Prevalence of disrespect and abuse of women during child birth and associated factors in Bahir Dar town, Ethiopia

• Main Authors: Biresaw Wassihun, Leul Deribe, Nadia Worede, Teklemariam Gultie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korean Society of Epidemiology 2018-07-01
• Series: Epidemiology and Health
• Subjects: Abuse; Maternity; Childbirth; Women; Prevalence; Ethiopia
• Online Access: http://www.e-epih.org/upload/pdf/epih-40-e2018029.pdf

OBJECTIVES Disrespect and abuse are an often-unacknowledged cause of maternal mortality and morbidity globally. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of disrespect and abuse of women during childbirth at a health facility in the town of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. METHODS In this community-based cross-sectional study, 422 mothers were interviewed from March 1 to 30, 2017 using a systematic random sampling technique with the kth value of 23 calculated based on the number of households in each sub-city and the expected sample size from sub-cities. Data were collected using a structured face-to-face interview questionnaire. EpiData version 3.1 was used to code and enter data, which were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each variable, and binary logistic regression analysis with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was carried out to determine the associations between predictor variables and outcome variables. RESULTS A total of 410 women participated in the study, with a response rate of 97.2%. The overall prevalence of disrespect and abuse was 67.1% (95% CI, 63.0 to 72.0). Disrespect and abuse were more prevalent in women with a monthly income less than 2,000 Ethiopian birr (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.74; 95% CI, 1.08 to 2.80), mothers who stayed in a health facility after delivery (aOR, 5.14; 95% CI, 2.23 to 11.82), those who received care at a governmental hospital (aOR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.15 to 5.40), and those who attended fewer than 4 antenatal care visits (aOR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.15 to 3.40). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of disrespect and abuse was high in this study setting. To decrease the prevalence of this phenomenon, appropriate interventions should be designed, focusing on increasing the number of antenatal care visits, increasing the incomes of mothers, and improving the relationship between health workers and mothers during mothers’ stay at health facilities.