Theory of Planned Behavior: Associations between Intention, Knowledge, and Use of Visual Inspection Acetic Acid

Abstract

Background: Icek Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) puts that intention precedes health behavior. That is, any health behavior takes place deliberately after the emergence of intervention. This study aimed to test if TPB can be used to explain the uptake of visual inspection acetic acid (VIA) screening for cervical cancer. Subjects and Method: This was a cross sectional study conducted at 5 Community Health Centers (CHC) in Sragen, Central Java, from April to May 2018. A sample of 200 women of reproductive age were selected for this study by fixed disease sampling, composing of 50 women who used VIA and 150 women who did not use VIA. The dependent variable was use of VIA. The independent variable were intention and knowledge on VIA and cervical cancer. The data were collected by questionnaire. Data on VIA was obtained from medical record at CHC. The data were analyzed by a multiple logistic regression. Results: The use of VIA was associated with intention (OR= 48.02; 95% CI= 13.66 to 168.83; p<0.001) and knowledge (OR= 13.41; 95%CI= 2.82 to 63.73; p= 0.001). Nagelkerke R2= 61.1%. Conclusion: The use of VIA is associated with intention and knowledge. Keywords: intention, knowledge, visual inspection acetic aci