Patterns, prevalence and risk factors of intimate partner violence and its association with mental health status during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study on early married female adolescents in Khulna district, Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to identify the patterns, prevalence and risk factors of intimate partner violence (IPV) against female adolescents and its association with mental health problems. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTINGS: Dumuria Upazila (subdistrict) under the Khulna district of Bangladesh. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 304 participants were selected purposively based on some specifications: they must be female adolescents, residents of Dumuria Upazila and married during the COVID-19 pandemic when under 18 years of age. OUTCOME MEASURES: By administering a semi-structured interview schedule, data were collected regarding IPV using 12 five-point Likert scale items; a higher score from the summation reflects frequent violence. RESULTS: The findings suggest that the prevalence of physical, sexual and emotional IPV among the 304 participants, who had an average age of 17.1 years (SD=1.42), was 89.5%, 87.8% and 93.7%, respectively, whereas 12.2% of the participants experienced severe physical IPV, 9.9% experienced severe sexual IPV and 10.5% experienced severe emotional IPV. Stepwise regression models identified age at marriage (p=0.001), number of miscarriages (p=0.005), education of spouse (p=0.001), income of spouse (p=0.016), age gap between spouses (p=0.008), marital adjustment (p<0.001) and subjective happiness (p<0.001) as significant risk factors. Hierarchical regression, however, indicated that age at marriage (p<0.001), age gap between spouses (p<0.001), marital adjustment (p<0.001) and subjective happiness (p<0.001) had negative associations with IPV, while the number of miscarriages (p<0.001) had a positive relationship. Pearson's correlation showed that IPV was significantly associated with depression, anxiety and stress. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in IPV and mental health problems among early married adolescents was documented. To reduce physical and mental harm and to assure their well-being, preventive and rehabilitative measures should be devised.

Parental COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy for children with neurodevelopmental disorders: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about parental coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). This survey estimated the prevalence and predictive factors of vaccine hesitancy among parents of children with NDD. METHODS: A nationally representative cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 10 to 31, 2021. A structured vaccine hesitancy questionnaire was used to collect data from parents aged ≥ 18 years with children with NDD. In addition, individual face-to-face interviews were conducted at randomly selected places throughout Bangladesh. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the predictors of vaccine hesitancy. RESULTS: A total of 396 parents participated in the study. Of these, 169 (42.7%) parents were hesitant to vaccinate their children. Higher odds of vaccine hesitancy were found among parents who lived in the northern zone (AOR = 17.15, 95% CI = 5.86-50.09; p < 0.001), those who thought vaccines would not be safe and effective for Bangladeshi children (AOR = 3.22, 95% CI = 1.68-15.19; p < 0.001), those who were either not vaccinated or did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine themselves (AOR = 12.14, 95% CI = 8.48-17.36; p < 0.001), those who said that they or their family members had not tested positive for COVID-19 (AOR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.07-4.25), and those who did not lose a family member to COVID-19 (AOR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.03-4.61; p = 0.040). Furthermore, parents who were not likely to believe that their children or a family member could be infected with COVID-19 the following year (AOR = 4.99, 95% CI = 1.81-13.77; p < 0.001) and who were not concerned at all about their children or a family member being infected the following year (AOR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.65-8.37; p = 0.043) had significantly higher odds of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. CONCLUSIONS: Given the high prevalence of vaccine hesitancy, policymakers, public health practitioners, and pediatricians can implement and support strategies to ensure that children with NDD and their caregivers and family members receive the COVID-19 vaccine to fight pandemic induced hazards.