Knowledge, attitudes, and associated factors of cervical cancer screening among women in Debre Markos town, Northwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality among young women globally, resulting in a significant number of deaths each year. Despite the well-established benefits of cervical cancer screening, its uptake is often influenced by women’s knowledge and attitudes toward the screening process. Considering this, the present study was conducted to evaluate the level of knowledge about cervical cancer, the attitudes toward screening, and the factors associated with these outcomes among women in Debre Markos Town, Northwest Ethiopia. This study was designed as a community-based cross-sectional survey, focusing on women aged 30 to 49 years living in Debre Markos Town. A multistage sampling technique was used to select a total of 630 participants for the study, which was conducted between July 1 and August 30, 2018. Data was entered using EPI Info version 7, while cleaning and analysis were done with SPSS version 25. Initially, bivariable logistic regression was applied to assess the relationships between the outcome variables and potential factors. Then, multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the independent factors associated with each outcome. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The study found that 374 (59.4%) of the participants had adequate knowledge about cervical cancer, while 385 (61.1%) displayed favorable attitudes toward cervical cancer screening. Key factors associated with a knowledge of cervical cancer screening included a history of multiple sexual partners [AOR: 1.768 (95% CI: 1.227, 2.549)] and the use of modern family planning methods [AOR: 2.238 (95% CI: 1.410, 3.554)]. In terms of attitudes toward screening, significant factors included higher educational attainment (college education or above) [AOR: 2.006, 95% CI: 1.147, 3.508], single, divorced, or widowed [AOR: 2.101 (95% CI: 1.219, 3.620)], and more than five pregnancies [AOR: 1.830 (95% CI: 1.125, 2.976)]. The results of this study indicate that both knowledge and attitudes toward cervical cancer screening were below optimal levels among the women in Debre Markos.