Cervical Cancer Screening Service Utilization and Associated Factors among Women in the Shabadino District, Southern Ethiopia.

Background: Cervical cancer is the major cause of morbidity and mortality among women worldwide with an estimated 528,000 new cases and 266,000 deaths annually. In Ethiopia, there are 7095 new cases and 4732 deaths of cervical cancer every year. But cervical cancer screening utilization remains limited. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess cervical cancer screening utilization and associated factors among women in the Shabadino district, Southern Ethiopia.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Shabadino district, Southern Ethiopia, using a structured questionnaire. A systematic random sampling method was used to recruit 536 study participants. The collected data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to assess factors associated with cervical cancer screening utilization at a 95% level of significance and a p value of less than 0.05.

Results: The study revealed that among 506 women, only 52 (10.3%) have been screened for cervical cancer. Women who are educated (completed primary school and above) (AOR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.18-3.05), who have a history of the presence of sexually transmitted diseases (AOR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.26-5.23), who have multiple sexual partners (AOR = 4.0; 95% CI = 1.86-8.66), and who knew methods of cervical cancer prevention (AOR = 4.3; 95% CI = 1.18-13.05) were significantly associated with high cervical cancer screening utilization.

Conclusion: The magnitude of cervical cancer screening utilization among women was very low. Educational status, history of multiple sexual partners, history of sexually transmitted diseases, and knowing methods of prevention were significant factors of high cervical cancer screening utilization. Recommendation. It is very crucial to implement an appropriate awareness creation method. Additionally, the STI clinic should be linked to the cervical cancer screening service to increase the knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and the utilization of cervical cancer screening.