Advanced search
Start date
Betweenand
Related content
(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Assessing screening practices among health care workers at a tertiary-care hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Full text
Author(s):
Goncalves-Silva, Ana Claudia [1] ; Murta-Nascimento, Cristiane [2, 3] ; Eluf-Neto, Jose [1]
Total Authors: 3
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Prevent Med, Sao Paulo - Brazil
[2] Hosp del Mar, IMAS, Servei Avaluacio, Barcelona - Spain
[3] Hosp del Mar, IMAS, Epidemiol Clin, Barcelona - Spain
Total Affiliations: 3
Document type: Journal article
Source: Clinics; v. 65, n. 2, p. 151-155, FEB 2010.
Web of Science Citations: 4
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the extent to which screening procedures (with and without evidence of effectiveness) are practiced among health care workers at a tertiary-care hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: From February 2001 to September 2003, a cross-sectional study involving physicians, nurses and nursing assistants (aged 40 to 69 years) was carried out at a tertiary-care hospital in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Subjects were interviewed using a questionnaire that addresses 17 procedures with grades of recommendation of A, B, C, D or E, in accordance with the 1996 United States Preventive Services Task Force guidelines for routine screening. RESULTS: Of the 333 health care workers included, 228 (68.5%) were female. The mean age was 48.8 (SD 6.6 years). Most subjects had undergone screening for hypertension (blood pressure measurement) and lipid abnormalities (cholesterol testing). Screening for breast and cervical cancer was common among females. Resting electrocardiography, serum glucose testing, urine tests, chest X-rays and serum prostate-specific antigen testing were also quite common. However, only 6 (1.8%) of the subjects had undergone screening for colorectal cancer (fecal occult blood test or sigmoidoscopy). CONCLUSIONS: A sizeable proportion of health care workers underwent screening procedures that are not recommended or for which there was insufficient evidence of a benefit. Conversely, certain recommended procedures were performed on a small proportion of such workers. These results indicate that the Brazilian National Ministry of Health must develop nationwide evidence-based screening recommendations and disseminate such recommendations among health care professionals in Brazil. (AU)