Precancerous cervical lesion screening acceptance among women in Eastern Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed perceived barriers, precancerous cervical lesion screening acceptance, and associated factors among women in Eastern Ethiopia. SETTING: This study was conducted in Hiwot Fana Specialized Hospital and Jugal Hospital. STUDY DESIGN: This study is a facility-based cross-sectional study. STUDY PARTICIPANTS: This study included 1181 women aged 25–49 years. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between variables and control confounders. RESULTS: Nearly half of the participants (587 or 49.7%) agreed to be screened for precancerous cervical lesions. Seventy-six per cent of those checked were negative for visual inspection with acetic acid, 18.5% were positive, and 5.7% had cancer-like lesions. In multivariable analysis, fear of discomfort from the screening procedure, having a male screener, and embarrassment were the perceived barriers that were inversely associated with screening acceptance. CONCLUSIONS: The uptake of the screening service in the study area was not satisfactory, indicating that the programme was underutilised in the area.