MAGNITUDE OF PRECANCEROUS CERVICAL LESION AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG HIV-POSITIVE WOMEN ATTENDING ADULT ART CLINIC AT PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITIES IN ARSI ZONE, OROMIA REGION, ETHIOPIA, 2025

Abstract

Abstract Background: A precancerous cervical lesion is an abnormality in the cells of the cervix that could eventually develop into cervical cancer. Every year, more than 528,000 women develop cervical cancer and about 266,000 women die from the disease worldwide. Different studies in Africa indicated the varied prevalence of precancerous cervical lesions among HIV-infected women, ranging between 4.4% - 42.4%. In Ethiopia, cervical cancer was the second leading cancer diagnosis among adult women, with an estimated 6,294 new cases and 4,844 deaths annually. Even if the Ethiopian government declared and planned to screen and treat early for every HIV positive women, however, there was no clear data on the magnitude of the precancerous cervical lesion and associated factors among HIV-positive women on antiretroviral therapy before in the study area. Objective: To assess the magnitude of precancerous cervical lesion and associated factories among a women who are HIV positive and receiving antiretroviral therapy at public health facilities in Arsi zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia, 2025 Methods: An institutional-based cross- sectional study was been conducted among HIV-positive women attending ART clinic at public health facilities in Arsi Zone from September 15 to October 15, 2025, Southeast Ethiopia. A sample of 422 participants was been selected using systematic random sampling methods. Data was been gathered using a structured and pretested questionnaire through a KOBO collect app. Data was been collected using 16 health professions (8 examiners who have done the screening and 8 data collectors who have interview for the associated factors using questioners). The data was been analyzed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics such as percentage and frequency was been computed, and the mean with standard deviation is used to summarize the continuous variables accordingly. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions was been performed to identify significant factors associated with precancerous cervical lesions among HIV-infected women. Those variables with p-value < 0.25 in bivariate analysis was been considered for multivariable logistic regression analysis to control the effect of confounding variables. The strength of associations was been expressed using adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals, and the significance of associations is declared at a p-value of less than 0.05. The questionnaire was been pretested on 5% of the sample size in a similar study population at Awash Melkasa Health Center which found in Awash Melkasa town before the actual data collection.