Introduction:

The quality of professional performance determines the resolution of public health problems such as colorectal cancer through population screening, in whose implementation, as in every medical practice, bioethical dilemmas arise.

Objective:

To characterize the main bioethical dilemma in carrying out population screening for colorectal cancer in primary care.

Materials and methods:

Cross-sectional, descriptive study in 19 family physicians, selected by simple random sampling, by application of a questionnaire in the process of validation through expert criteria and Cronbach alpha coefficient. The variable studied was “bioethical dilemmas in carrying out population screening for colorectal cancer” parameterized in two dimensions: evaluative and cognitive, with 5 and 3 indicators respectively.

Results:

The “dilemma for fear of having a colonoscopy” was considered the most important, being evaluated by 13 doctors/68.4% as Very Important; The indicator “professional knowledge about bioethics” was evaluated by the majority of professionals within the two upper levels of the Likert scale, 5 doctors (26.3%) chose the category of Important and an equal number the category of Very Important.

Conclusions:

The main bioethical dilemmas that family doctors face in their professional performance during population screening for colorectal cancer are characterized by the attitudes that patients assume in relation to the dilemma that presupposes performing colonoscopy with its potential risks to a positive result.

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