Abstract

MESA VILLEGAS, Julia Inés; JARAMILLO AYERBE, Felipe  and  BENJUMEA RINCON, María Victoria. FACTORS RELATED TO LATE DERMATOLOGICAL CONSULTATION FOR SKIN CANCER: TEST PILOT. DEPARTMENT OF CALDAS. Hacia promoc. Salud [online]. 2008, vol.13, n.1, pp.178-194. ISSN 0121-7577.

Researches conducted by the Universidad de Caldas reveal a tendency in late consultations to specialists regarding skin cancer. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors by which patients with skin cancer consult dermatologists so late, for the specific case of the department of Caldas. This was a retrospective descriptive study on 62 patients with skin cancer, treated at the Universidad de Caldas from January 2005 up to June 2007. The demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics of patients were studied, as well as the factors associated with the health system and the skin lesion. The results were described using average, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values, percentiles and relative frequencies. Differences between the delays were determined according to the characteristics of patients with the chi2 test, taking p<0.05 as a significant mark. The statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 15.0 software. The patient was identified as the main factor for delay in the consultation, highlighting factors such as: female gender, over 60 years of age, little schooling and welfare system. Most of them said they had not received prior information on the subject. While there is room for improvement in the various levels of health care, the predominant factor that could explain the late consultation of skin cancer is related to the patients’ characteristics and attitudes.

Keywords : Late consultation; skin cancer; promotion and prevention; Caldas; Colombia.

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