Columbia School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America.
Department of Sociology and Social Work, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
PLoS One. 2020 Apr 2;15(4):e0230894. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230894. eCollection 2020.
Globally, one billion people live in informal settlements, and that number is expected to triple by 2050. Studies suggests that health in informal settlements is a serious and growing concern, yet there is a paucity of research focused on health outcomes and the correlates of health in these settlements. Studies cite individual, environmental and social correlates to health in informal settlements, but they often lack empirical evidence. In particular, research suggests that high rates of violence against women (VAW) in informal settlements may be associated with detrimental effects on women's health, but few studies have investigated this link. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap by empirically exploring associations between women's experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and their physical and mental health. Data for this study were collected in August 2018 in Mathare Valley Informal Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. A total of 550 randomly-selected women participated in surveys; however, analyses for this study were run on a subpopulation of the women (n = 361). Multivariate logistic regressions were used to investigate the link between psychological, sexual, and emotional IPV and women's mental and physical health. Results suggest that while some socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental variables were significantly associated with women's mental and physical health outcomes, all types of IPV emerged key correlates in this context. In particular, women's experiences of IPV were associated with lower odds of normal-high physical health component scores (based on SF-36); higher odds of gynecological and reproductive health issues, psychological distress (based on K-10), depression, suicidality, and substance use. Findings from this study suggest that policies and interventions focused on prevention and response to VAW in informal settlements may make critical contributions to improving health for women in these rapidly growing settlements.
全球有 10 亿人生活在非正规住区，预计到 2050 年这一数字将增加两倍。研究表明，非正规住区的健康是一个严重且日益严重的问题，但针对这些住区的健康结果和健康相关因素的研究却很少。研究指出了非正规住区中与健康相关的个体、环境和社会因素，但这些因素往往缺乏实证证据。特别是，研究表明，非正规住区中针对妇女的暴力行为发生率很高，可能对妇女的健康产生不利影响，但很少有研究调查这种关联。本研究旨在通过实证研究探索妇女遭受亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）的经历与其身心健康之间的关系，填补这一空白。本研究的数据于 2018 年 8 月在肯尼亚内罗毕的马萨雷谷非正规住区收集。共有 550 名随机挑选的妇女参加了调查，但本研究的分析是在妇女的一个子群体（n=361）上进行的。采用多变量逻辑回归分析方法调查了心理、性和情感 IPV 与妇女身心健康之间的联系。结果表明，虽然一些社会经济、人口和环境变量与妇女的身心健康结果显著相关，但在这种情况下，所有类型的 IPV 都成为关键的相关因素。特别是，妇女遭受 IPV 的经历与较低的正常高身体健康组成部分评分（基于 SF-36）、更高的妇科和生殖健康问题、心理困扰（基于 K-10）、抑郁、自杀意念和物质使用的几率相关。本研究的结果表明，针对非正规住区中针对妇女的暴力行为的预防和应对政策和干预措施，可能对改善这些快速增长的住区中妇女的健康做出重要贡献。
