High incidence of interpersonal violence in Northwest Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Interpersonal violence has devastating consequences for the mental, physical and sexual health of the victim. It is a leading cause of injury in east Africa. Studies in Ethiopia report that the most common cause of injury was interpersonal conflict. Our objective was to study the incidence of interpersonal violence related injury and associated factors among patients visiting the emergency department of University of Gondar Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.

A cross-sectional institutional based study design was employed from November 2013-June 2014. The source population was a cohort sample of all patients presenting for treatment of a traumatic injury. Data were collected using injury surveillance guidelines developed by the World Health Organization. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to identify the presence and strength of association. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was computed to determine the level of significance.

The overall incidence of interpersonal violence related injury was 28.5% of all emergency department trauma patients. Multivariate logistic regression shows that conflict in the family prior to the event [AOR = 9.9 (95% CI: 4.433-9.536)], poor behavioral control [AOR = 2.5 (95% CI: 1.192-5.460)], alcohol use [AOR =  .406 (95% CI: 1.813-6.398)] and paternal education [AOR = 2.441(95% CI: 1.209-4.929)] were found to be independently associated with interpersonal violence related injury.

The incidence of interpersonal violence related injury was high. Counseling and education on conflict resolution methods should be given for the community using mass media.