Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Intimate Partner Violence and Its Determinants Among Female Nursing Students in Abakaliki, Southeast Nigeria

Abstract

To assess the knowledge, attitude, practice, and determinants of intimate partner violence (IPV) among nursing female student in a tertiary hospital in Abakaliki. A cross-sectional descriptive study was done in a tertiary hospital in Abakaliki between 1st March 2018 and 31st August 2018 among 450 nursing female student. They were interviewed using a Composite Abuse Scale (CAS) version 2013. Analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistic version 20. The prevalence of any type of IPV among respondents was 47.8%. The majority (70.9%) were aware of IPV and the commonest mode of information was mass media (60.0%). Majority of the respondent would resort to prayer following IPV and only 15.5% would report to police. The most common form of abuse reported was emotional &or harassment abuse (26.6%). Student’s age (OR = 0.42; 95% CI [0.41, 0.92]), social class (OR = 0.60; 95% CI [0.40, 0.90]), level of study (OR = 0.45; 95% CI [0.29, 0.68]), and partner’s level of education (OR = 0.60; 95% CI [0.42, 0.88]) were determinant of respondent experiencing IPV. Less than 50% of the respondent were aware of legislation against IPV. The study shows a high level of IPV among the studied group. Screening for IPV is advocated among the students’ population especially among the young adolescent. Efforts should also be made by the government to increase awareness about Nigerian law against IPV.