Prevalence, types, and determinants of intimate-partner violence among pregnant women in Northern Uganda: a hospital-based cross-sectional study

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a global health issue, affecting one in three women worldwide. Exposure to IPV during pregnancy poses significant health risks to the mother and her foetus, leading to various complications. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, typ...

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Published in:BMC public health Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 3059 - 8
Main Authors: Okot, Jerom, Anena, Cinderella, Okema, Nelson James, Amuku, Denis Oryem, Otunnu, Jerry Enock, oweka, Beatrice Lamwaka, Lutara, Ian Daniel, Watum, Francis, Nsubuga, Yakobo, Bongomin, Felix, Pebolo, Pebalo Francis, Ouma, Simple
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London BioMed Central 24.09.2025
BioMed Central Ltd
Springer Nature B.V
BMC
Subjects:
Abused women
Adolescent
Adult
Age
Aggression
Amenorrhea
Analysis
Antenatal care
Biostatistics
Cross-Sectional Studies
Demography
Domestic relations
Domestic violence
Education
Environmental Health
Epidemiology
Exposure
Family violence
Female
Fetuses
Gender based violence
Global health
Gynecology
Health aspects
Health risks
Health status
Hospitals
Humans
Intimate partner violence
Intimate Partner Violence - statistics & numerical data
Male
Marriage
Maternal & child health
Maternal characteristics
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mortality
Mothers
Northern uganda
Obstetrics
Patient outcomes
Pregnancy
Pregnant People - psychology
Pregnant women
Prenatal care
Prevalence
Prevalence studies (Epidemiology)
Prevention
Psychological aspects
Public Health
Questionnaires
Random sampling
Regression analysis
Risk Factors
Rural areas
Sample size
Sampling
Semistructured questionnaires
Sex crimes
Sexual assault
Sexual violence
Social aspects
Sociodemographics
Statistical analysis
Statistical sampling
Statistics
Surveys
Surveys and Questionnaires
Uganda - epidemiology
Vaccine
Variables
Violence
Women
Womens health
World health
Young Adult
Uganda
Pregnancy
Northern uganda
Gender based violence
Antenatal care
ISSN:1471-2458, 1471-2458
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a global health issue, affecting one in three women worldwide. Exposure to IPV during pregnancy poses significant health risks to the mother and her foetus, leading to various complications. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, types, and determinants of IPV among pregnant women in Northern Uganda. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital’s antenatal care clinic from June to August 2023. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires in English or Acholi. Participants were selected through systematic random sampling. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, partner attributes, and IPV exposure was collected. Descriptive statistics and modified Poisson regression analyses were performed using STATA 18.0. Associations between variables and IPV were reported as adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR), with p  < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results Among the 339 participants, the mean age (standard deviation) was 26.1(5.5) years. Overall, 73.2% ( n  = 248) of the participants were exposed to IPV in pregnancy. The most common form of IPV was controlling behaviour by male partners (61.9%, n  = 210), followed by emotional violence (34.8%, n  = 118), economic violence (29.5%, n  = 100), sexual violence (28.9%, n  = 98), and physical violence (16.2%, n  = 55). Factors associated with IPV included being in a polygynous marriage (aPR: 1.2, 95% CI: 1.03–1.31, p  = 0.013), having poor (aPR: 1.6, 95% CI: 1.32–1.89, p  < 0.0001) or good (aPR: 1.2, 95% CI: 1.03–1.51, p  = 0.026) versus perfect relationship with the husband’s family, week of amenorrhea (aPR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1.003–1.02, p  = 0.006), and maternal age (aPR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97–0.99, p  = 0.003). Conclusions IPV during pregnancy, particularly controlling behaviour by male partners, is highly prevalent in Northern Uganda. To mitigate the negative impacts on maternal and foetal health, targeted interventions by the Ministry of Health, development partners, and other stakeholders are urgently needed to prevent and manage IPV in pregnancy.
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ISSN:1471-2458
1471-2458
DOI:10.1186/s12889-025-24465-7