Trajectories of Cancer Care in Latin America: A Scope Review: Trayectorias de atención al cáncer en América Latina. Una revisión de alcance

Abstract

Objectives: In recent decades there has been a development of research on cancer care trajectories in Latin America; however, the diversity of theoretical-methodological uses of this approach can be confusing and difficult for the academic and professional community to use. To analyze studies that have been carried out in Latin America on cancer care trajectories to propose a typology of the approaches developed and synthesize key findings.

Methods: A scope review of studies published in journals indexed in PubMed, LILACS, and SciELO databases in the period 2006-2021 was conducted.

Results: 22 articles were analyzed. A typology of descriptive, evaluative, and interpretative approaches was proposed. From the key findings, the following were identified: the importance of pleasure and the feeling of power in the development of risky practices; the role of popular explanatory models for the identification of abnormality and the search for attention; the interaction of various personal, interpersonal, organizational, and structural barriers that limited timely diagnosis and continuity of treatment; the sequential or parallel use of different forms of care, public and private; and the importance of social support networks.

Conclusions: The proposed typology clarifies the different uses of the approach. The informative synthesis evidences problematic knots regarding multiple barriers to access and allows us to propose as priorities in future research the study of types of cancer, stages, and populations that have been scarcely addressed, as well as the diversification of methodological approaches.

Keywords: América Latina; Latin America; Neoplasias; Neoplasms; Review; Revisión; Ruta Terapéutica; Therapeutic Itinerary.