Influência do medo do câncer de mama na realização do exame mamográfico.

Abstract

Introduction: Breast Cancer (BC) represents a disease of worldwide relevance, being the most frequent cancer in the Brazilian female population, except for nonmelanoma skin cancer and currently contributing with 29.7% of all neoplasms among women. The influence of socioeconomic factors in performing the Mammographic Examination (ME) is already well described in the literature, however psychological factors, such as fear and health beliefs also make screening difficult, but have not yet been exhaustively studied. Objective: To analyze the influence of fear of MC and health beliefs on the decision of whether or not to undergo MS. Methodology: crosssectional and analytical study carried out in two health units in the city of Campina Grande-PB. The analyzed population involved women who sought the referred health units between October and December 2021 and the evaluated sample consisted of 180 women, of which 110 used the services of a Health Center and 70 of a Basic Health Unit. For data collection, an adapted structured questionnaire developed in previous studies was used, in which the Champion's Health Believe Model scale was included. Initially, the data were organized in an electronic spreadsheet with the help of Microsoft Office Excel 2013 software and, subsequently, imported into the Statistics TM Software program (SPSS®; IBM company; version 17, USA), in which the chitest was performed. square (χ2), Pearson's and Fisher's exact to compare categorical variables and the t test to compare continuous variables. Furthermore, to quantify the associations between variables including fear and the regular performance of EM, nominal logistic regression analysis was applied. Results: The frequency ofperforming the EM was different between the age groups, so that, of the 41 (22.8%) women who did not regularly undergo the EM, 27 (50.0%), nine (13.4%) and five (8.5%) were aged 40 to 49 years, 50 to 59 years and ≥60 years, respectively. Low education level and low income were characteristics of 111 (61.7%) and 117 (65.0%) women, respectively. Among the participants, 103 (57.2%) did not practice any physical activity, 150 (83.3%) reported that they never drank and 162 (90.0%) did not smoke. High attendance at the health service was associated with a greater chance of MS recommendation. Regular performance of MI was positively associated with employment, retirement, European origin, high frequency of health services and use of gynecological services. Regarding the classification of fear, most reported not being afraid to perform the EM, however the fear of mammography decreased the chance of performing this exam annually. CM fear data and the Champion's Health Believe Model scale were not heterogeneously associated with MS performance. Conclusion: The data showed that the fear of MS can influence the performance of this exam and that the type of health service used is a very important factor in this decision-making, demonstrating the importance of the Family Health Strategy in the implementation of the principles and guidelines of the SUS.