Prevalence of domestic violence among antenatal women attending a Nigerian hopsital

Abstract

Background: Health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well being and not just the absence of disease. Domestic violence (synonyms: spouse abuse, partner or intimate violence, family violence) is a public health problem which is defined as any intentional abuse of a family member (mostly females but not exclusive) by his/her partner that causes pain or injury. There is paucity of data on domestic violence mainly because of under-reporting by the victims. However, domestic violence is said to be a more frequent occurrence than other recognized pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia, twin pregnancy or gestational diabetes for which women are routinely screened during the antenatal period. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of domestic violence in pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of a local Nigerian mission hospital in Jos, Plateau state. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study of women attending antenatal clinic at ECWA Evangel Hospital, Jos over a six month period using the Abuse Assessment Screen developed by McFarlane to detect the prevalence of domestic violence. The data were analysed using Epi Info Version 2002. Results: Three hundred and forty pregnant women were studied. Majority of them were married and were mostly aged between 20 and 39 years. Domestic violence prevalence was 12.6% (43) in the current pregnancy and 63.2% ( 215) previously. Conclusion:The study establishes that women in our environment experience domestic violence during pregnancy and majority of them also have a previous history of abuse. There is the need to routinely screen for domestic violence in pregnant women so as to prevent potential adverse pregnancy outcomes and to interrupt existing abuse.

The Prevalence of Domestic Violence Among Pregnant Women in Nigeria: A Systematic Review

“…Y= Yes N=No CI=Confidence Interval 201136.4 13.2 38 Awusi et al (2009) 31 11 58 12.4 _ _ Ameh et al (2009) N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S Gyuse et al (2009) 26.5 10.7 --38.0 Efetie and Salami, 2007 23.4 10.2 66.4 Fawole et al (2008) 8 Ezechi et al (2004) 18.9 8.6 18.3 52.3 6.6 Ashimi and Amole (2015) 50.9 66.7 68.5 Umeora et al (2008) 39.8 26.5 _ 26.5 48.5 29.4 Fawole et al (2010) N/C N/C N/C N/C N/C N/C Ansari et al (2015) Cross-River 22.3 _ _ _ _ _ Bauchi 9 _ _ _ _ _ Onoh et al (2013) 13.4 46.0 8.4 18.9 2.1 Note: N/C= Not Clear. N/S=Not Stated.…”

“…Two studies used systematic sampling methods (Envuladu et al, 2012;Iliyasu et al, 2013) and one study used a non-random sampling method (Gyuse et al, 2009). Sixteen studies were conducted in hospital settings expect one, (Ansari et al, 2016) was conducted in the community.…”

“…Three studies reported the prevalence of DV one year before the current pregnancy as 14.2 %, 31.8% and 43.5% respectively (Fawole et al, 2008;Fawole et al, 2010;Olagbuji et al, 2010). Five studies reported both lifetime and current prevalence of DV among pregnant women (Abasiubong et al, 2011;Adesina et al, 2011;Arulogun & Jidda, 2011;Envuladu et al, 2012;Gyuse et al, 2009). The lifetime prevalence ranged from 63.2% (Abasiubong et al, 2010) to 33.1% (Adesina et al, 2011).…”

Identifying and Interpreting Domestic Violence in Archaeological Human Remains: A Critical Review of the Evidence

“…Pregnancy has been identified as vulnerable time for victims of DV (Weiss et al, 2002). For pregnant women, the times of greatest risk are during the first and third trimesters (Nannini et al, 2011), and violent assaults occurred regardless of whether it was a first or subsequent pregnancy (Gyuse et al, 2009). Assaults during pregnancy can result in spontaneous abortion or stillbirth, and both mother and child can die from their injuries, most frequently because of trauma to the placenta (Ribe et al, 1993;Berenson et al, 1994;Spurrett & Murray, 2008;Gulliver & Dixon, 2014).…”

Prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence against HIV-seropositive pregnant women in a Nigerian population

“…Intimate partner violence (IPV) represents a serious human rights abuse, a social problem and a global public health issue that may be associated with adverse health outcomes (1,2). In Nigeria, the reported prevalence of gender‐based violence against women in pregnancy ranges from 2.3 to 37.4% (3–8). By contrast, the only published work on IPV among pregnant Nigerian women living with HIV, reported a prevalence of 65.8% (9).…”