Abstract:
Background: Female genital mutilation is a long held tradition in societies in large parts of Africa, including Ethiopia. Objective: To assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of heads of households towards female genital mutilation and associated factors in Gassera woreda. Methods: Community based cross-sectional study design was employed in Gassera woreda, Oromia region, South east Ethiopia, from September 21 to 30, 2013 among 742 participants. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select study participants and data collected by face-to-face interviews. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16.00. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression was performed. Degree of association was measured by odd ratio with 95% confidence interval and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: Most (52.3%) of respondents had less knowledge about FGM. about 53.5% had positive attitude towards continuation of FGM and 34.1% practiced FGM. Traditional circumcisers did most (77.5%) circumcisions while traditional birth attendants circumcised the rest. Mothers and fathers were key decision makers to circumcise daughters. Parents found in age group 25-29 years were 63% less likely to circumcise their daughters (AOR=0.37, 95% CI 0.20-0.69) compared to parents found in age group above 45 years. Likewise, parents who have access to health information through radio and HEW were 65% and 57% less likely to circumcise their daughters ... Conclusion and recommendation: Despite most parents have access to health information, FGM practice is prevalent among daughters less than five years in Gasser woreda and most circumcisions are performed by the decision of mothers and fathers in coordination. So, health education for both parents through health professional is recommended to bring significant behavioral change.