ACCESSION OF WOMEN TO CITOPATHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION FOR THE PREVENTION OF CERVICAL CANCER

Abstract

Objective: We  analyzed  the  reasons,  in  the  nurses'  view,  which  led  the  women  to  undergo  cervical  cancer prevention  in  a  city  of  Rio  Grande  do Norte. Methods: A  qualitative  study  was  carried  out,  together  with  11 nurses from the teams of the Family Health Strategy of the city of Assú/RN. The collected material, through open interviews, was submitted to the thematic content analysis proposed by Bardin. The statements produced two categories of analysis: motives that lead to the examination and attitudes / risk situations that contribute to cervical cancer. Results: The search for cervical cancer screening is practiced for several reasons, revealing little knowledge of the women about the objective of the examination. Conclusions: The results indicate that women's lack of knowledge about cervical cancer is a factor that contributes significantly to the increase in cases of cervical cancer. Women seek cervical cancer screening when they have symptoms such as vaginal discharge, vaginal itching, and are awaiting the onset of these and other symptoms for cervical cancer screening.