Peer-reviewed article
Maternal exposure to intimate partner violence and its association with diarrhoea prevalence and treatment among children under five in Nepal.
Lakhotia D, Salazar M ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether children whose mothers experience intimate partner violence (IPV) have higher rates of diarrhoea and are less likely to receive treatment. Using data from 1,959 children under five in Nepal, researchers found that maternal exposure to sexual, emotional, or controlling forms of IPV was associated with significantly higher diarrhoea prevalence in children. Children of mothers exposed to emotional IPV were also less likely to receive treatment for diarrhoea. The associations differed by child sex, suggesting gender-sensitive interventions are needed.
Key points
- Overall diarrhoea prevalence was 8.9%, with treatment sought in 56.6% of cases
- Children whose mothers experienced sexual IPV had 1.94 times higher diarrhoea prevalence; emotional IPV 1.87 times higher; controlling behaviour 1.64 times higher
- Any form of maternal IPV was associated with 1.71 times higher diarrhoea prevalence in children
- Maternal emotional IPV was associated with 68% lower likelihood of treatment-seeking for diarrhoea
- Sex-stratified analyses showed different patterns: male children more affected by emotional IPV and controlling behaviour; female children more affected by any form of IPV, with significantly lower treatment-seeking when mothers experienced emotional IPV
Limitations
This is cross-sectional analysis from a survey, so causality cannot be established and the mechanisms linking maternal IPV to child diarrhoea are not explored. The study relies on self-reported data about both IPV exposure and child health outcomes, which may be subject to recall bias or underreporting.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Diarrhoeal disease remains a critical public health concern, and a leading cause of death among children under the age of five. Increasingly, studies are also showing a relationship between child diarrhoea and maternal exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV). This study assessed the relationship between maternal experience of different forms of IPV and child diarrhoea prevalence and treatment-seeking in Nepal. METHODS: Study participants included children under five years whose mothers were asked about IPV exposure in the 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (n = 1,959). The main outcomes were: (1) Diarrhoea prevalence in the last two weeks, and (2) Diarrhoea treatment. Main exposures assessed were last twelve months maternal experience of physical, sexual, emotional IPV, and controlling behaviours. Multivariable Poisson regression with robust standard errors were used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios and 95% CI. RESULTS: Diarrhoea prevalence was 8.9%, with treatment sought for 56.6% of cases. Children whose mothers were exposed to sexual IPV (aPR: 1.94 95% CI: 1.17–3.21), emotional IPV (aPR: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.17-3.00), controlling behaviour (aPR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.14–2.35), or any form of IPV (aPR: 1.71; 95% CI: 1.19–2.45) had higher diarrhoea prevalence in the last 2 weeks. Maternal exposure to emotional IPV (aPR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.15–0.70) was associated with lower prevalence of seeking treatment. In sex-stratified analyses, male children whose mothers experienced emotional IPV (aPR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.01–3.63) or controlling behaviour (aPR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.08–2.62), and female children whose mothers experienced any form of IPV (aPR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.06–2.66) had significantly higher diarrhoea prevalence. Conversely, maternal exposure to emotional IPV was associated with significantly lower treatment-seeking among female children only (aPR: 0.09; 95% CI: 0.02–0.35). CONCLUSION: Maternal exposure to IPV was associated with a higher prevalence of diarrhoea and lower treatment-seeking behaviour, with key differences by child sex, underscoring the need for gender-sensitive, integrated maternal and child health interventions that address IPV.