and inefficient and omissive pu-blic authorities, a disincentive and discouraging context that made them give up in seeking their rights.