Sociodemographic and Clinical Profile of Cancer Patients Registered in the Home Visiting Program of a Public Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: The sociodemographic profile is a vulnerability factor for the development of neoplasms in general, which can compromise preventive actions, hinder early diagnosis and/or access to an appropriate therapeutic, causing negative effects on the prognosis and quality of life of patients. Home care planning initiates in the hospital environment, when the family/caregiver receives guidance about coping with the disease and, above all, preventing complications related to the pathological condition. Objective: To characterize the sociodemographic and clinical profile of cancer patients registered in the home visit program of a public hospital. Method: Cross-sectional, quantitative, retrospective, and descriptive study whose data were extracted from the analysis of 274 charts of cancer patients registered in the hospital’s home visit service from 2010 to 2017. Results: Most of the patients were females in the age range from 60 to 80 years old, mean of 4 to7 years of formal education and living in the city of Belem. Stage IV genitourinary cancer was the most frequent. Finally, most patients had pain and were using wide-range potency analgesics. Conclusion: It is important to know the clinical and sociodemographic profile of the patients, in order to better planning and intervention together with the multidisciplinary team, since the population in the State of Para has a scenario of high prevalence of types of cancer that can be diagnosed early.