Adherence to the three Italian screening in a sample of women (and men) in the Southern Italy

Introduction. Although scientific evidence shows the numerous benefits of screening programs, in Italy. There is a great disparity between the regional coverage of the North and South despite the screening programs have been activated for several years in all regions even with territorial differences Objective. The aim of our study was to evaluate the knowledge and adherence to different screenings in the population, the influence exercised by the local health authority the role of the general practitioner in advising and referring patients to screening tests and the main causes of refuse. Material and methods. The study was carried out, from December 2019 to May 2020, through the administration of anonymous self-filled “ad hoc” questionnaires to women and men over 26 years old. Results. in our sample 36% have never performed a breast check and 39% of the interviewees never had a mammogram; for cervical cancer 25% did not ever perform screening and 65% did not have an indication by GP. The worst result was found for colorectal cancer (only 27% of the sample performed the screening). The role of GP was fundamental for and similar to other studies, was fundamental in fact,similar to other studies the most frequent reported reasons for the non-execution of screening were the lack of physicians' advice, follwed by lack of time, the most frequent reported reasons for the non-execution of screening were the lack of physicians' advice, a lack of time, fear of cancer and embarrassment at visiting a gynaecologist. Discussion and conclusion. the study carried out found that despite the knowledge of the oncological disease and the possibilities of prevention is fairly rooted in the population, adherence to the screening is quite inadequate, especially as regards colorectal cancer.