Prevalence and Factors Associated With Intimate Partner Violence Among Women With Abortion at Mulago Hospital, Kampala City, Uganda

Abstract Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global health problem causing ill health among women especially of reproductive age. Its global prevalence is estimated to be 30-71%. The prevalence is higher among African and Asian populations compared to American and European populations. In Uganda, the prevalence of IPV among women with abortion was 56.4% in 2005. Since then, the Domestic Violence Act was enacted in 2010; sexual and gender based violence desks initiated in hospitals and a number of agencies working to prevent violence against women have sprung up. The objective of this study was to determine the current prevalence and factors associated with IPV among women with abortion at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala city.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted over 4 months on 480 women. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using STATA 13.0. Those variables with a p-value ≤0.05 were considered statistically significant at multi-variate analysis.Results: The prevalence of IPV among women with abortion was 71.3%. The factors that were significantly associated with intimate partner violence were: being divorced/widowed/separated (aOR 8.7, CI 1.1997-38.268, and p-value= 0.004), being never married (aOR 5.5, CI 2.700-11.138, and p-value <0.001), number of children (aOR 1.2, CI 1.053-1.411 and p-value =0.008) and witnessing abuse as an adult (aOR 6.1, CI 2.678-13.727, and p-value <0.001).Conclusion: This study has shown that the prevalence of IPV among women with abortion is still high despite interventions. More concerted effort needs to be directed toward improving contraceptive services, marriage and family support systems and community awareness on the effects of IPV on women and society.