University of The Gambia, School of Medicine & Allied Health Sciences, Department of Public & Environmental Health, Brikama, The Gambia.
Taipei Medical University, College of Public Health, Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, Taipei, Taiwan.
West J Emerg Med. 2022 Jul 5;23(4):548-556. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2022.4.54880.
Violence against women remains a major public health concern in African countries. We conducted a matched case-control study to identify risk factors for recurrent violent injuries among African women in The Gambia, a small West African country.
During the 12-month study period, we recruited study participants from eight emergency departments in the metropolitan areas of the municipality of Kanifing and the West Coast region. We selected women aged ≥15 years who sought medical treatment for an injury due to physical violence at least twice over the study period. Two control groups were used: violence controls (VC), which included those who had experienced a single violence-related injury in the prior 12 months; and nonviolence controls (NVC), which included those who had experienced a nonviolent injury. Control patients were matched based on gender, health facility, injury date, and age (±2 years).
In total, 116 case patients and 232 control patients participated in the study. Results of the conditional logistic regression analyses of the VC and NVC control groups individually showed that women with recurrent violent injuries had a significantly higher likelihood of having a secondary education (odds ratio [OR] 6.47; OR 4.22), coming from a polygamous family (OR 3.81; OR 3.53), and had been raised by a single parent (OR 5.25; OR 5.04). Furthermore, compared with the VC group, women with recurrent violent injuries had a significantly higher likelihood of living in a rented house (OR 4.74), living with in-laws (OR 5.98), and of having experienced childhood abuse (OR 2.48). Compared with the NVC group, women with recurrent violent injuries had a significantly higher likelihood of living in an extended family compound (OR 4.77), having more than two female siblings (OR 4.07), and having been raised by a relative (OR 3.52).
We identified risk factors for recurrent injuries from physical violence among African women in The Gambia. Intervention strategies targeting these risk factors could be effective in preventing recurrent violence against African women.
暴力侵害妇女行为仍然是非洲国家的一个主要公共卫生问题。我们进行了一项匹配病例对照研究，以确定冈比亚非洲妇女反复遭受暴力伤害的危险因素，冈比亚是一个西非小国。
在为期 12 个月的研究期间，我们从直辖市卡尼芬和西海岸地区的 8 个急诊部门招募了研究参与者。我们选择了年龄在 15 岁及以上的女性，她们在研究期间至少两次因身体暴力而就医治疗受伤。使用了两组对照：暴力对照（VC），包括在过去 12 个月中经历过单次与暴力相关伤害的人；非暴力对照（NVC），包括经历过非暴力伤害的人。对照患者根据性别、医疗机构、受伤日期和年龄（±2 岁）进行匹配。
共有 116 例病例患者和 232 例对照患者参加了研究。对 VC 和 NVC 对照组分别进行条件逻辑回归分析的结果表明，反复遭受暴力伤害的妇女接受中等教育的可能性显著更高（比值比[OR]6.47；OR4.22），来自多配偶家庭（OR3.81；OR3.53），并由单亲抚养长大（OR5.25；OR5.04）。此外，与 VC 组相比，反复遭受暴力伤害的妇女更有可能居住在出租房屋（OR4.74）、与公婆同住（OR5.98），并且更有可能经历过童年虐待（OR2.48）。与 NVC 组相比，反复遭受暴力伤害的妇女更有可能居住在大家庭大院（OR4.77）、有两个以上的女性兄弟姐妹（OR4.07），并且是由亲戚抚养长大的（OR3.52）。
我们确定了冈比亚非洲妇女反复遭受身体暴力伤害的危险因素。针对这些危险因素的干预策略可能会有效预防非洲妇女反复遭受暴力。
