Background: Cervical cancer is reportedly the easiest gynecologic cancer to prevent, and measures that have the most impact are regular screening and timely follow-up. Although the Papanicolaou (Pap) test used to screen for cervical cancer has been recognized as one of the most valuable clinical preventive service for women, variation in screening and tracking remain a barrier for some women achieving optimal health. Missed opportunities for care in the form of inadequate follow-up is a patient safety and quality of care issue that can be appropriately addressed through implementation of a tool to be used as a component of a cervical cancer surveillance program. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to develop an evidence-based, tracking tool for cervical cytology screening to facilitate surveillance measures in a community health center. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework applied was Donebedian’s quality of care framework that incorporates the Structure-Process-Outcome model. Methods: The study was conducted in five phases over a period of 14 months. After permission was granted to implement the study, the tracking tool was developed with input from the mentor. The final two phases consisted of training, implementation, and evaluation of tool’s effectiveness towards improving practice. A survey questionnaire measuring the staff’s opinion of the tool was administered and verbal feedback regarding perception of the tool’s capability to impact clinical practice was collected. Results: Informal surveys were performed by asking stakeholders to share their attitudes and opinions of the surveillance tool. Conclusion: Consistent evidence-based practice among those charged with providing care is paramount to helping patients achieve their best outcome. Surveillance is an internal process and improving surveillance is pivotal to the goal of optimizing outcomes. The findings of the QI project indicate that through the provision of this evidence-based practice, clinical resource, quality of care will be improved. Additionally, the surveillance tool will be incorporated into clinical practice and used as the official method for tracking abnormal cervical cancer screenings, scheduling follow up care, and tracking patients until resolution of cervical pathology.

Dada a complexidade epidemiológica do câncer de mama e a escassez de estudos sistemáticos sobre este assunto na região norte do Brasil, este trabalho consiste no primeiro levantamento epidemiológico e assistencial em saúde tomando como base a assistência ao câncer de mama no norte do Tocantins, entre 2010 e 2015, tendo como referência o Hospital Regional de Araguaína. Os objetivos foram: verificar a qualidade das informações cadastradas no SIS-RHC quanto à completude do preenchimento dos dados referentes às mulheres com câncer de mama; avaliar a variação temporal dos percentuais de casos em estádios precoce e tardio da doença no momento do diagnóstico; analisar o tempo decorrido para se conseguir a primeira consulta, o diagnóstico e o tratamento e, analisar a associação entre as variáveis sociodemográficas com o estadiamento do tumor no momento do diagnóstico (precoce e tardio). Foram excluídas as variáveis com grau de incompletude acima de 20%. Verificou-se que: a variável ocupação teve 35,1% de preenchimento incompleto e foi excluída da análise; escolaridade apresentou 10,6% de incompletude, alcoolismo 13,5% e tabagismo 12,8%; as demais variáveis apresentaram menos de 10% de incompletude; a maioria das pacientes se apresentou com doença avançada (51,1%); não houve diferença dos percentuais de pacientes com estádios precoces e tardios ao longo dos anos avaliados (p=0,757); a mediana do tempo para consulta foi de 158 dias e para tratamento foi de 182 dias; as mulheres com estadiamento precoce levaram mais tempo para iniciarem o tratamento comparativamente àquelas com estadiamento tardio (p=0,011); as mulheres de raça/cor preta (p=0,012), analfabeta (p=0,003) e de procedência do Pará (p=0,009) apresentaram maior porcentagem de estadiamento tardio no momento do diagnóstico. Assim, concluiu-se que as variáveis da base de dados são fontes de informação consideráveis; a maioria das mulheres foi diagnosticada com doença avançada e a evolução temporal da proporção de casos avançado e precoce não demonstrou mudanças variacionais ao longo dos anos; a qualidade do serviço ambulatorial do HRA para consultas em mastologia mostrou-se precária com tendência a priorizar o atendimento aos pacientes com doença avançada. Por fim, foi identificado associação de câncer de mama em estádio avançado nas mulheres de raça/cor preta, analfabetas e provenientes do estado do Pará. / Considering the epidemiological complexity of breast cancer and the few systematic studies on this subject in the North region of Brazil, this study is the first epidemiological and health care survey based on the assistance to breast cancer in the north of Tocantins, having as reference the Regional Hospital of Araguaína (RHA). The aims were: to verify the quality of the information of the variables registered in SIS-RHC regarding the completeness of the data on women with breast cancer; to evaluate the temporal variation of the percentages of cases in early and advanced stages of the disease at diagnosis; to evaluate the elapsed time to obtain the first consultation, the diagnosis and the treatment, and to analyze the association between sociodemographic variables with the tumor stage at diagnosis (early and advanced). This is an analytical study, with secondary data of breast cancer in women between 2000 and 2015 assisted at the RHA. Variables with a degree of incompleteness above 20% were excluded. It was verified that: the variable occupation was incomplete in 35.1% of the forms and was excluded from the analysis; schooling presented 10.6% of incompleteness, alcoholism 13.5% and smoking 12.8%; the other variables showed less than 10% of incompleteness; most of patients presented advanced disease (51.1%); there was no difference of the percentages of patients with early and late stages over the years assessed (p = 0.757); the median of time for consultation was 158 days and for treatment 182 days; women with early stage took more time to initiate treatment compared to those with advanced stage (p = 0.011); women of black race (p = 0.012) , illiterate (p = 0.003) and from the state of Pará (p = 0.009) had a higher percentage of advanced stage at the time of diagnosis. Thus, it was concluded that the database variables are considerable sources of information; most women were diagnosed with advanced disease and the temporal evolution of the proportion of advanced and early cases did not show variational changes over the years; the quality of the ambulatory service of the RHA for consultations on Mastology was shown to be precarious with tendency to prioritize care for patients with advanced disease. Finally, we identified an association of advanced stage breast cancer in women of black race, illiterate and that come from the state of Pará.

Dada a complexidade epidemiológica do câncer de mama e a escassez de estudos sistemáticos sobre este assunto na região norte do Brasil, este trabalho consiste no primeiro levantamento epidemiológico e assistencial em saúde tomando como base a assistência ao câncer de mama no norte do Tocantins, entre 2010 e 2015, tendo como referência o Hospital Regional de Araguaína. Os objetivos foram: verificar a qualidade das informações cadastradas no SIS-RHC quanto à completude do preenchimento dos dados referentes às mulheres com câncer de mama; avaliar a variação temporal dos percentuais de casos em estádios precoce e tardio da doença no momento do diagnóstico; analisar o tempo decorrido para se conseguir a primeira consulta, o diagnóstico e o tratamento e, analisar a associação entre as variáveis sociodemográficas com o estadiamento do tumor no momento do diagnóstico (precoce e tardio). Foram excluídas as variáveis com grau de incompletude acima de 20%. Verificou-se que: a variável ocupação teve 35,1% de preenchimento incompleto e foi excluída da análise; escolaridade apresentou 10,6% de incompletude, alcoolismo 13,5% e tabagismo 12,8%; as demais variáveis apresentaram menos de 10% de incompletude; a maioria das pacientes se apresentou com doença avançada (51,1%); não houve diferença dos percentuais de pacientes com estádios precoces e tardios ao longo dos anos avaliados (p=0,757); a mediana do tempo para consulta foi de 158 dias e para tratamento foi de 182 dias; as mulheres com estadiamento precoce levaram mais tempo para iniciarem o tratamento comparativamente àquelas com estadiamento tardio (p=0,011); as mulheres de raça/cor preta (p=0,012), analfabeta (p=0,003) e de procedência do Pará (p=0,009) apresentaram maior porcentagem de estadiamento tardio no momento do diagnóstico. Assim, concluiu-se que as variáveis da base de dados são fontes de informação consideráveis; a maioria das mulheres foi diagnosticada com doença avançada e a evolução temporal da proporção de casos avançado e precoce não demonstrou mudanças variacionais ao longo dos anos; a qualidade do serviço ambulatorial do HRA para consultas em mastologia mostrou-se precária com tendência a priorizar o atendimento aos pacientes com doença avançada. Por fim, foi identificado associação de câncer de mama em estádio avançado nas mulheres de raça/cor preta, analfabetas e provenientes do estado do Pará. / Considering the epidemiological complexity of breast cancer and the few systematic studies on this subject in the North region of Brazil, this study is the first epidemiological and health care survey based on the assistance to breast cancer in the north of Tocantins, having as reference the Regional Hospital of Araguaína (RHA). The aims were: to verify the quality of the information of the variables registered in SIS-RHC regarding the completeness of the data on women with breast cancer; to evaluate the temporal variation of the percentages of cases in early and advanced stages of the disease at diagnosis; to evaluate the elapsed time to obtain the first consultation, the diagnosis and the treatment, and to analyze the association between sociodemographic variables with the tumor stage at diagnosis (early and advanced). This is an analytical study, with secondary data of breast cancer in women between 2000 and 2015 assisted at the RHA. Variables with a degree of incompleteness above 20% were excluded. It was verified that: the variable occupation was incomplete in 35.1% of the forms and was excluded from the analysis; schooling presented 10.6% of incompleteness, alcoholism 13.5% and smoking 12.8%; the other variables showed less than 10% of incompleteness; most of patients presented advanced disease (51.1%); there was no difference of the percentages of patients with early and late stages over the years assessed (p = 0.757); the median of time for consultation was 158 days and for treatment 182 days; women with early stage took more time to initiate treatment compared to those with advanced stage (p = 0.011); women of black race (p = 0.012) , illiterate (p = 0.003) and from the state of Pará (p = 0.009) had a higher percentage of advanced stage at the time of diagnosis. Thus, it was concluded that the database variables are considerable sources of information; most women were diagnosed with advanced disease and the temporal evolution of the proportion of advanced and early cases did not show variational changes over the years; the quality of the ambulatory service of the RHA for consultations on Mastology was shown to be precarious with tendency to prioritize care for patients with advanced disease. Finally, we identified an association of advanced stage breast cancer in women of black race, illiterate and that come from the state of Pará.