CORRELATION BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PARTNER SUPPORT TOWARDS THE PRACTICE OF VISUAL INSPECTION WITH ACETIC ACID TEST AMONG DENPASAR CITY WOMEN

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer that happens to women worldwide. Thus the high mortality rate is unavoidable. Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) is a practical and inexpensive screening test for detecting cervical cancer. We aim to show the association between knowledge, attitude, and partner support towards VIA practice in women in Denpasar, Bali. Methods: This study is cross-sectional with an analytic observational design conducted at the Public Health Centers Denpasar from July-August 2022. The respondents consisted of 90 child-bearing-age women who met the inclusion criteria. The questionnaire consisted of informed consent, demographic characteristics (26 questions), knowledge (20 questions), attitude (22 questions), partner support (11 questions), and practice of VIA (2 questions). The data analysis used the Chi-square test using SPSS ver26. Results: The median age of all respondents was 33+10 years. The majority of respondents were monogamous (93.03%), had no history of miscarriage (80%), used contraception (56.07%), and the mean age of first sexual intercourse was 20.6 years. Up to 69 women (76.7%) had the VIA Test in the past five years, and 42 women (46.7%) took the test regularly every three years. There is a correlation between knowledge (p=0.001, r =0.334), attitude (p<0.001, r=0.367), and partner supports (p=0.03, r=0.197) toward practicing VIA. Conclusion: The practice of VIA is influenced by the level of knowledge, attitudes, and partner support of the child-bearing-age women in Denpasar. All healthcare professionals and the environment should support and encourage women to perform VIA regularly.