Mapping and trend analysis of public health studies: a bibliometric analysis of the demographic and health survey in Peru

IntroductionIntimate partner violence is a human rights violation that often involves violence against women, which appears to be the most prevalent type of abuse. Intimate partner violence is a major global public health issue that includes physical, emotional, and sexual violence. The prevalence of intimate partner violence in Africa is high. The burden of intimate partner violence among reproductive-age women is high in Kenya. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to determine the associated factors of intimate partner violence among reproductive-age women at the individual and community level from the recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2022 data of Kenya.MethodsThe Kenya National Demographic and Health Survey data of 2022 was used for this study. The overall sample size for this study was 14,612, which focused on women aged 15 to 49 years who had ever been partnered and responded to the domestic violence module. Multilevel logistic regression models to determine the prevalence and associated factors at the individual and community level with intimate partner violence with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) and Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR).ResultThe overall prevalence of intimate partner violence was 41.1% with a 95% CI (40.07%, 42.60. Male-headed households, poorest and middle wealth status, partner alcohol use, separated/widowed current marital status, and low education of women were statistically significantly associated with intimate partner violence at the individual level variables in this study.ConclusionsThe prevalence of intimate partner violence was high. Educating women, reducing partner alcohol use, and improving the economic status of women, were crucial in mitigating the burden of intimate partner violence. The intimate partners are supposed to respect the rights of women.

IntroductionIntimate Partner Violence (IPV) is the most prevalent form of violence against women globally and is more prevalent than rape or other violent attacks by strangers. Different observational studies have established a strong positive association between alcohol use and intimate partner violence. Even though there are a lot of studies that show the association between partner alcohol use and intimate partner violence limited studies were conducted that show the direct causative relations of partner alcohol use and IPV among reproductive-age women in East Africa. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of partner alcohol use on intimate partner violence in East Africa’s recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data with Propensity Score Matching (PSM).MethodCommunity-based cross-sectional study design with a propensity score matching was used from the East African countries’ DHS data. A total of the weighted sample size of 72,554 reproductive-age women was used for this study. Propensity score matching analysis was conducted to determine the causal relation between partner alcohol use and intimate partner violence. Intimate partner violence was the outcome variable and partner alcohol use was the treatment variable. Propensity score matching was carried out through Stata software by using psmatch2 of the logit-based model. The assumption of common support was verified and achieved. Mantel-Haenszel boundaries have been used to investigate the possibility of hidden bias in the outcome.ResultThe prevalence of partner alcohol use and intimate partner violence from East African countries was 37.94 with a CI of (37.58%, 38.29%) and 41.45% with a CI (41.09%, 41.80%) respectively. Partner alcohol use contributed to a 2.78% increase in intimate partner violence according to the estimated average treatment on treated values in the treated and control groups were 59.41% and 31.51%, respectively. Ultimately, it was found that among all research participants, the average effect on the population as a whole was 25.33%.ConclusionWe conclude that partner alcohol use has a direct cause for intimate partner violence. Therefore, controlling partner alcohol consumption can reduce the burden of intimate partner violence.

There is a demonstrated link between intimate partner violence (IPV) and pregnancy termination, and this association has received much attention in developed settings. Despite the high prevalence of IPV in Papua New Guinea (PNG), little is known about the association between these experiences and pregnancy termination. This study examined the association between IPV and pregnancy termination in PNG. The present study used population-based data from the PNG's first Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted in 2016-2018. The analysis involved women aged 15-49 years who were in intimate unions (married or co-habiting). We used binary logistic regression modelling to analyse the association between IPV and pregnancy termination. Results were reported as crude odds ratios (cOR) and adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Overall, 6.3% of women involved in this study had ever terminated a pregnancy, and 6 in 10 women (61.5%) reported having experienced IPV in the last 12 months preceding the survey. Of those women who experienced IPV, 7.4% had ever terminated a pregnancy. Women who had experienced IPV had a 1.75 higher odds of reporting pregnancy termination (cOR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.29-2.37) than women who did not experience IPV. After controlling for theoretically and empirically relevant socio-demographic and economic factors, IPV remained a strong and significant determinant of pregnancy termination (aOR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.22-2.30). The strong association between IPV and pregnancy termination among women in intimate unions in PNG calls for targeted policies and interventions that address the high prevalence of IPV. The provision of comprehensive sexual reproductive health, public education, and awareness creation on the consequences of IPV, regular assessment, and referral to appropriate services for IPV may reduce the incidence of pregnancy termination in PNG.

BackgroundSerious forms of violence against women include Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The aim of this study was to determine if FGM is associated with IPV, using data obtained from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2012 in Ivory Coast.MethodsParticipants for this study were drawn from the 2011-12 Ivory Coast Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS), a nationally representative sample of 10060 women aged 15 to 49 years. The analysis of this paper is restricted to the sample of women who responded to the FGM and domestic violence modules (N = 5005).ResultsThe lifetime prevalence of physical violence was 24.8%, sexual violence, 5.7%, and emotional violence, 19.0%, and the prevalence of any lifetime IPV was 32.1%. In all, 40.6% reported female genital cutting or mutilation (FGM). Women reporting FGM were two times as likely to experience sexual IPV (AOR: 1.96, CI: 1.29-2.98), while other subtypes of IPV were higher in women reporting FGM but they were not significant. Of the socio-demographic covariates, urban residence and having a primary education were associated with most subtypes of IPV, while being a Muslim seemed protective from any type, sexual and emotional IPV. Having seen the father beating the mother was positively associated with most IPV subtypes, and having been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the previous 12 months was associated with physical and sexual IPV.ConclusionSignificant rates of FGM and IPV were found among this sample of Ivorian women calling for the need for multiple strategies to reduce FGM and IPV.

BackgroundViolence against women is a global problem with serious consequences. In response, Peru established women’s emergency centres or Centros de Emergencia Mujer (CEMs) in 1999, offering support services like psychological...

Hand eczema is a skin disease that affects about 10% of the population of working age (1). It has noticeable consequences (eg, health care consumption, sick leave, change of work, and impairment of health-related quality of life) for both society and the individual (2). Furthermore, hand eczema is the most common occupational skin disease (2). The most frequent type of hand eczema is contact dermatitis caused by environmental factors like skin irritants or contact allergens. In public health surveys, it is thus important to include questions about skin disease, in particular hand eczema, to be able to study possible changes in occurrence. In this letter, we present our experience with a public health survey that produced remarkable results for a question on hand eczema and emphasize the importance of the wording of the question. In Stockholm County, with about 1.8 million inhabitants, two different health surveys were performed using postal questionnaires. In an environmental health survey in 1997, questionnaires were sent to 15 000 people aged 19-80 years (3-4), and in a public health survey in 1998, 5000 questionnaires were mailed to randomly selected persons aged 20-84 years (5). The response rates were 73% and 64%, respectively. In the environmental health survey, the wording of the question about hand eczema was "Have you had hand eczema on any occasion during the past 12 months?", and, in the public health survey, it was "Have you had any period of hand eczema or skin rash on any occasion during the past 12 months?" The intention was to use the same question. However, due to an unfortunate technical mishap, the wording of the question in the public health survey was not the same. "Yes" answers were obtained from 8% (males 6%, females 10%) of the respondents in the environmental health survey and from 31% (males 32%, females 26%) of the respondents in the public health survey. The question used in the environmental health survey had been previously used in several Swedish studies, and the reported 1-year prevalence of hand eczema was in agreement with previous experience (1). A validation of the question has shown a sensitivity of 53-59% and a specificity of 96-99% (6). It is impossible to know what the respondents included in the concept "rash" as used in the public health questionnaire. Probably several of the most common skin diseases besides hand eczema were also reported, diagnoses like psoriasis, urticaria, atopic dermatitis, seborrhoic dermatitis, acne, rosacea, tinea, hypostatic eczema, and some skin tumors. The occurrence of skin disease (all diagnoses) in the general population has been estimated to be about 30% (7), thus similar to the result for the question used in the public health survey. This example illustrates that the exact wording of a question is of utmost importance if results are to be interpreted properly and consequently used for different purposes (eg, to follow trends and to estimate the effects from preventive strategies). For questions about occupational skin disease and exposure, a new questionnaire tool was recently developed (8). When a questionnaire is being designed, advice should be sought from persons with expert knowledge in the field on what the question is intended to cover; in the case of skin disease, the person should be a dermatologist experienced in epidemiology.

We estimated the associations between age at first marriage and recent intimate partner violence (IPV) among women young women aged 20–24 years using data from demographic and health surveys (DHS) conducted at 48 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We fitted a multilevel logistic regression model controlling for sociodemographic covariates. Our pooled analyses revealed that age at marriage is strongly associated with past year IPV in a non-linear way, with steep reductions in violence when young women marry after age 15 and a continued decline in IPV for every year marriage is delayed up to age 24. The risk of physical IPV was 3.3 times higher among women married at age 15 (24.4%, 95% CI 19.7; 29.2%) compared to young women married at age 24 (7.5%, 95% CI 5.8; 9.2%). For sexual IPV, girls married at 15 had 2.2 times higher risk compared to those married at 24 (7.5%, 95% CI 5.6; 9.5% vs. 3.4%, 95% CI 2.7; 4.2%, respectively). For psychological IPV, the relative risk was 3.4 for the same comparison (married at 15: 20.1%, 95% CI 14.6; married at 24: 25.5% vs. 6.0%, 95% CI 3.4; 8.6%). Country specific analyses showed that, age at marriage was negatively associated with physical and psychological IPV in nearly half of the countries (n/48) and with sexual IPV in ten countries. Our findings underscore the importance of integrating violence prevention and response interventions into efforts to prevent child marriage, as well as the health, educations and social services young women access.

Intimate partner violence has a significant impact on people as individuals, as families, and as communities. The ripple effects extend beyond the immediate victims, straining healthcare systems, stifling economic productivity, and hindering social progress. The study aims to present the spatial distribution of intimate partner violence prevalence, identify socio-demographic and contextual predictors, and establish associations with public health indicators. This is a secondary data analysis, using a nationally representative demographic and health survey (DHS) conducted in Nigeria. A two-stage stratified random sampling was employed in the standard DHS survey and 10,678 women of childbearing age were randomly selected for the intimate partner violence module. A Research Proforma of the selected variables from DHS was used to extract the data required for the study. Descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out on the data using Microsoft Excel dashboards, spatial map and random-intercept logistic regression. The study found the prevalence of intimate partner violence across the country to be 33.9%. Region and place of residence had significant association with intimate partner violence (p < 0.05). The multivariate analysis identified ethnicity difference of couple (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.03-1.48), age (OR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01-1.03), sex of household head (OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.22-3.94), jealousy (OR = 1.67, 95%, CI: 1.50-1.86), family history of intimate partner violence (OR = 2.79, 95% CI: 2.29-3.40), and alcohol consumption (OR = 3.01, 95% CI 2.54-3.58) among other factors as the socio-demographic and contextual factors influencing intimate partner violence. Intimate partner violence also had a significant association with mental health, physical health, and sexual health. The spatial analysis done on the prevalence of intimate partner violence found a variation in the occurrence of intimate partner violence across the States of the country, while the probability of intimate partner violence obtained from the model ranges from 0.24 to 0.85. The study identified communities in Nigeria with higher probability of intimate partner violence (IPV). These communities should be priortised for targeted intervention, also it is recommended that laws on IPV should be strengthened at national and regional levels.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) adversely affects female reproductive health in various ways. Similarly, it plays a critical role in women's unintended pregnancy. This study examines the relationship between IPV and unintended pregnancy in Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. This study uses data from the nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in six Eastern African SSA countries. The original sample size was restricted to ever married (or cohabitating) women of reproductive age who completed the survey's Domestic Violence Module and had a pregnancy in the previous 5 years. Svyset proportion was used to estimate the prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of the study outcomes and multiple logistic regression was used to compare outcomes of last pregnancy by exposure to lifetime IPV committed by the most recent partner. The prevalence of unintended pregnancy in Eastern SSA was 38% [36.4, 40.34] among married women with high disparity among countries. This prevalence was 45% [42.05, 48.15] and 55% [50.0, 59.87] among women who had experienced any form of IPV and sexual violence, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, women with a history of sexual violence had a higher risk of unintended pregnancy [AOR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.39, 2.33] and increased odds of unintended pregnancy for women who had more than five living children [AOR: 4.93, 95% CI: 3.40, 7.15], women who lived in rural residences [AOR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.90], and women who reported they had financial barriers for health care [AOR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.64]. Our findings suggest that IPV, particularly sexual violence, is a key player for higher risk of unintended pregnancy in Eastern SSA countries. This study highlights the need for developing programs and implementation of policies that integrate sexual reproductive health and IPV to reduce unintended pregnancy among married and single women.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem in Africa and internationally, with consequences that include physical injury, significant morbidity and even death. The Rwandan 2005 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) reported a national prevalence of IPV among pregnant women of 10.2% but there were limited data available on the factors involved. The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with and prevalence of IPV among pregnant Rwandese women in the rural southern province of Kabutare. A total of 387 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the South Province of Rwanda answered a questionnaire which included items on demographics and IPV. Mean age and prevalence of IPV in the previous 12 months as well as lifetime IPV were assessed. Both univariate and multivariate odds of IPV exposure were estimated using logistic regression analysis. The mean age of the 387 participants was 29.4 years (SD 6.3 years). More than one in two participants reported lifetime verbal abuse (53.7%). Other forms of lifetime IPV included pulling hair (9.4%), slapping (18.2%), choking (6.5%), punching with fists (19.3%), throwing to the ground and kicking with feet (12.8%), and burning with a hot liquid (3.1%). In the multivariate analysis, alcohol use by male partner was positively associated with lifetime IPV (OR = 2.52; 95% CI [1.35, 4.71] for occasional drinkers, and OR = 3.85; 95% CI [1.81, 8.21] for heavy drinkers). Compared with subjects with no formal education, women who had elementary education were less likely to report lifetime IPV (OR = 0.30; 95% CI [0.11, 0.78]). Alcohol use by male partner and low education of women were positively associated with lifetime IPV. The high rates of IPV among Rwandan pregnant women indicate the need for urgent measures to prevent and curb domestic violence using public health education, an awareness campaign and policy advocacy.

Neighborhood Effects and Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence: Latest Results

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has increasingly received attention in the last three decades. However, IPV-related studies in both high- and low- and middle-income countries adopted a victim-oriented perspective in which men are perpetrators and women, the victims. Using socio-cultural and resource theories as guiding frameworks, this paper assessed the associations between men's education and IPV in Central Africa, using nationally representative data of married and cohabiting women of reproductive ages. Data included in the analyses come from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHSs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Cameroon, Gabon, and Chad. Analyzed sub-samples consisted of 3421, 5023, 3930, and 3221 married/cohabiting women of reproductive ages in Chad, DRC, Cameroon, and Gabon, respectively. Findings indicated significant variations of IPV prevalence within and across countries. Previous research demonstrated that men's education is a protective factor in health-related studies. The present study, however, provide no clear evidence on the linkages between men's education and IPV. In contrast, the paper substantiated that highly educated women were at higher risks of IPV when spouses/partners were less educated. These findings have policy and programmatic implications because they might impede progress towards SDG goals on the elimination of all forms of violence against girls and women in Central Africa, which recorded the worst development indicators in sub-Saharan Africa. On a methodological note, studies are increasingly using pooled data to increase statistical power. Those studies can be very limited to devise effective IPV-interventions since they mask geographical variations within and across countries. More effective IPV-interventions should be culturally rooted and accounting for geographical variations because some areas are more affected than others.

Maternal mortality for 181 countries, 1980–2008

This research has two main goals: (i) to examine fertility desires (number of children) in sub-Saharan Africa: levels as compared to other major regions and recent trends; and (ii) to assess the extent to which fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa is contingent on decline in fertility desires (singly and in combination with other reproductive changes).

Effective data systems are essential for driving focus and processes within health systems. Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Health Facility Surveys (HFS) play a critical role in providing nationally representative data on service quality, health indicators, and resource allocation. Although the next round of Nepal Health Facility Survey was scheduled for 2026 and Nepal Demographic and Health Survey for 2027, these surveys face uncertainty due to recent decisions by the new U.S. administration to cut foreign aid, including support for the DHS project. In Nepal, data from DHS and HFS are indispensable for evaluating health systems, shaping evidencebased policies, and monitoring public health progress. However, funding uncertainties threaten to create data gaps, may distort health sector priorities, and diminish opportunities for developing future leaders in health sector. This situation highlights the urgent need for innovative solutions, investments in robust routine data systems, and strengthened collaboration among stakeholders to ensure the continuity of vital health system data.