Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) incurs significant public health consequences. Understanding risk markers can accelerate prevention and response efforts, important in settings like Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where resources are scarce. In this study, four databases were searched to identify studies that examined risk markers for male-to-female physical IPV. With application of the socioecological model, we analyzed 11 risk markers for male physical IPV perpetration (with 71 effect sizes) and 16 risk markers for female physical IPV victimization (with 131 effect sizes) in SSA from 51 studies. For male IPV perpetration, we found medium-to-large effect sizes for six risk markers: perpetrating emotional abuse and sexual IPV, witnessing parental IPV, being abused as a child, cohabitating (not married), and exhibiting controlling behaviors. We found small effect sizes for substance use. Employment, age, marital status, and education were not significant risk markers. For female IPV victimization, a medium effect size was found for post-traumatic stress symptoms. Small effect sizes were found for reporting depressive symptoms, being abused as a child, witnessing parental IPV, and reporting drug and alcohol use. Rural residence, approval of violence, length of relationship, income, education, employment, age, marital status, and religiosity were not significant risk markers. Findings highlight opportunities for screening and intervention at the couple level, show the need to test and incorporate interventions for IPV in mental health treatment, and emphasize the importance of further research on sociodemographic risk markers and the interventions that target them.

Background Armed conflict and the HIV pandemic are significant global health issues. Evidence of the association between armed conflict and HIV infection has been conflicting. Our objective was to examine the role of mediating risk factors, such as engagement in transactional sex work, to elucidate the relation between armed conflict and HIV infection. Methods We used multistage sampling across three Northeastern Ugandan districts to randomly select 605 women aged 13 to 49 to answer cross-sectional surveys from January to May of 2016. We used multivariate logistic regression model with R 4.0.3 to examine if exposure to armed conflict has an indirect effect on reporting having an HIV-positive serostatus through engagement in transactional sex work. Age and district residence were included as covariates. Results Exposure to armed conflict β = .16, SE = .04, p < .05, OR = 1.17, 95% [CI .08, .23] was significantly associated with reporting a HIV-positive serostatus. For each 1-unit increase in exposure to armed conflict (i.e., additional type of armed conflict exposure), there was a 17% increase in the odds of reporting a HIV-positive serostatus. Engagement in transactional sex work was not associated with reporting a HIV-positive serostatus β = .04, SE = .05, p = .37, 95% [CI − .051, .138]. We found district of residence, age, and interaction effects. Conclusions Although exposure to armed was associated with reporting an HIV-positive serostatus, this relationship was not mediated by engagement in transactional sex. Further research is needed on risk factors that mediate this relationship. The likelihood of reporting a HIV-positive serostatus increased with each additional type of exposure to armed conflict. Thus, screening for exposure to multiple traumatic stressors should occur in HIV prevention settings. Healthcare services that are trauma-informed and consider mental distress would likely improve HIV outcomes.