Knowledge on Obstetric Fistula and Related factors in Women of Reproductive age in the Southeastern Zone of Tigray, Ethiopia, 2020, Crosses sectional Study

Background: Around one million girls and women worldwide are currently living with fistula. Fewer than 20,000 women are treated with obstetric fistula each year. Lack of Knowledgeon obstetric fistula is a common obstacle to seeking fistula treatment. Objectives: To determine knowledge on obstetric fistula and its associated factors among reproductive age women in south eastern zone of Tigray, 2020. Methods:A cross-sectional community-based Study was conducted in the southeastern zone of Tigray. A multilevel sampling technique was implemented to select the total number of participants. Two districts were randomly selected and from these districts 14 kebels were randomly selected and the calculated sample size (605) was allocated proportionally to each selected kebele. Data were collected in face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire from February 26th to March 24th, 2020 after ensuring that all ethical requirements were met. The collected data were entered into Epidata version 4.2 and then exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate analyzes were used to examine the relationship. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals and P values < 0.05 were used to determine statistical association. Result:Overall, about 42.15% of the respondents had a good knowledge of obstetric fistulas. The frequently mentioned risk factors, symptoms and preventive mechanisms of obstetric fistulas were female genital mutilation (78.7%), urinary incontinence (77.5%) and avoidance of early marriage and pregnancy (79.8%).The major determinant factors identified to knowledge on obstetric fistula were, level of education(above secondary) [AOR (95%CI=2.7(1.189-6.24)], having history of modern family planning use [AOR (95%CI=2.22(1.14-4.34)], institutional delivery (for the index child)[AOR (95%CI=2.3(1.1-4.99)] and prior information about obstetric fistula[AOR (95%CI=6.1(2.65-14.1)]. Conclusion:In this study majority of reproductive age women in the study area had poor Knowledge regarding obstetric fistula. Several interventions like health education and information should be implemented to enhance the Knowledge of the community towards obstetric fistula.