Browsing by Subject "Food insecurity"

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    Domestic and intimate partner violence among pregnant women in a low resource setting in South Africa: a facility-based, mixed methods study
    (BioMed Central, 2018-07-04) Field, Sally; Onah, Michael; van Heyningen, Thandi; Honikman, Simone
    Background Rates of violence against women are reported to be highest in Africa compared to other continents. We aimed to determine associations between mental illness, demographic, psychosocial and economic factors with experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) among pregnant women in a low resource setting in Cape Town and to explore the contextual elements pertaining to domestic violence. Methods We recruited adult women attending antenatal services at a primary-level maternity facility. Demographic, socioeconomic and psychosocial data were collected by questionnaire. The Expanded Mini- International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) Version 5.0.0 was used to assess mental health status and the Revised Conflict Tactic Scale (CTS2) used to assess IPV in the six months prior to the study. Non-parametric tests, Wilcoxon sum of rank test, Fisher Exact and two sample T test and multicollinearity tests were performed. Descriptive, bivariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify associations between the outcome of interest and key predictors. A probability value of p ≤ 0.05 was selected. From counselling case notes, a thematic content analysis was conducted to describe contextual factors pertaining to forms of domestic violence (DV). Results The prevalence of IPV was 15% of a sample of 376 women. Women who were food insecure, unemployed, in stable but unmarried relationships, had experienced any form of past abuse and were not pleased about the current pregnancy were more likely to experience IPV. MINI-defined mental health problems and a history of mental illness were significantly associated with IPV. Qualitative analysis of 95 counselling case notes revealed that DV within the household was not limited to intimate partners and, DV in this context was often perceived as ‘normal’ behaviour by the participants. Conclusions This study contributes towards a greater understanding of the risk profile for IPV amongst pregnant women in low-income settings. Adversity, including food insecurity and mental ill-health are closely associated with IPV during the antenatal period. Advocates against violence against pregnant women are advised to consider that violence in the home may be perpetrated by non-intimate partners and may by enabled by a pervasive belief in the acceptability of the violence.
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    The prevalence and predictors of food insecurity among HIV-infected women in Cape Town, South Africa: A cross sectional study
    (2019) Mzimkulu, Olona; Myer, Landon
    Background: Food insecurity is a major public health concern in most settings where the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is prevalent, and it affects women disproportionately. However, the prevalence of food insecurity and associated risk factors for women who are living with HIV (WLH) in South Africa is under researched. Methods: The researcher conducted a secondary, cross-sectional analysis of 346 HIV-infected women aged between 18 and 45, in Gugulethu, Cape Town. All participants were 12 months postpartum and enrolled into the MCH-ART study, a large implementation science study of antiretroviral use in pregnancy. For this study, women completed a 10-item household food security questionnaire that categorised food security status into household-level food insecurity, individual level food insecurity and children hunger. Using this tool, the level of food insecurity was categorised as food insecurity (“yes” to up to four questions), experiencing food insecurity (“yes” to five questions or more) and free from food insecurity (“no” to all questions). Results: Overall, the mean age was 29 years (SD: 5.46); 25 % of the women completed high school; 61 % were unemployed; nearly 66 % were free from food insecurity; and 25 % experienced food insecurity. Women who were employed were less likely to experience food insecurity when compared to those who were not employed (OR=0.54; 95 % CI: 0.32-0.90; p= 0.01). Those who completed high school were associated with food security than the ones who did not complete high school (OR= 0.5; 95 % CI: 0.28-0.97; p= 0.04). After adjusting for maternal age, marital and cohabiting status, education attainment, and parity, employment remained a significant predictor of experiencing food security (AOR= 0.55; 95 % CI: 0.32- 0.95 p=0.03) and educational attainment was no longer associated with food insecurity. Conclusions: The prevalence of food insecurity was relatively low in the urban-based sample of HIV-infected women. However, most of these HIV-infected women were obese and overweight. Thus, there is a clear need for more research to explore issues of food insecurity and nutrition in HIV-infected South African women.