Association between intimate partner violence and child morbidity in South Asia

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) against women and its impact on child morbidity in the south Asian region. METHODS: The analysis uses logistic regression models with cross sectional nationally representative data from three countries - Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The data have been pooled from ‘Demographic and Health Surveys’ (DHS) of Bangladesh, Nepal and ‘National Family and Health Survey’ (NFHS) of India. RESULTS: The study revealed that after controlling for potential confounders, children of mothers experiencing physical violence, sexual violence or both were more likely to have Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) (OR(adj) 1.57; 95 % CI 1.48–1.67), fever (OR(adj) 1.44; 95 % CI 1.35–1.54) and diarrhea (OR(adj) 1.56; 95 % CI 1.44–1.69). CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight that IPV can influence childhood morbidity and support the need to address IPV with a greater focus within current child nutrition and health programs and policies.