Magnitude and Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence against Women and Its Outcome in Southwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a major public health problem with serious consequences. This study was conducted to assess the magnitude of IPV in Southwest Ethiopia in predominantly rural community. METHODS: This community based cross-sectional study was conducted in May, 2009 in Southwest Ethiopia using the World Health Organization core questionnaire to measure violence against women. Trained data collectors interviewed 851 ever-married women. Stata version 10.1 software and SPSS version 12.0.1 for windows were used for data analysis. RESULT: In this study the life time prevalence of sexual or physical partner violence, or both was 64.7% (95%CI: 61.4%-67.9%). The lifetime sexual violence [50.1% (95% CI: 46.7%-53.4%)] was considerably more prevalent than physical violence [41.1% (95%:37.8-44.5)]. A sizable proportion [41.5%(95%CI: 38.2%-44.8%)] of women reported physical or sexual violence, or both, in the past year. Men who were controlling were more likely to be violent against their partner. CONCLUSION: Physical and sexual violence is common among ever-married women in Southwest Ethiopia. Interventions targeting controlling men might help in reducing IPV. Further prospective longitudinal studies among ever-married women are important to identify predictors and to study the dynamics of violence over time

Remote interspecies interactions: Improving humans and animals wellbeing through mobile playful spaces

[EN] Play is an essential activity for both humans and animals as it provides stimulation and favors cognitive, physical and social development. This paper proposes a novel pervasive playful environment that allows hospitalized children to participate in remote interspecies play with dogs in a dog daycare facility, while it also allows the dogs to play by themselves with the pervasive system. The aim of this playful interactive space is to help improving both children¿s and animal¿s wellbeing and their relationships by means of technologically mediated play, while creating a solid knowledge base to define the future of pervasive interactive environments for animals.This work is supported by the European Development Regional Fund (EDRF-FEDER), Spain and Spanish MINECO (TIN2014-60077-R). The work of Patricia Pons is supported by the Spanish MECD (FPU13/03831). Special thanks to the dogs and children who participated in our study, the dogs' owners and the children's families. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the teachers of the Unidad Pedagogica Hospitalaria La Fe and Oncologia Pediatrica La Fe and also Olga and Astrid from Buma's Doggy Daycare facility, for their invaluable support, collaboration and dedication.Pons Tomás, P.; Carrion-Plaza, A.; Jaén Martínez, FJ. (2019). Remote interspecies interactions: Improving humans and animals wellbeing through mobile playful spaces. Pervasive and Mobile Computing. 52:113-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmcj.2018.12.003S1131305

A comment on White and Du Mont's "Visualizing sexual assault: An exploration of the use of optical technologies in the medico-legal contact"

Rape Sexual assault Sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs Optical technologies Forensics USA Medico-legal expertise Women

Perceptions of barriers, facilitators and motivators related to use of prenatal care: A qualitative descriptive study of inner-city women in Winnipeg, Canada

Objective: The objective of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the perceptions of women living in inner-city Winnipeg, Canada, about barriers, facilitators, and motivators related to their use of prenatal care. Methods: Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted in person with 26 pregnant or postpartum women living in inner-city neighborhoods with high rates of inadequate prenatal care. Interviews averaged 67 min in length. Recruitment of participants continued until data saturation was achieved. Inductive content analysis was used to identify themes and subthemes under four broad topics of interest (barriers, facilitators, motivators, and suggestions). Sword’s socio-ecological model of health services use provided the theoretical framework for the research. This model conceptualizes service use as a product of two interacting systems: the personal and situational attributes of potential users and the characteristics of health services. Results: Half of the women in our sample were single and half self-identified as Aboriginal. Participants discussed several personal and system-related barriers affecting use of prenatal care, such as problems with transportation and child care, lack of prenatal care providers, and inaccessible services. Facilitating factors included transportation assistance, convenient location of services, positive care provider qualities, and tangible rewards. Women were motivated to attend prenatal care to gain knowledge and skills and to have a healthy baby. Conclusion: Consistent with the theoretical framework, women’s utilization of prenatal care was a product of two interacting systems, with several barriers related to personal and situational factors affecting women’s lives, while other barriers were related to problems with service delivery and the broader healthcare system. Overcoming barriers to prenatal care and capitalizing on factors that motivate women to seek prenatal care despite difficult living circumstances may help improve use of prenatal care by inner-city women