Utilization of cervical cancer screening service and associated factors among women of reproductive age group in Ilu Abba Bor zone, southwestern Ethiopia, 2019: Cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is one of the severest risks to women’s life. It is the main reason for more than half million of morbidity and 266,000 deaths worldwide annually. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the level of cervical cancer screening service utilization and associated factors among women of the reproductive age group coming for health care service to public health facilities of Ilu Abba Bor zone, southwestern Ethiopia, 2019. METHODS: An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was employed from 1 May to 30 May 2019. Participants were selected by systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected using a pretested questionnaire and entered into Epi data 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was used to observe the factors associated with cervical cancer screening utilization service. An adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was used. Variables with a p-value of <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: From a total of 259 women involved in the study, about 19 (7.3%) of the study participants had been screened for cervical cancer at least once in the past 3 years during the study period. Educational status: primary (grade 1–8) (adjusted odds ratio = 3; 95% confidence interval = (1.15–7.91)), secondary (grade 9–12) (adjusted odds ratio = 4.21; 95% confidence interval = (1.04–7.46)), and tertiary (grade 12+) (adjusted odds ratio = 6.01; 95% confidence interval = (3.01–11.35)), nulliparous (adjusted odds ratio = 0.256; 95% confidence interval = (0.105–0.642)), and looking for information about cervical cancer (adjusted odds ratio = 3.4; 95% confidence interval = (1.8–6.2)) were significant factors associated with utilization of cervical cancer screening service. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that there was low cervical cancer screening service utilization in the study area. Educational status, parity, and looking for cervical cancer information were independently associated with cervical cancer screening utilization service. There is need to improve women’s education, dissemination of information about importance of cervical cancer screening, and focus on nulliparous women to have good practice of cervical cancer screening.