Abstract
BACKGROUND: Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is a prevalent public health problem affecting millions of people each year globally, particularly in developing countries like Papua New Guinea (PNG). Although over two-thirds of women in PNG are estimated to experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, empirical evidence is limited on the association between IPSV and cigarette smoking. Thus, the present study aims to examine the prevalence of IPSV and its association with cigarette smoking among women in union in PNG.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study used data from the first demographic and health survey of PNG conducted between 2016 and 2018. A total of 9,943 women aged 15-49 years in intimate unions were included in this study. We estimated the relative risk of smoking cigarette using modified Poisson regression models with a robust variance and 95% confidence intervals.
RESULTS: The rates of IPSV and current cigarette smoking were 25.9% and 26.8%, respectively. The modified Poisson regression results showed that IPSV was significantly associated with an elevated risk for cigarette smoking. Women with IPSV history were more likely to smoke cigarette relative to their counterparts with no IPSV history (RR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.18-1.50) in the absence of covariates. After controlling for demographic, social and economic factors, the association between IPSV and cigarette smoking remained statistically significant (RR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.08-1.42).
CONCLUSIONS: The rates of IPSV and cigarette smoking among women in union in PNG in the current study were relatively high. Irrespective of diverse demographic, social and economic factors, IPSV was still significantly associated with cigarette smoking among women in union in PNG. The findings presented call the attention of policy-makers and relevant authorities in PNG to an important association that needs to be addressed. Counseling, awareness creation, service provision and program design on IPSV are urgently required to minimize cigarette smoking and IPSV among women in union in PNG.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 613 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | BMC Public Health |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 29 Mar 2022 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgementsThe authors gratefully acknowledge the women who participated in the Papua New Guinea 2016‐ 2018 Demographic and Health Survey.
Funding
The current research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not‐for‐profit source. No other entity besides the authors had a role in the design, analysis or writing of the current article.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the DHS. However, restrictions apply to the availability of the data, which were used under license for the current study; thus, the data are not publicly available. However, they can be made available from the authors upon reasonable request with the permission of DHS programs.Keywords
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Cigarette Smoking/epidemiology
- Cross-Sectional Studies
- Female
- Humans
- Middle Aged
- Papua New Guinea/epidemiology
- Sex Offenses
- Sexual Partners
- Young Adult
- Papua New Guinea
- Cigarette smoking
- Demographic and health survey
- Intimate partner sexual violence
Access to Document
- Asare_etal_BMCPH_Association_between_experiences_VOR
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