Prevalence and predictors of intimate partner violence among women attending infertility clinic in south-western Nigeria

Objective: The study evaluated the prevalence and predictors of intimate partner violence among infertile women attending infertility clinic of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti.

Study design: A cross sectional study of infertile women presenting at the clinic between 1st November 2012 and 31st October 2013 was done. A semi-structured questionnaire on violence was administered to 170 consecutive women who consented to participate. The data were analysed using SPSS 17 and significances test were performed on variables associated with violence with Student's t test and Chi square test. Logistic regression was done to determine predictive factors associated with intimate partner violence.

Results: The prevalence of intimate partner violence associated with infertility among the women was 31.2%. There were no significant differences in the age of the women, duration of marriage and duration of infertility between the women who had experienced violence and those who had not experienced it; p>0.05. Unemployment, polygamous marriage, husbands' social habits, primary infertility and prolonged duration of infertility were associated with violence in these women; p<0.05. Education of the women and their husbands, their religion and ethnicity were not significantly associated with violence; p>0.05. However with logistic regression, the unemployment status of the women and prolonged duration of infertility were the predictors of violence against women with infertility in this study, p value<0.05. More than 50% of the women reported psychological violence as the commonest form of violence experienced by them ever, since the diagnosis of infertility was made and in the past one year. All forms of violence experienced were aggravated by infertility in these women.

Conclusion: Women with infertility are prone to intimate partner violence and this would further aggravate the challenges of infertility being faced by these women.