Lifetime Prevalence of Emotional/Psychological Abuse among Qualified Female Healthcare Providers
Affiliation(s)
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan; Community Health Sciences (CHS), Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan; Community Health Sciences (CHS), Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine the lifetime prevalence of emotional/psychological abuse among married female healthcare providers in tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 350 married female nurses and doctors, recruited from three tertiary healthcare hospitals (one public and two private). This study used the self administered modified truncated WHO multi-country questionnaire. Descriptive and univariate analysis was performed. Of the total sample of 350 female married healthcare providers, 97.7% (n = 342) were reported with one or more forms of domestic violence at some point in their married life, whereby 62.6% (n = 214) lifetime prevalence of emotional abuse was found due to any forms of violence. The univariate analysis showed that those female healthcare providers who had done their diploma were more prone to emotional abuse 46.7% (n = 100). And, nurses experienced more emotional abuse 57.9% (n = 124) in their life than doctors. Moreover, there was a significant difference of emotional abuse among those participants’ husband who used and do not use alcohol (p = .009). The most common study participants responses against emotional abuse were: 62% (n = 212), verbally fighting back, 15.2% (n = 52) keeping quiet, 27.2% (n = 93) talking to husband, family/friends, 7% (n = 24) returning to parents’ home and 5.8% (n = 20) attempting suicide. Domestic violence leads to emotional scars and should be considered as an inhuman act. However, its prevalence exists in every culture and more so in underdeveloped, economically challenged cultures. Emotional abuse is frequent among nurses and doctors. Socio-demographic factors of women have been identified as one of the determinants of emotional abuse among healthcare professionals. Future research should investigate emotional abuse patterns not only for professional women but also for housewives.
Cite this paper
Khan, A. , Karmaliani, R. , Ali, T. , Asad, N. and Madhani, F. (2014) Lifetime Prevalence of Emotional/Psychological Abuse among Qualified Female Healthcare Providers. Sociology Mind, 4, 174-182. doi: 10.4236/sm.2014.42017.
Khan, A. , Karmaliani, R. , Ali, T. , Asad, N. and Madhani, F. (2014) Lifetime Prevalence of Emotional/Psychological Abuse among Qualified Female Healthcare Providers. Sociology Mind, 4, 174-182. doi: 10.4236/sm.2014.42017.
References
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[1] Abrahams, N., Jewkes, R., Hoffman, M., & Laubsher, R. (2004). Sexual Violence against Intimate Partners in Cape Town: Prevalence and Risk Factors Reported by Men. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 82, 330-337. [2] Afifi, Z. E., Al-Muhaideb, N. S., Hadish, N. F., Ismail, F. I., & Al-Qeamy, F. M. (2011). Domestic Violence and Its Impact on Married Women’s Health in Eastern Saudi Arabia. Saudi medical journal, 32, 612. [3] Ali, P. A., & Gavino, M. I. B. (2008). Violence against Women in Pakistan: A Framework for Analysis. Journal of Pakistan Medical Association, 58, 198-203. [4] Ali, T. S., Asad, N., Mogren, I., & Krantz, G. (2011). Intimate Partner Violence in Urban Pakistan: Prevalence, Frequency, and Risk Factors. International Journal of Women’s Health, 3, 105-115. http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S17016 [5] Ali, T. S., & Bustamante-Gavino, I. (2007). Prevalence of and Reasons for Domestic Violence among Women from Low Socioeconomic Communities of Karachi. Prevalence, 13, 1417-1426. [6] Ardabily, H. E., Moghadam, Z. B., Salsali, M., Ramezanzadeh, F., & Nedjat, S. (2011). Prevalence and Risk Factors for Domestic Violence against Infertile Women in an Iranian Setting. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 112, 15-17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2010.07.030 [7] Bari, F. (2000). Country Briefing Paper: Women in Pakistan. Asian Development Bank, Programs Department (West) and Office of Environment and Social Development.
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Country_Briefing_Papers/Women_in_Pakistan/prelims.pdf [8] Dalal, K. (2011). Does Economic Empowerment Protect Women from Intimate Partner Violence? Journal of Injury and Violence Research, 3, 35-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.5249/jivr.v3i1.76 [9] Ellsberg, M., Jansen, H., Heise, L., Watts, C. H., & Garcia-Moreno, C. (2008). Intimate Partner Violence and Women’s Physical and Mental Health in the Who Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence: An Observational Study. The Lancet, 371, 1165-1172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60522-X [10] Farooq, O. (2011). Pakistan Economic Survey 2010-11.
http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapter_11/10-Education.pdf [11] Fikree, F. F., Jafarey, S. N., Korejo, R., Khan, A., & Durocher, J. M. (2004). Pakistani Obstetricians’ Recognition of and Attitude towards Domestic Violence Screening. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 87, 59-65.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2004.05.014 [12] Garcia-Moreno, C., Jansen, H., Ellsberg, M., Heise, L., & Watts, C. H. (2006). Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence. The Lancet, 368, 1260-1269.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69523-8 [13] Haq, R. (2010). Urban Middle Class Surge in Pakistan. Pak Alumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network.
http://nedians.ning.com/profiles/blogs/1119293:BlogPost:68432 [14] Herman, J. (1992). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—From Domestic Violence to Political Terror. New York: Basic Books. [15] Human Rights Watch Report, 1999 (2006). Crime or Custom? Violence against Women in Pakistan.
http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=DbA8oe0NmtUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [16] Humphreys, C., & Thiara, R. (2003). Mental Health and Domestic Violence: I Call It Symptoms of Abuse. British Journal of Social Work, 33, 209-226. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/33.2.209 [17] Hurcombe, R., Bayley, M., & Goodman, A. (2010). Ethnicity and Alcohol: A Review of the UK Literature. Project Report. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York. Middlesex University.
http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/7951/1/Hurcombe-ethnicity-alcohol-literature-review-full_0[1].pdf [18] Jejeebhoy, S. J. (1998). Wife Beating in Rural India: A Husband’s Right? Economic and Political Weekly, 23, 855-862. [19] Jejeebhoy, S. J., & Sathar, Z. A. (2001). Women’s Autonomy in India and Pakistan: The Influence of Religion and Region. Population and Development Review, 27, 687-712. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2001.00687.x [20] Jewkes, R., Penn-Kekana, L., Levin, J., Ratsaka, M., & Schrieber, M. (2001). Prevalence of Emotional, Physical and Sexual Abuse of Women in Three South African Provinces. South African Medical Journal-Cape Town-Medical Association of South Africa, 91, 421-428. [21] Kalaca, S., & Dundar, P. (2010). Violence against Women: The Perspective of Academic Women. BMC Public Health, 10, 490. [22] Karmaliani, R., Irfan, F., Bann, C. M., McClure, E. M., Moss, N., Pasha, O., & Goldenberg, R. L. (2008). Domestic Violence Prior to and during Pregnancy among Pakistani Women. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 87, 1194-1201.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00016340802460263 [23] Khawaja, M., Linos, N., & El-Roueiheb, Z. (2008). Attitudes of Men and Women towards Wife Beating: Findings from Palestinian Refugee Camps in Jordan. Journal of Family Violence, 23, 211-218. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9146-3 [24] Koenig, M. A., Ahmed, S., Hossain, M. B., & Mozumder, A. (2003). Women’s Status and Domestic Violence in Rural Bangladesh: Individualand Community-Level Effects. Demography, 40, 269-288. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/dem.2003.0014 [25] Krug, E. G., Mercy, J. A., Dahlberg, L. L., & Zwi, A. B. (2002). The World Report on Violence and Health. The Lancet, 360, 1083-1088. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11133-0 [26] Kyriacou, D. N., Anglin, D., Taliaferro, E., Stone, S., Tubb, T., Linden, J. A., & Kraus, J. F. (1999). Risk Factors for Injury to Women from Domestic Violence. New England Journal of Medicine, 341, 1892-1898.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199912163412505 [27] Mega, L. T., Mega, J. L., Mega, B. T., & Harris, B. M. (2000). Brainwashing and Battering Fatigue. Psychological Abuse in Domestic Violence. North Carolina Medical Journal, 61, 260-265. [28] Mehdi, R. (1997). The Offence of Rape in the Islamic Law of Pakistan. In Women Living under Muslim Laws: Dossier 18, (pp. 98-108). Women Living under Muslim Laws: Dossier. http://www.wluml.org/node/297 [29] Michalak, L., & Trocki, K. (2006). Alcohol and Islam: An Overview. Contemporary Drug Problems, 33, 523. [30] Naz, I., Ullah, S., Naveed, T. A., Farooq, S., & Nisar, A. (2010). Women Empowerment and Youth Perception in Pakistan. European Journal of Scientific Research, 39, 75-89. [31] O’Leary, K. D. (1999). Psychological Abuse: A Variable Deserving Critical Attention in Domestic Violence. Violence and Victims, 14, 3-23. [32] Sami, N., & Ali, T. S. (2006). Psycho-Social Consequences of Secondary Infertility in Karachi. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 56, 19. [33] Schuler, S. R., Hashemi, S. M., Riley, A. P., & Akhter, S. (1996). Credit Programs, Patriarchy and Men’s Violence against Women in Rural Bangladesh. Social Science & Medicine, 43, 1729-1742.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(96)00068-8 [34] Taket, A., Nurse, J., Smith, K., Watson, J., Shakespeare, J., Lavis, V., & Feder, G. (2003). Routinely Asking Women about Domestic Violence in Health Settings. British Medical Journal, 327, 673. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.327.7416.673 [35] UNICEF (2000). Domestic Violence against Women and Girls. Florence, Innocenti Digest.
http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/digest6e.pdf [36] Government of Maldives (2005). WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Life Experiences.
http://minivannews.com/files/2010/10/Maldives-Study-on-Womens-Health-and-Life-Experiences-2007.pdf [37] World Health Organization (2002). World Report on Violence and Health: Summary. Geneva.
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2002/9241545623_eng.pdf [38] Zhan, W., Shaboltas, A., Skochilov, R., Kozlov, A., Krasnoselskikh, T., & Abdala, N. (2011). Alcohol Misuse, Drinking Contexts and Intimate Partner Violence in St. Petersburg, Russia: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study. BMC Public Health, 11, 629. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-629