In 2018 Programa de Navegação de Pacientes (PNP) got piloted in Comunidade do Andarai, in RIo de Janeiro. This program was initiated by Doctor Sandra Gioia together with Fundação Laço Rosa and sponsored by Instituto Avon.
Through PNP it was possible to gather information about the disease, taking into account the sociocultural context. These pieces of information were summarized in an article, whose abstract was published by American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), one of the greatest institutions in clinical oncology.
What is PNP?
Programa de Navegação de Pacientes is a public health strategy which eliminates access barriers to diagnosis and treatment within the suitable time, increasing the chances of early diagnosis of breast cancer.
Its aim is to make it easier to have access to public health through the “navigator”, who supports the patients via public health.
To know more about the program, click here.
Data collected
Method
From March to September 2018, we registered some women in Comunidade do Andaraí, in Rio de Janeiro. We kept track of these women via phone calls, emails and text messages.
Out of the 678 women, aged around 58 years old, 12% refused to take part in the program for cultural reasons.
Results
The 599 women who take part in it reported barriers to diagnosing cancer.
The main ones were:
– financial problems (64%);
– miscommunication with the medical staff (58%);
– fear (44%);
– lack of social support (14%).
All the women who have been through the program were satisfied, and exams were outnumbered (88%).
Conclusion
PNP, for breast cancer, in Comunidade do Andaraí, has been viable to the local public health. PNP has promoted an increase in the rate of mammographies to 88%, it has helped share reliable information, it has reduced fear of mammography, and it has made it easier to access treatment to breast health.
Would you like to have PNP work in your community? Leave your opinion here!