Cervical Cancer and Screening Method: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among Women Living in Adama Town

Abstract

Introduction: Globally, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women. In 2008 there were an estimated 529,000 new cases. The majority of cervical cancer deaths occur in women who are never screened or treated and in women with well-described sexual and reproductive risk factors, such as an early sexual debut, a history of multiple sexual partners, and a high number of live births. Objective: To assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of cervical cancer screening. Methods: A community based cross sectional design was conducted. A total of 390 study participants were recruited. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the respondents of the study. An interview method was employed by using a pretested structured questionnaire. Data was entered, cleaned and analyzed by SPSS version 20 statistical package. Descriptive summaries using frequencies and proportions were used to present the study results. Binary and multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of cervical cancer and screening method. Results: Among 390, most of them were married 247 (63.3%). Half of them were aged between 30-44 years, 199 (51%). Most of them 329 (84.4%) reported that they have heard about cervical cancer before. Nearly half (48.6%) of study participants had a good knowledge. Most of them agreed that precancerous cervical cancer screening method does not harm 219 (66.6%). It was found that literates women were more likely to be knowledgeable by 22.7 times than women who were illiterates (COR=22.7 95% CI 3.0, 170.9 AOR=12.7 95% CI 1.6, 98.6). Conclusion: Nearly half of study participants had good knowledge toward cervical cancer. Most of study participants had positive attitude but very few of them were tested for cervical cancer. The most associated factors for knowledge, attitude and practice regarding cervical cancer screening method were educational status, occupational status, and family history of cervical cancer.