Prevalence of intimate partner violence against women in Republic of Benin

The present study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) of reproductive age in Benin and to assess the factors related to the experience of IPVAW and attitude towards wife beating among women. The study also assessed whether a family history of violence is a risk factor for experiencing IPVAW. The study used the Benin Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18 data for analyses. A national representative sample of 4488 ever married women was selected to respond to a domestic violence and abuse questionnaire. Cross-tabulation and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. The prevalence of IPVAW experience in Benin was as follows: emotional violence, 35.4%; physical violence, 18.4%; and sexual violence, 8.2%. Older age, rural residence, the practice of Vodoun religion, living in a household headed by a male member, family history of domestic violence, and attitudes towards wife beating were significantly associated with the prevalence of IPVAW. Thirty-two percent of women supported wife beating. Women residing in urban areas, having higher educational qualification, higher socioeconomic status, and no family history of domestic violence were less likely to support wife beating. Policymakers should place emphasis on evidence-based prevention programs, gender equality, women empowerment, and policy priority for curbing IPVAW

Occupational burnout and lifestyle in Kazakhstan cardiologists

Background: No data exist in the published literature on burnout in physicians from Central Asia. The aim of this analysis was to assess burnout prevalence in doctors and nurses of a cardiological hospital in Almaty, Kazakhstan and ascertain whether smoking, alcohol and physical activity may predict job-associated burnout. Methods: The staff of the City Cardiological Centre of Almaty (N = 259, 82% females) filled in the questionnaire with the questions on demographics, lifestyle, including smoking, alcohol and physical activity, as well as fatigue (using Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS)) and burnout using Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel. We compared the scores of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA) between doctors and nurses. Results: We found significant differences in the smoking prevalence, alcohol use and regular physical activity, but no mean scores of burnout between men and women. High DP was prevalent in 52% doctors and 45% nurses, whereas high EE was found in 32 and 26% and PA in 16 and 32%, accordingly. In contrast with EE and DP, PA score was greater in nurses (median 38, interquartile range (IQR) 17) compared to doctors (median 41, IQR 9). Age, sex, work duration, smoking or physical activity could not predict higher burnout, whereas FSS score was associated with higher burnout of all dimensions (p < 0.05), and never-alcohol could predict higher PA burnout (p < 0.05). Conclusions: In Kazakhstan cardiologists, high prevalence of DP burnout should target specific preventive strategies and the association of alcohol use with PA needs further deeper insight

Out-of-pocket health expenditure and fairness in utilization of health care facilities in Cambodia in 2005 and 2010 [version 1; referees: 2 approved]

Background: Out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for health care are highly pervasive in several low-and-middle income countries. The Cambodian health system has envisaged massive repositioning of various health care financing to ensure equitable access to health care. This analysis examines catastrophic, economic, as well as fairness, impacts of OOP health care payments on households in Cambodia over time. Methods: Data from two waves of a nationally representative household survey conducted in Cambodia (CDHS Surveys 2005 and 2010) were utilized. Healthcare utilizations based on economic status were compared during 2005 and 2010. Variables of interests were i) where care was sought and the instances of treatments, i.e. was treatment sought the first, second or third time; (ii) the mode of payment for treatment of the respondent or for any household member due to sickness or injury in the last 30 days prior to the survey period. Lorenz curves were applied to assess the degree of distribution of inequality in OOP expenditures between different income brackets. Results: The findings revealed that there was inequality and unfairness in health care payments, and catastrophic spending is more common among the poor in Cambodia. The majority of people from poorer households experienced economic hardship and have taken to catastrophic health care spending through sales of personal possessions.  Conclusion: Based on the findings from this analysis, more attention is needed on effective financial protection for Cambodians to promote fairness. The government should increase spending on services being provided at public health care facilities to reduce ever increasing reliance on private sector providers. These approaches would go a long way to reduce the economic burden of care utilization among the poorest

Perceptions and practices on newborn care and managing complications at rural communities in Bangladesh : a qualitative study

Background: Community misperception on newborn care and poor treatment of sick newborn attributes to neonatal death and illness severity. Misperceptions and malpractices regarding neonatal care and neonatal complications are the leading causes of neonatal deaths in Bangladesh. The study was conducted to explore neonatal care’s perceptions and practices and manage complications among Bangladesh’s rural communities. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in Netrakona district of Bangladesh from April to June 2015. Three sub-districts (Upazilas) including Purbadhala, Durgapur and Atpara of Netrakona district were selected purposively. Five focus group discussions (FGDs) and twenty in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted in the rural community. Themes were identified through reading and re-reading the qualitative data and thematic analysis was performed. Results: Community people were far behind, regarding the knowledge of neonatal complications. Most of them felt that the complications occurred due to lack of care by the parents. Some believed that mothers did not follow the religious customs after delivery, which affected the newborns. Many of them followed the practice of bathing the newborns and cutting their hair immediately after birth. The community still preferred to receive traditional treatment from their community, usually from Kabiraj (traditional healer), village doctor, or traditional birth attendant. Families also refrained from seeking treatment from the health facilities during neonatal complications. Instead, they preferred to wait until the traditional healers or village doctors recommended transferring the newborn. Conclusions: Poor knowledge, beliefs and practices are the key barriers to ensure the quality of care for the newborns during complications. The communities still depend on traditional practices and the level of demand for facility care is low. Appropriate interventions focusing on these issues might improve the overall neonatal mortality in Bangladesh

Food foreign body injuries

Rationale and aim: The purpose of this study is to acquire a better understanding of Food Foreign Bodies (FFB) injuries in children characterizing the risk of complications and prolonged hospitalization due to food items according to patients' characteristics, circumstances of the accident, Foreign Body (FB) features and FB location, as emerging from the SUSY Safe Web-Registry. Methods: The present study uses data provided by the SUSY Safe Project, a DG SANCO co-funded project started in February 2005, which was aimed at establishing an international registry of cases of Foreign Bodies (FB) injuries in children aged 0-14 years. The analysis was carried out on injuries due to a food item.FB location was reported according to ICD9-CM code: ears (ICD931), nose (ICD932), pharynx and larynx (ICD933) trachea, bronchi and lungs (ICD934), mouth, esophagus and stomach (ICD935).Age and gender injury distributions were assessed. Data regarding adult supervision and activity before injury were also evaluated. FBs which most frequently cause complications were identified. The association between children age, adult presence, object characteristics and hospitalization/complications was computed using unweighted odds ratios and the related 95% confidence intervals. Results: 16,878 FB injuries occurred in children aged 0-14 years have been recorded in the SUSY Safe databases. FB type was specified in 10,564 cases; among them 2744 (26%) were due to a food item. FB site was recorded in 1344 cases: FB was located in the ears in 99 patients, while 1140 occurred in the upper and lower respiratory tract; finally, 105 food items were removed from mouth, esophagus and stomach. Complications occurred in 176 cases and the most documented was pulmonary or bronchial infections (23%) followed emphysema or atelectasis and by and asthma (7%). Bones were the commonest retrieved FFB encountered in this study, while nuts seem to be the FFB most frequently associated to complications. Conclusions: On the basis of this study we make the strong recommendation that parents should be adequately educated and provide age-appropriate food to their children and be present in order to supervise them during eating especially during a critical period ranging from 2 to 3 years of age