The prevalence and predictors of domestic violence among pregnant women in Southeast Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

IntroductionDomestic violence is a common global health problem and relatively hidden and ignored form of violence against pregnant women. The magnitude of domestic violence among pregnant women is higher in low and middle-income countries including Ethiopia as compared with developed countries. Domestic violence is a violation of human right and associated with numerous adverse outcomes for mothers and the offspring. However, research on domestic violence and predictors against pregnant women is limited in Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and predictors of domestic violence among pregnant women in southeast Oromia, Ethiopia.MethodsCross-sectional study design was utilized among 299 pregnant women selected by systematic sampling technique. A structured World Health Organization (WHO) multi-country study questionnaire on women health and domestic violence was used to measure domestic violence. Binary and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted. Odds ratios (OR) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (95%CI)) was computed to assess the strength of association.ResultThe prevalence of domestic violence was 64.6% (CI: 58.5, 69.9%). Physical violence was reported as the commonest type of violence (44.1%) followed by psychological (39.1%) and sexual (23.7%) violence. In the multivariable analysis, being illiterate (OR = 6.3; 95%CI: 2.23, 11.65), Husband’s alcohol consumption (OR = 5.726; 95% CI 1.873, 11.51), husband history of arrest (OR = 2.59; 95% CI: 1.15, 5.88) and occupation of husband (farmer) (OR = 3.26; 95% CI: 1.29, 8.25) were significantly associated with domestic violence against pregnant women.ConclusionThis study revealed that a remarkable proportion of pregnant women had experienced domestic violence in their lifetime (64.6%). Being illiterate, husband’s alcohol consumption, occupation (farmer and self-employed), and history of arrest were significantly associated with domestic violence among pregnant women. The findings suggest screening for domestic violence among pregnant women visiting antenatal care clinic and early intervention based on the findings. Integrating health education program on domestic violence with the existing maternal health program is warranted.

Spatial Distribution and Predictors of Domestic Violence Among Women Aged 15-49 in Ethiopia: Analysis of EDHS 2016 Dataset.

“…A woman who saw family violence as childhood was 2.2 times more likely to experience domestic violence. This nding was consistent with a previous study conducted in Nigeria (15), southeast Oromia (29), and North West Ethiopia (31) but, lower than a study conducted in Ghana (5). The difference of results between the current study and the study in Ghana ay be due to population differences.…”

“…This nding is in line with a previous study conducted on 14 sub-Saharan countries (27), with a study conducted in Ghana (5), Nigeria (15), Zambia (6), a systematic review of 15 articles in Ethiopia (8) and a study conducted in Robe Hospital, southeast Ethiopia (28). The result of this study is lower than a study conducted in southeast Oromia (29) and in northwest Ethiopia (16). This difference may be due to differences in the study population (because the previous studies are conducted mainly among pregnant women) and sample size differences (the current study was employed on a large sample size).…”

Maternal-Fetal Attachment and Domestic Violence in Iranian and Afghan Pregnant Women: A Cross-Cultural Study

“…(2013) study in Turkey, the Boru Bifftu et al (2017) study in northwest Ethiopia, as well as the results of two studies in 2016 and 2019 in Nepal were consistent with the present study and showed that the level of domestic violence against pregnant women was low in these regions [15,16,20,29]. But the Yohannes et al (2019) study in southeastern Ethiopia and the Fekadu et al (2018) study in northwest Ethiopia found that the rate of domestic violence against pregnant women was high in these regions [17,30].…”

“…The results of the studies showed that the most common type of violence was sexual one and then psychological and emotional violence [14,17,20,29] which were in line with the present study. But Yohannes et al's (2019) study in southeastern Ethiopia was not consistent with the present study which showed that physical violence had the highest rate of violence among pregnant women [30]. Also, the results of Hassan et al (2013) study showed that physical violence and psychological violence were the most common types of violence in this study.…”

“…This study investigated violence in urban and rural pregnant women. Violence was high in both communities, but physical, psychological, and sexual violence on rural pregnant women was higher than that on urban pregnant women [30]. Domestic violence during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, vaginal bleeding, cesarean section, low birth weight and delayed growth in the uterus [13][14][15].…”