Abstract

Introduction: Pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) negatively affect physical, psychosocial, and economic wellbeing of women. In developing countries less than a quarter of women with PFDs seek health care for their problem. Most often they seek care latterly when they fail to adapt with their problem. Lack of knowledge about PFDs, economic constraints, and cultural taboo, attributed for not seeking health care.  Health care seeking for PFDs, and its associated factors, is little known in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess health care seeking for PFDs, associated factors, and deterrents for seeking care.

Methods: We conducted community based cross sectional study to identify PFDs and its associated factors among women living in Kersa HDSS form August 10 to September 4, 2016. Study participants were selected through stratified multi stage sampling procedure and interviewed face to face with pretested questionnaire. Seven hundred four participants with PFDs drawn from this large study to assess their care seeking behaviors. Poisson regression model was used to investigate the association of the independent variable with health care seeking behaviors. The results are reported in crude and adjusted prevalence ratio with 95% confidence intervals.

Result: Two hundred twenty five (32%; CI: 26.8-35.5) women sought care for their PFDs. Majority 160 (71%) of them seek care from government health facilities. Nearly half 208 (43.6%) of women who did not seek health care, mentioned lack of knowledge about PFDs treatment as deterrents of care seeking. Middle wealth index (APR=1.4, CI: 1.1, 1.8), autonomous decision making on own health (APR=1.3, CI:1.1, 1.7), longer existed PFDs (APR=1.5 CI:1.1, 2.2), and sever impact of PFDs on quality of life (APR=1.4, CI:1.1, 1.9) were identified as associated factors for health care seeking.

Conclusion: A large number of women with pelvic floor disorder did not seek health care due to lack of knowledge about PFDs’ treatability, economic constraints or shyness to disclose their condition to health care providers. Informing about treatment options, including conservative treatment, and providing accessible, free gynecological morbidity services may help women to overcome the health care seeking obstacles.

Key word: Health care seeking, pelvic floor disorder, Ethiopia, HDSS, Women