Conocimiento y prácticas de prevención de cáncer de cuello uterino en mujeres con lesiones histopatológicas. Cuenca, Ecuador 2021

Knowledge and practices are essential to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with diseases in general and cervical cancer in particular. The objective of this study was to describe the sociodemographic characteristics and prevention practices in women with histopathological lesions of the cervix, for which 174 female patients, between 30 and 89 years of age, were interviewed at the SOLCA and Vicente Corral hospitals in the city of Cuenca. The results show that the participants, mostly living in urban and marginal urban areas, married, with primary and secondary education, with economic difficulties and mestizo self-identification, more frequently presented histopathological lesions of the LIEAG, LIEBG and Cancer type. Although they have information about HPV, very few know that it is the main cause of CCU, that it is transmitted sexually, that there are vaccines and early detection tests. Among the facilitating factors to carry out the Pap smear are: the follow-up visit, medical recommendation, own initiative and recommendation of a friend or relative; while personal factors, problems in the health service, economic and family difficulties, constitute the main barriers.