Objective: Until recently, HIV prevalence has been based on estimates from antenatal sentinel surveys which have been found to overestimate HIV prevalence among the general population. Multiple studies have shown wome...Objective: Until recently, HIV prevalence has been based on estimates from antenatal sentinel surveys which have been found to overestimate HIV prevalence among the general population. Multiple studies have shown women to be disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS epidemic. Design: Data for this study were based on the first Nigerian population household-based HIV biomarker survey of 2007, which used a multi-stage probability sampling technique. Methods: Respondents were selected through probability sampling (male age 15 - 64 years and female 15 - 49 years). This paper, therefore, examined the correlates of marital status and HIV prevalence among women in Nigeria. Results: A descriptive analysis of the data showed that HIV prevalence of women that were formerly married: divorced, separated or widowed were more than double that of those who were currently married/cohabiting with a sexual partner;and more than three times those that were never married. Bivariate and multivariate levels of analysis were explored in this paper. At bivariate level, findings showed a significant difference in HIV prevalence among women according to their marital status (p 0.0001), educational attainment (p = 0.004) and geo-political zones (p = 0.003). Respondents that were formerly married were 5.6 times as likely to be infected with HIV compared with those who had never married (OR = 5.6, p 0.0001) while HIV prevalence increased with higher educational attainment. Conclusion: In view of these findings, HIV programmers should design interventions that will improve economic empowerment as well as social security for women that were formerly married. In addition, gender mainstreaming in the ongoing HIV and AIDS preventive efforts should be strengthened and scaled-up.展开更多
Women all over the world are confronted with many difficult choices during pregnancy and child birth. Wrong choices often result in unfavorable outcomes for expectant mothers and their babies, a situation which is com...Women all over the world are confronted with many difficult choices during pregnancy and child birth. Wrong choices often result in unfavorable outcomes for expectant mothers and their babies, a situation which is common in developing countries. Cultural practices, beliefs and taboos are often implicated in determining the care received by mothers during pregnancy and child birth which is an important determinant of maternal mortality. This study explored the traditional practices associated with pregnancy and childbirth in Shama District of the Western Region, Ghana. A qualitative study consisting of six focus group discussions of between eight and ten participants per group and eight in-depth interviews were held over a period of one month. The purpose was to explore local foods that are forbidden for pregnant women and why, herbal medicine use during pregnancy and child birth and reasons for choosing home or hospital delivery. The findings show that pregnant women are forbidden from taking nutritious foods such as snails, ripe plantain, okra and many others for fear of complications during pregnancy and child birth. Herbal medicines are frequently used by pregnant women and traditional birth attendants to induce labour, augment and control bleeding during labour. Traditional beliefs and practices as well as negative attitude of health workers are found to reduce health utilization by pregnant women. Health education concerning traditional practices that are detrimental to the health of pregnant women should be emphasized during ANC visits.展开更多
文摘Objective: Until recently, HIV prevalence has been based on estimates from antenatal sentinel surveys which have been found to overestimate HIV prevalence among the general population. Multiple studies have shown women to be disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS epidemic. Design: Data for this study were based on the first Nigerian population household-based HIV biomarker survey of 2007, which used a multi-stage probability sampling technique. Methods: Respondents were selected through probability sampling (male age 15 - 64 years and female 15 - 49 years). This paper, therefore, examined the correlates of marital status and HIV prevalence among women in Nigeria. Results: A descriptive analysis of the data showed that HIV prevalence of women that were formerly married: divorced, separated or widowed were more than double that of those who were currently married/cohabiting with a sexual partner;and more than three times those that were never married. Bivariate and multivariate levels of analysis were explored in this paper. At bivariate level, findings showed a significant difference in HIV prevalence among women according to their marital status (p 0.0001), educational attainment (p = 0.004) and geo-political zones (p = 0.003). Respondents that were formerly married were 5.6 times as likely to be infected with HIV compared with those who had never married (OR = 5.6, p 0.0001) while HIV prevalence increased with higher educational attainment. Conclusion: In view of these findings, HIV programmers should design interventions that will improve economic empowerment as well as social security for women that were formerly married. In addition, gender mainstreaming in the ongoing HIV and AIDS preventive efforts should be strengthened and scaled-up.
文摘Women all over the world are confronted with many difficult choices during pregnancy and child birth. Wrong choices often result in unfavorable outcomes for expectant mothers and their babies, a situation which is common in developing countries. Cultural practices, beliefs and taboos are often implicated in determining the care received by mothers during pregnancy and child birth which is an important determinant of maternal mortality. This study explored the traditional practices associated with pregnancy and childbirth in Shama District of the Western Region, Ghana. A qualitative study consisting of six focus group discussions of between eight and ten participants per group and eight in-depth interviews were held over a period of one month. The purpose was to explore local foods that are forbidden for pregnant women and why, herbal medicine use during pregnancy and child birth and reasons for choosing home or hospital delivery. The findings show that pregnant women are forbidden from taking nutritious foods such as snails, ripe plantain, okra and many others for fear of complications during pregnancy and child birth. Herbal medicines are frequently used by pregnant women and traditional birth attendants to induce labour, augment and control bleeding during labour. Traditional beliefs and practices as well as negative attitude of health workers are found to reduce health utilization by pregnant women. Health education concerning traditional practices that are detrimental to the health of pregnant women should be emphasized during ANC visits.
