O cancro colorretal e o rastreio: conhecimentos e atitudes dos portuenses

introduction: if, on one hand, the colorectal cancer is a worldwide health problem that kills around 600,000 people each year, on the other hand, it’s the malignant tumor that is most likely to be prevented. objectives: to investigate knowledge and attitudes towards colorectal cancer and its screening in order to identify the factors that may contribute to its low acceptance. methods: application of 696 questionnaires with questions about: socio-demographic data, knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and information on colorectal cancer. sample selected by quotas, according to the proportion of individuals of both sexes, from the age of 40, resident in each of the 15 parishes of oporto. results: most respondents (63.2%) knew at least one of the main screening tests, of which we highlight the positive association between this knowledge and the information source ‘‘doctors and nurses’’ with 10.51 times more correct answers. the population in general had a positive attitude towards the utility of screening tests for colorectal cancer, with 49.7% of the respondentes assigning the highest score on their usefulness. only 20.4% of the individuals had a positive attitude towards having screening tests for colorectal cancer, having had at least one test; this attitude was significantly associated only with the recommendation for having at least one screening test. conclusions: despite having showed little knowledge about the colorectal cancer screening, the population from oporto was receptive to it. however, the percentage of individuals with past practice of screening was reduced, related to the lack of medical recommendation for tests. doctors and nurses had a positive influence as a source of information on colorectal cancer. it became evident the need to invest in both primary prevention, through health educations on colorectal cancer and its screening, and secondary prevention, through the free screening to all citizens.