Access to uterine cervical cytology in a health region: Invisible women and vulnerable bodies

Abstract

This article evaluates access to the Papanicolaou test in the Family Health Strategy (FHS) in municipalities in a health region. Cervical cancer control depends on a well-organized Family Health Strategy, so assessment of access to the Papanicolaou test reflects the quality of care at this level. This is a qualitative study with data produced in 10 focus groups, totaling 70 participants in four municipalities. We analyzed the organizational, symbolic, and technical dimensions of access to the Pap test, with cervical cancer control as the marker. The results indicate that living in rural areas was a barrier to access to the Papanicolaou test and exacerbated the inequalities. Nurses were the principal reference for access to the Pap test. The absence of necessary items for collecting cervical cytopathol-ogy specimens was a barrier to access in all the municipalities. There were obstacles to access for women with disabilities and lesbian women, with care that was fragmented and out of sync with individual characteristics. The numerous obstacles to access to the Papanicolaou test exposed the se-lectiveness of the Family Health Strategy in the health region, since it reproduced the invisibility of women with greater social vulnerability and exacerbated the existing inequalities.