Características del papanicolaou y de la atención recibida como factores para adherir (o no) al tamizaje. Estudio cualitativo en mujeres Chilenas

Objective: To describe the perception of a group of Chilean women about the quality of care and the characteristics of the PAP test as factors that influence the decision to take or not the test. Method: Qualitative descriptive research with content analysis. Fifty-seven Chilean women from four public primary healthcare centers from the South East Metropolitan Health Service participated in this study. Data was obtained using the focus group methodology. Results: The characteristics of the procedure, the association with symptoms and cancer, the periodicity, the experience with close persons with cancer and the susceptibility are subjects associated with the exam. Regarding quality of care, the type of health system, the lack of money, the gender of the professional, the previous negative experiences, the lack of information and the appointment scheduling system were the topics analyzed. Conclusion: Adherence to cervical cancer screening is a multifactorial phenomenon and should be addressed as such. Healthcare professionals play an important role in the promotion of screening, and must proactively address women's perceptions and knowledge about it, without forgetting that the quality of care has also an important influence on the decision of taking or not the Pap test.