[Pap test coverage in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil].
In Brazil, the effectiveness of preventive public heath programs and actions is rarely evaluated. A cross-sectional study was thus performed in a population-based sample focused on several health characteristics of adults living in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The study aimed to measure temporal trends in coverage of Pap smear testing in the city. The authors studied the factors associated with failure of women to submit to a Pap smear. An updated Pap smear was defined as one performed in the previous 3 years. The sample consisted of 1,122 women ages 20 to 69 years, 72.2% of whom had an updated Pap smear, 16.6% of whom were behind schedule for testing, and 11.2% of whom had never had a Pap smear. Risk factors for never having a test were low socioeconomic status and old age. Logistic regression showed an independent effect of social class, low family income, age, skin color, marital status, and no medical appointment in the previous year. However, the effect of chronic diseases disappeared in logistic regression. The authors compare the results of the study conducted in 1992 with the present. Pap smear coverage increased from 65.0% to 72.2% (1992 to 1999/2000) in the city, yet such figures had still not ensured the effectiveness of the program for uterine cervical cancer prevention.
Dias-da-Costa
Juvenal Soares
JS
Departamento de Medicina Social, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, 96030-002, Brasil. jsdc@ufpel.tche.br
Olinto
Maria Teresa Anselmo
MT
Gigante
Denise Petrucci
DP
Menezes
Ana Maria Baptista
AM
Macedo
Silvia
S
de Borba
Andresa Thier
AT
da Motta
Gledis Lisiane Silveira
GL
Fuchs
Sandra Costa
SC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
Cobertura do exame citopatológico na cidade de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.