Avaliação do acesso ao exame de mamografia por mulheres atendidas em uma unidade de saúde do Acre.

Mammography is an important practice for the early detection of breast cancer, the access of which needs to be ensured by health services, as they contribute to the reduction of mortality from this neoplasm. The objective of this study was to evaluate access to the mammography exam by women seen at a health unit. This is a cross-sectional study, using primary data and a quantitative approach, carried out with women registered in the health unit and who were within the age range recommended for the exam. Forty women participated in the study, most of whom were married (40%), with incomplete primary education (42.5%), received from 1 to 2 minimum wages (60%), were aged between 50 and 59 years (67%) and were of brown race / color (65%). Most (87.0%) had undergone a mammography exam in the last year (34.29%). The place of performance was the public health units (86.0%), and most of them (74.0%) stated that they did not find it difficult to perform it. In front of those who encountered difficulties (67.0%) claimed to be difficult to schedule the exam, (22.0%) said they felt a lot of pain during the procedure and (11%) evidenced having been attended by an unprepared professional. Based on the results, it was possible to identify as satisfactory access to the mammography exam, however, health professionals should still daily consider education for autonomy of the frequent search for the same, in order to guarantee the continuity of preventive actions and adherence of asymptomatic women to prevention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]