Associated Factors for the Delay in the Diagnosis of Oral and Oropharynx Cancer in Juiz de Fora/MG

Abstract

The present study aimed to evidence the route that patients with oral and oropharynx cancer take before diagnosis and beginning of the treatment, describing possible factors that can lead to a late identification of cases, as well as the beginning of its intervention. The Kleinman's health care model was used, which includes professional, family and popular sub-systems. 37 patients participated in the study and the data was obtained through a semi-structured interview with a quail-quantitative analysis of data. On average, the interviewees lived with the signs/symptoms for 11,4 months without diagnosis. Single and male patients from rural áreas were those who demonstrated the longest delay for the diagnosis. The study concludes that, in order to Early diagnose oral cancer it is necessary to interfere with factors that influence both professional and patients delay. Thus it is necessary to implement health care policies with the objective of educating the population about oral cancer and design programmed routines in health care services for the early detection of suggestive lesions of this disease.