Prevalence and risk factors of domestic violence in women attending the National Guard Primary Health Care Centers in the Western Region, Saudi Arabia, 2018

BACKGROUND: Domestic violence (DV) is considered a public health issue in Saudi Arabia as well as a violation of a fundamental human right. DV causes many acute and chronic physical and mental health consequences. Cultural taboos and lack of awareness regarding the appropriate support services can increase the number of cases annually. The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of DV in women attending the National Guard Primary Health Care Clinics in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with patients attending five Primary Health Care Centers in Jeddah from August 2017 to February 2018. A convenient sampling method was used. In total, 1845 participants were invited to complete a self-report validated Arabic version of the Norvold Domestic Abuse Questionnaire (NORAQ) to determine the prevalence and risk factors of DV. All women between 18 and 65 years who met the inclusion criteria were included. The data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package Social Sciences) version 24.0. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of DV in the study sample was 33.24%, with psychological abuse the most prevalent (48.47%), followed by physical abuse (34.77%) and sexual abuse (16.75%). A small proportion (4.1%) suffered from all three types of abuse. Risk factors for being a victim of abuse include being single or divorced, having a postgraduate level of education, employed, and being financially independent of the husband. CONCLUSION: DV is prevalent in Saudi Arabia. Modernization has shifted the risk factors, identifying the risk factors and victim characteristics would support the development and implementation of preventive and screening programs to facilitate the early identification of cases as well as the initiation of empowerment programs for Saudi women.