Barriers in health care to breast cancer: perception of women

Abstract

Barriers in health care to breast cancer: perception of womenGonçalves LLC, Travassos GL, Almeida AM, Guimarães AMDN, Gois CFL RESUMENObjetivo: Identificar las barreras en el acceso a la atención en salud percibidos por mujeres con cáncer de mama en tratamiento quimioterapéutico. Método: Estudio descriptivo-exploratorio, cuya muestra estuvo constituida por 58 mujeres con cáncer de mama en quimioterapia inscritas en el servicio ambulatorio público de oncología de Aracaju-Sergipe. La recolección de datos fue realizada entre octubre de 2011 a marzo de 2012, por medio de entrevistas semi-estructuradas. Los datos fueron procesados en el software SPSS, versión 17. Resultados: Entre las entrevistadas, 37 mu jeres (63,8%) relataron haber enfrentado por lo menos una barrera en la trayectoria de cuidado del cáncer de mama. Las barreras organizacionales o de los servicios de salud fueron las más citadas en los periodos de investigación y tratamiento del cáncer de mama. Conclusión: Las barreras deben ser consideradas en las políticas pú-blicas de salud y de los programas de control del cáncer de mama en Sergipe. DESCRIPTORES Mujeres Neoplasías de la mama Acceso a los Servicios de Salud Diagnóstico tardío Enfermería oncológica ABSTRACTObjective: Identifying the barriers in the access to health care to breast cancer perceived by women undergoing chemotherapy. Method: An exploratory descriptive study. The sample consisted of 58 women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy and registered in the public oncology ambulatory of Aracaju-Sergipe. Data collection was carried out between October 2011 and March 2012 by semistructured interviews, and data were processed using the SPSS, version 17. Results: Among the interviewed women, 37 (63.8%) reported at least a barrier in the trajectory of care for breast cancer. The organizational and health services barriers were the most reported in the periods of investigation and treatment of breast cancer. Conclusion: In face of these findings, the barriers should be considered in public health policies and programs for the control of breast cancer in Sergipe. DESCRIPTORS INTRODUCTIONBreast cancer has become a public health problem worldwide. In 2008, the estimate was of 1,380 new cases and 458,000 deaths from breast cancer. Among these, approximately 59% occurred in countries of low and middle income (1) . Most cases diagnosed in developing countries are in more advanced stages of the disease, which complicates treatment (2)(3)(4)(5) . Barriers to access to health services, incomplete or missing information, difficulties in infrastructure, socioeconomic, ethnic and geographical conditions are some of the problems that lead to delay in diagnosis, both from other diseases as neoplasms (3,5) .Breast cancer, when detected at early stages, has the best prognosis and ensures lower costs to the health system (6) . Due to do this fact, the access to health services is of paramount importance, and goes beyond the mere availability of resources, resulting from a combination of factors, such as favor...

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