Mesfin Tafa Segni, Hailu Fekadu Demissie, Dagne Mulu Tadesse, Roza Amdemichael, Yonas Teshome Mamo, Amare Worku
Background Worldwide, cervical cancer is second most common health problem in women. Approximately 80% of cervical cancer occurs in developing countries. The magnitude of the problem has been under recognized and under prioritized compared to health priority such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Most cases of women with cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa present at advanced stage of the diseases, when treatment is ineffective or not available. Therefore the aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge of women on cervical cancer and factors affecting their knowledge for cervical cancer in women who are visiting health facility which is found in Gulele sub-city Addis Ababa. Methods A facility based cross sectional study was conducted from January-April 2015 in Addis Ababa Gulele sub city. A total of 508 study participants whose age was 21-64 years were participated in the study. Astructured interview administered questionnaire was used to assess information. SPSS window version 21 was used for data entry and analysis. Result Of all the respondents 190 (37.4) were above average knowledge on cervical cancer. The knowledge of women on cervical cancer was found to be low. Education about the disease must include information on disease symptoms, treatment options, stages of curacy and prevention methods. Conclusions The result of this study revealed that knowledge of women on cervical cancer was low. The minister of health and stakeholders should have to give focus on the national policy of non-communicable prevention strategy to be effectively implemented in health facility. Client cantered regular health education about non-communicable disease like cervical cancer in health facility is important to increase women knowledge on the disease.
