SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS OF UTERINE CERVICAL CANCER PATIENTS ATTENDED AT A REFERRAL HOSPITAL IN RECIFE – PERNAMBUCO (PE)

Opening: Uterine Cervical Cancer (UCC) is still the second most deadly incident in women in Northeast of Brazil. Even preventable with the resources provided by Unique System of Health (Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS), failures to reduce its incidence related to insufficient coverage, low quality of the cytological examination, financing difficulties and adequate infrastructure persist. Objectives: Verify the conditions of health and of health system using by women with UCC and their families, as well as promote the geolocation of the cancer cases in question in the state of Pernambuco. Methods: Observational cross-sectional study involving data from cancer patients treated at a referral hospital in Recife PE, in the period between the years 2016 and 2019. Qualitative and quantitative variables were collected through an interview guided by structured questionary and the patients medical records analysis, focusing in sociodemographic data and heath problems. For the quantitative variables, central tendency and dispersion measures were calculated and documented through McNemer’s statistics test. In the case of qualitative variables, a descriptive evaluation was performed with the study of frequency and percentage, using the T test to measure differences. Results: Of the 285 women in the study, 55.8% live in municipalities in the 1st Region of Health, while the mesoregion of Wood Zone has the highest biopsy performance in the public sector (59.5%). The sociodemographic analysis shows that 77.7% are non-white race, only 8.4% have completed Higher Education and 38.5% work outside home. The knowledge about the Pap smear was present in 88.9% and the misinformation regarding what would be the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) reached 44.4%. About the cancer disease influence, 75.9% affirmed that young family members were instructed to vaccinate against HPV, followed by 76.3% who relate their diagnosis to the search for preventive care in family members over 25 years of age. Conclusion: UCC has dimensions that revels regional and social inequalities, as well as health care needs. The results also appoint that women still have low knowledge about HPV, fact that highlights challenges to the professionals practices and to the health system regarding this disease.