SEARCHCROSS-SECTIONALobstetrics and gynecology, public health

cross-sectional·obstetrics and gynecology, public health, epidemiology, pediatrics, family medicine·PMC10079005

Awareness of obstetric fistula and its associated factors among reproductive-aged women: Demographic and health survey data from Gambia

PLOS ONE · 8 authors, 5 centres

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TL;DR

This cross-sectional study analyzed survey data from 11,864 Gambian women of reproductive age to assess awareness of obstetric fistula. The central finding was that awareness was very low, with 87.2% of women having never heard of the condition.

Full summary

919 CHARS

This cross-sectional study used data from the Gambian Demographic and Health Survey. The analysis included 11,864 women of reproductive age with completed data for the variables of interest. The primary outcome was awareness of obstetric fistula, defined as whether a woman had ever heard of the condition. The study found that 87.2% of women had no knowledge about obstetric fistula. Binary logistic regression analysis identified several significant factors associated with higher awareness: increasing age, higher education level, being married, history of pregnancy termination, exposure to media, and living in certain rural communities. The study's cross-sectional design limits the ability to draw direct causal inferences. The authors conclude that obstetric fistula awareness is very low in Gambia and recommend public health interventions to raise community literacy and increase access to health information.

STUDY TYPE

cross-sectional

SPECIALTY

obstetrics and gynecology

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

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100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10079005

Awareness of obstetric fistula and its associated factors among reproductive-aged women: Demographic and health survey data from Gambia

PLOS ONE

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ABSTRACT

Childbirth complications continue to remain a major problem in various settings but most rampant in underdeveloped nations, including Gambia, where poor living condition is widespread. Obstetric Fistula (OF) has been cited as one of the most common issues experienced by mothers during labor over the years. The study thus focuses on evaluating the level of awareness of this condition among Gambian women of childbearing age. Women’s Data from the recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Gambia was used for the study. A total of 11,864 women of reproductive age, who had completed cases of the variables of interest were used for the analysis. Stata version-16 was used in carrying out the analysis of this study; and Pearson Chi-square test for independence was used to examine the distribution of the awareness of fistula among Gambian women across the explanatory variables. A two model binary logistic regression was fitted to examine the association between the outcome variable and the explanatory variables. The study presented that, majority of the Gambian women (87.2%) had no knowledge about Obstetric Fistula, as they indicated to have never heard of the condition. Considering the individual factors, age was seen to be a significant factor in determining the awareness level of Obstetric Fistula among women of childbearing age. As they age, the higher their odds of knowing about the condition. Other factors such as level of education, marital status, pregnancy termination, media exposure, community poverty level, and employment were also discovered to be significant factors in determining a woman’s awareness of Obstetric Fistula. Considering the low level of awareness of Obstetric Fistula among Gambian women, there is therefore the need for the appropriate institutions to increase health educational programmes targeted at creating its awareness, and to provide further in-depth understanding of the condition to the few who already have a fair knowledge about it.

CITATION EXPORT

Rabbi Tweneboah, Eugene Budu, Patience Dzigbordi Asiam et al.. Awareness of obstetric fistula and its associated factors among reproductive-aged women: Demographic and health survey data from Gambia. PLOS ONE. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283666

AUTHORS

8 · 5 CENTRES

Rabbi Tweneboah, Eugene Budu, Patience Dzigbordi Asiam, Stephen Aguadze, Franklin Acheampong, Sidrah Nausheen, Sidrah Nausheen, Sidrah Nausheen

1 Department of Economics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
2 Research Unit, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana
3 Department of Statistics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
4 Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana
Aga Khan University pakistan, PAKISTAN

EDITOR / REVIEWER

Sidrah Nausheen