Association between intimate partner violence and child morbidity in South Asia

Elma Z. Ferdousy, Mohammad A. Matin

This study investigates the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) against women and its impact on child morbidity in the south Asian region. The analysis uses logistic regression models with cross sectional nationally representative data from three countries - Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The data have been pooled from 'Demographic and Health Surveys' (DHS) of Bangladesh, Nepal and 'National Family and Health Survey' (NFHS) of India. The study revealed that after controlling for potential confounders, children of mothers experiencing physical violence, sexual violence or both were more likely to have Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) (ORadj 1.57; 95 % CI 1.48-1.67), fever (ORadj 1.44; 95 % CI 1.35-1.54) and diarrhea (ORadj 1.56; 95 % CI 1.44-1.69). The results highlight that IPV can influence childhood morbidity and support the need to address IPV with a greater focus within current child nutrition and health programs and policies.