Background: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) against women is one of the most known public health concerns. The depth of the problem varies across regions and different settings. The purpose of this scooping review is to assess the overall prevalence and risk factors of IPV in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods: The review was conducted based on 24 articles selected from PubMed and google search. The selection considered only those conducted in SSA based on a representative sample size of women of reproductive age (15-49), published in peer-reviewed journals in the last ten years, and those having resemblance in study design and conceptualization of IPV. Results: While slight methodological variations exist among the individual studies, nearly all the reported prevalence of IPV were unacceptably high. The lifetime experience of IPV ranged from about 20% in some societies to more than 75% in other settings. Physical and emotional violence were the most frequently reported type of IPV. One common feature of all studies reviewed is that they all recognized the important role of women’s attitude (acceptance) towards their experience of IPV. Good proportion (ranging between 33-57%) of women justified IPV more often than men do. The studies further documented a wide range of risk factors associated with IPV, more importantly, low maternal and paternal education, partner's alcohol drinking behavior, childhood experience of domestic violence, and certain household and community/cultural factors. Conclusion: Given considerable proportion of women experienced one or more forms of IPV in most settings in SSA, national and local governments have a long way to go in preventing or reducing its occurrence in their geographic areas if they must meet SDG 3 (i.e., better health of children and women). Since IPV is embedded in most cultures; concerned authorities should establish appropriate norms, enhance women's status, and ensure proper implementation of policies and laws on abuse. Community reflections, mass education/ behavioral change communications are essential in this endeavor.

The purpose of this study was to examine the leverage of women’s empowerment status and their living context in healthcare-seeking behavior during pregnancy. The study used the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS). In addition, the frequency of Antenatal Care (ANC) was used as an outcome variable to gauge women’s health seeking behavior. The negative binomial regression analysis results showed that the expected mean number of ANC visits was lower for mothers with lower education levels and for women living with husbands having poor education. On the other hand, the expected mean number of ANC visits was much higher for younger women, working women, for those with some household decision making autonomy, women living in better household wealth category, women living in smaller households, and those who had reasonable access to media (radio). Given the significant contribution of women’s status and living contexts, aggressive moves should be made to reduce the demand-side barriers to health care services, mainly promoting women’s education and participation in decisionmaking at household and community levels

Background: In the last few decades, there has been a significant increase in women's participation in gainful employment in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scooping review has primarily aimed at assessing the key determinants and effects of women's involvement in the labor force in SSA. Methods: The authors did the review based on 19 articles selected from PubMed and goggle search. The selection considered only those published in the last 15 years, conducted based on large sample from Sub-Saharan African countries, and those exclusively related to women’s Labor Force Participation (LFP). More than 80% of the reviewed studies (16 of the 19) employed a cross-sectional study design with quantitative approaches. Results: The review witnessed that women's labor force participation in SSA is determined by various individual, household, and community characteristics. Women with lower fertility, living in poor economic condition (low wealth quantiles), and those with above primary education were more likely to participate in gainful employment. Other demographic factors explaining why some women participate in the labor force more often than others include women's age, marital status, number of under-five children, household size, and headship. Among the community variables, living in areas with better infrastructure (transport and communication) increased the likelihood of women’s participation in gainful employment. Nearly all studies showed significant positive impacts of women's labor force participation on several domains of women's life and household well-being, such as on women's nutrition, childcare, and health service utilization. Conclusion: The review implies that despite concerns about some adverse impacts of women's participation in gainful employment (such as on childcare), most of the studies indicated positive effects of LFP on women's and children's health, nutrition, and overall household well-being in SSA.