Intimate partner violence is independently associated with poor utilization of antenatal care in Arba Minch town, southern Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.

To ensure the best possible health conditions for both mother and fetus throughout pregnancy, skilled healthcare professionals provide antenatal care (ANC) to expectant mothers. Even though the introduction of antenatal care has reduced maternal mortality by 34% since 2002, some atypical behaviors, such as intimate partner violence, have had a significant impact on how often women seek out expert medical treatment during pregnancy. Hence, early identification of such risk factors is very important to decrease maternal mortality from preventable causes. To assess the prevalence and factors of intimate partner violence and associated factors among pregnant women at Arba Minch town, southern Ethiopia. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 403 mothers who were enrolled from December 1, 2022, to January 30, 2023. The total sample size was allocated proportionately to the number of women attending antenatal care at each public health facility. Thus, systematic sampling was applied. Kobo Toolbox was used for data collection and cleaning, which was then analyzed using IBM SPSS Version 26. Statistical significance was determined at a p-value of less than 0.05. In this study area, the prevalence of intimate partner violence among pregnant women was 35% (95% CI: 30.5-39). The associated factors of intimate partner violence were late initiation of antenatal care (AOR = 3.81, 95% CI: 1.7, 6.04), non-autonomous women (AOR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.18, 3.14), inadequate antenatal utilization (AOR = 3.41, 95% CI: 1.8, 6.2), and a husband with an extra wife (AOR = 6.0, 95% CI: 4.2, 10.57).This study showed that more than one-third of pregnant women in this study area were facing intimate partner violence. Having extra wife, lack of women's autonomy, less antenatal care utilization and late initiation of antenatal care were associated with Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Therefore, it is essential to greatly empower women and provide them significant prestige in the home.

Sexual violence and risk factors among night shift female college students in Hawassa city, South Ethiopia, 2020.

BACKGROUND: Sexual violence is any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, against a person's sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting. Several studies were undertaken on sexual violence among students in general. Nevertheless, there is paucity of information about sexual violence among night shift students in particular; even if they are more vulnerable to sexual violence due to the nature of the class time. The government has embraced legal and policy frameworks to discourse the problem of sexual violence in Ethiopia; nevertheless, the problem still is quite pervasive. OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed to assess the prevalence of sexual violence and risk factors among night shift female college students in Hawassa city. METHODS: Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from 345 study participants. Systematic random sampling technique was used to choice study participants. Epi data version 3.1statistical software and Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.0 were used to enter and analysis the data. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to recognize risk factors. P values < 0.05 with 95% confidence level were used to state statistical significance. RESULTS: A total of 330 students were participated in the study making a response rate of 95.6% with a mean age of 24.9. The prevalence of last 12 month sexual violence was 202 (61.2%) 95% CI (55.8, 66.4) which includes rape, attempted rape and sexual harassment. The 12 month prevalence of each form of violence was 46 (13.9%) 95% CI (10.6, 17.9), 23 (6.9%) 95% CI (3.6, 10.9) and 163 (49.4%) 95% CI (46.2, 53.6) of rape, attempted rape and sexual harassment respectively. The independent predictors of sexual violence having a father with no formal education (AOR = 2.39, 95% CI 1.04, 5.33) presence of multiple sexual partners (AOR = 3.44, 95% CI 1.64, 7.2), having sexual partner (AOR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.03, 3.5), and consuming alcohol (3.55, 95% CI 1.84-6.85) by the victims. CONCLUSION: This study shown that the prevalence of sexual violence is high among night shift female college students in Hawassa city. Having a father with no formal education, drinking alcohol, having multiple sexual partners and having sexual partner were more likely to have sexual violence within the last 12 month. Thus, students should prevent themselves from health risky behaviors and Hawassa educational bureau should be work on awareness creation concerning women empowerment with in marriage and Further broad and longitudinal studies are needed to determine the predictors of the problem among female students at Hawassa and Ethiopia as a whole.

Reproductive health education: a qualitative study of health seeking behaviour of in-school female adolescents

Introduction: adolescents in developing countries are often vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies. It is estimated that about 13 million adolescent girls have unplanned births each year in developing countries. This study examined the scope of the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) and health-seeking behaviours of female adolescents in Junior High School (JHS). Methods: this qualitative research used the narrative approach. Group discussions were conducted among 100 female adolescents aged 12-19 years. Interviews were conducted among five community health workers in five health centres that provide reproductive health services. The in-depth interviews and group discussions were documented, transcribed and analyzed using NVivo 11, whilst thematic analysis was used in analyzing data. Results: the mean age of adolescents was 15.5 years, with 74% reporting having knowledge of STDs. It was observed that the SHEP offers various information on health issues such as menstrual hygiene, STDs, personal hygiene, contraceptives, personal development and unsafe abortion practices. Adolescent reproductive health services were also available in the health centres but patronage was low as a result of perceived negative attitude of health workers and trust. Knowledge on issues of reproductive health is insufficient among JHS female adolescents, with many of them relying on the media and peers for reproductive health support. Conclusion: in this study, female adolescents are generally involved in risky sexual behaviour due to their low level of knowledge on reproductive issues and their unwillingness to patronize available reproductive health services because of the health system and cultural barriers.

Determinants of late initiation for antenatal care follow up: the case of northern Ethiopian pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: Early antenatal care follow-up is the main strategy of preventing pregnancy related adverse outcomes; in which World Health Organization recommends first antenatal care visit should be offered within the first trimester. However, Low utilization and late booking is the predominant problem in most developing countries including Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of late initiation for antenatal care follow-up and associated factors among pregnant women. Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 pregnant mothers using systematic sampling technique. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed at the level of significance of p-value ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: The findings showed 59.4% of pregnant women started their first visit after first trimester. Having age ≥ 25 years (AOR = 1.62, CI 1.1, 2.49), recognition of pregnancy by missed period (AOR = 2.54 CI 1.63, 3.96), pregnant mother who were not advised to start antenatal-care (AOR = 3.36, CI 1.74, 6.5) and primary educational level (AOR = 2.22, CI 1.16, 4.25) were found to be significantly associated with late initiation for antenatal care. The prevalence of late antenatal care follow-up is high. Multidisciplinary approaches to keep empowering women through education are recommended for early initiation of antenatal care.