Does knowledge of non-communicable diseases risk factors influence screening service utilization? The finding from North Shewa Zone, Central Ethiopia

Enhanced Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) screening efforts are emphasized as opportunities to reduce premature mortalities due to the diseases. Nevertheless, the utilization of NCDs screening is affected by the knowledge of the risk factors. This study aimed to assess the relationship between knowledge of non-communicable diseases risk factors and screening service utilization. This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected adult residents of North Shewa Zone, Oromia Region, Central Ethiopia. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the background variables and multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors associated with screening utilization. A total of 823 respondents completed the survey. The proportion of screening utilization was found to be 34.5 %; 95 % CI: 31.3, 37.9. Age < 25 [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 0.10; 95 % CI: 0.04, 0.25] compared with age above 34, attaining secondary school [AOR = 5.28; 95 % CI: 2.28, 12.21], college/above [AOR = 3.41; 95 % CI: 1.53, 7.61] compared with those who had no formal education, presence of family member/s with NCDs [AOR = 1.85; 95 % CI: 1.14, 3.00] and knowledge of NCDs risk factors [AOR = 11.71; 95 % CI: 7.08, 19.35] were significantly associated with screening utilization. This study found that the use of NCD screening was very low. Knowledge of NCD risk factors was strongly associated with screening utilization. This highlights the importance of improving adult knowledge of noncommunicable disease risk factors in Ethiopia.