Cervical cancer screening service utilization and associated factors among age-eligible women in Jimma town using health belief model, South West Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundCervical cancer is the second most common gynecologic cancer affecting the lives of women. It causes hundreds of thousands of death among women annually worldwide. When a woman is screened for cervical cancer at least once in her life between the ages of 30 and 40, the risk of getting cervical cancer can be decreased by 25–36%. Despite this advantage, the coverage of cervical cancer screening is limited in low and middle-income countries including Ethiopia.ObjectiveTo assess cervical cancer screening service utilization and associated factors among age-eligible women in Jimma town, South West Ethiopia, 2017.MethodsCommunity based cross-sectional study was used. Seven hundred thirty-seven women were selected using systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a structured interview administered questionnaire. Data were collected on socio-demographic, reproductive factors, knowledge of cervical cancer as well as constructs of Health belief model and practice related variables. Logistic regression analysis was performed, and variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 in the multivariable analysis were taken as statistically significant predictors of cervical cancer screening service utilization.ResultsOf the 737 women, only 15.5% were screened for cervical cancer. The independent predictors of cervical cancer screening utilization were: being government employee [AOR = 3.00, 95% CI: 1.49–6.01], knowing someone who has ever screened [AOR = 3.61, 95% CI: 2.07–6.29], having history of gynecologic examination for any reason (having previous examination that expose women genitalia for physician like examination during child birth, abortion procedure and examination for STI) [AOR =2.84, 95% CI: 1.48–5.45], not preferring gender of physician for gynecological examination [AOR = 3.57, 95% CI: 1.98–6.45], getting advice from health care providers [AOR = 4.45, 95% CI: 2.57–7.70], having good knowledge of cervical cancer screening [AOR = 3.46, 95% CI: 1.47–8.21] and having perceived susceptible for cervical cancer [AOR = 3.03, 95% CI: 1.64–5.56].ConclusionsThe utilization of cervical cancer screening services was low in Jimma town. Strengthening the screening service is important through raising the awareness of the community towards cervical cancer and screening services.

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

“…This study revealed that only 52 (10.3%) of respondents had screened for cervical cancer. This result was low compared to studies done in different parts of Ethiopia which were 15.5%, 16.5%, 22%, and 25% [14,15,12,16]. The reason behind this is because the study populations are living in remote areas where they lack access to education and lack women empowerment.…”

“…Cervical cancer screening utilization was assessed by asking the respondent's action towards screening for cervical cancer within one year. Those who screened within the past one year were categorized as having utilized, and those who never screened were labeled as having not utilized [12].…”

Factors affecting cervical cancer screening uptake, visual inspection with acetic acid positivity and its predictors among women attending cervical cancer screening service in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…Despite the availability of guideline for cervical cancer prevention and control; screening was not fully implemented in all health care centers [4] and its uptake among the community is still very low (7.3 to 23.5%) [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. This could be attributed to lack of awareness about the importance and availability of cervical cancer screening services, perception about cancer, risk factors and prevention methods [12,[15][16][17][18][19]. On the other hand, screening uptakes as well as knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors and preventions are low among the health workers [20].…”

Determining behavioral intention and its predictors towards cervical cancer screening among women in Gomma district, Jimma, Ethiopia: Application of the theory of planned behavior

“…Despite this case, the findings of a study conducted in different settings indicated that there was low uptake of cervical cancer screening services [9][10][11][12][13][14]. Lack of awareness, poor attitude towards cervical cancer screening, and poor perception of the severity of the disease were some of the factors for not up taking the screening service.…”