Bogale Daniel, Markos Desalegn, Kaso Muhammedawel
Department of Public Health, Madawalabu University, Bale Goba, Ethiopia.
Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Madawalabu University, Bale Goba, Ethiopia.
Int J Womens Health. 2015 Jan 9;7:85-93. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S74832. eCollection 2015.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a harmful traditional practice that is deeply rooted in Africa. It is associated with health complications and human rights violations. Research on intention for the continuation of FGM and the social determinants underpinning this practice are scarce. Therefore, this study intended to assess the intention of women toward the continuation of FGM among Bale Zone reproductive-age women.
A community-based cross-sectional study design supplemented by qualitative methods was conducted in 2014. A total of 634 reproductive-age women were involved in the quantitative part of the study. The respondents were drawn from five randomly selected districts of Bale Zone. The total sample was allocated proportionally to each district based on the number of reproductive-age women it has. Purposive sampling method was used for qualitative study. Then, data were collected using a pretested and structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows version 16.0. Multiple logistic regressions were carried out to examine the existence of a relationship between intentions for the continuation of FGM and selected determinant factors.
This study revealed that 26.7% of the respondents had intention for the continuation of FGM. Religion, safeguarding virginity, tradition, and social values were the major reasons for the perpetuation of this practice. Circumcised respondents and those who were not able to read and write were ~3 (adjusted odds ratio = 2.89, 95% confidence interval = [1.33, 6.20]) and 7.58 (adjusted odds ratio = 7.58, 95% confidence interval = [3.47, 16.54]) times more likely intending the continuation of FGM than uncircumcised and those who attended secondary-level education and above, respectively.
The study shows that the intention toward the persistence of the practice is high in Bale Zone. Rural residents, those who were not able to read and write, and circumcised respondents were more likely to continue the practice.
女性生殖器切割是一种有害的传统习俗，在非洲根深蒂固。它与健康并发症及侵犯人权行为相关。关于女性生殖器切割延续意愿及其背后社会决定因素的研究匮乏。因此，本研究旨在评估巴勒地区育龄妇女对女性生殖器切割延续的意愿。
2014年采用基于社区的横断面研究设计，并辅以定性方法。共有634名育龄妇女参与了研究的定量部分。受访者来自巴勒地区随机选取的五个区。总样本根据各区育龄妇女数量按比例分配。定性研究采用目的抽样法。然后，使用经过预测试的结构化问卷收集数据。收集到的数据通过Windows版社会科学统计软件包16.0进行分析。进行多因素逻辑回归以检验女性生殖器切割延续意愿与选定决定因素之间的关系。
本研究显示，26.7%的受访者有女性生殖器切割延续的意愿。宗教、维护贞操、传统和社会价值观是这种习俗延续的主要原因。接受过切割的受访者以及无法读写的受访者延续女性生殖器切割的可能性分别比未接受切割的受访者和接受过中等及以上教育的受访者高约3倍（调整比值比 = 2.89，95%置信区间 = [1.33, 6.20]）和7.58倍（调整比值比 = 7.58，95%置信区间 = [3.47, 16.54]）。
研究表明，巴勒地区这种习俗延续的意愿较高。农村居民、无法读写的人以及接受过切割手术的受访者更有可能延续这种习俗。
