NURSING PERFORMANCE IN GYNECOLOGICAL CONSULTATIONS WITH EMPHASIS ON THE PAP SCOPE

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The role of nurses in performing cytopathological examinations is essential, especially for the monitoring of women. The Pap smear test faces challenges in primary care due to low adherence, which can result in late diagnoses of breast and cervical cancer. Thus, the role of nurses is crucial to develop educational activities, strengthen bonds with women, and promote awareness about prevention and self-care. METHODOLOGY: This study is an integrative review. The research process followed the following steps: 1) formulation of the hypothesis or research question for the elaboration of the integrative review; 2) Definition of inclusion and exclusion criteria for studies/sampling or literature search; 3) Determination of the information to be extracted from the selected studies/categorization of studies; 4) Evaluation of the studies included in the integrative review; 5) Interpretation of the results; 6) Publication and dissemination of the findings. Thus, to guide this study, the following question was formulated: How does Nursing work in gynecological consultations, with an emphasis on the Pap smear? The research was carried out in indexed databases of the Virtual Health Library (VHL): Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO), and Nursing Database (BDenf). To use the aforementioned databases, the Controlled Descriptors in Health Sciences (DeCS) were used, namely: “Nursing Consultation”; “Nursing Care”; “Colpocytological Exam”, with the crossing made through the Boolean operator "AND". In the bibliographic research, the crossing of the databases according to the descriptors resulted in the inclusion criteria: full articles published between 2019 and 2024, available free of charge in Portuguese and English, which address the topic and present relevant discussions on the subject. Duplicate articles, i.e., those present in more than one database, were excluded. The data were organized, gathered and presented in tables, with variables such as study title, authors, year of publication, journals, objective and results, then discussed and compared according to the relevant literature. Based on the combination of descriptors in the SCIELO, BDENF and LILACS databases, 95 studies were identified. Of these, 8 were used for the research. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Nursing work in gynecological consultations with emphasis on the Pap smear involves humanized reception, qualified listening and health education, with the nurse being responsible for carrying out all stages of the consultation, including the collection of the cytopathological exam. In the Family Health Strategy, this professional plays a fundamental role in promoting women's health, building bonds, providing guidance on prevention and encouraging adherence to the exam. Its practice is legally supported and must consider the real needs of users, promoting access, female empowerment and prevention of cervical cancer in a comprehensive and effective manner. CONCLUSION: therefore, the role of the nurse in the gynecological consultation is essential for the prevention of cervical cancer, standing out for the reception, health promotion and performance of the Pap smear, with a focus on comprehensive, humanized care and on expanding women's access to health services.