Risk Factors for Recurrent Violent Injuries among African Men in The Gambia

Wen-Yu Yu ； Paul Bass ； Edrisa Sanyang ； Mau-Roung Lin

《第六屆亞洲健康識能國際會議》 預刊文章 Pp. 1-2

https://doi.org/10.6881/AHLA.201810.SD11

摘要

Background: While male victims of violent injuries are known to be at high risk for recurrent violence, risk factors for recurrent violent injuries among men in Africa have not been investigated. We conducted a matched case-control study to identify factors associated with recurrent violence in Gambian men. Methods: Over a 12-month study period, potential participants aged 15 years and older were recruited from eight public health facilities located in six districts of the Greater Banjul Area. Cases were male patients aged ≥15 years who were violently injured at least two visits to emergency rooms (ERs) or outpatient departments (OPDs) due to violent injury in the past 12 months. Two control groups of violence and non-violence were recruited and matched to each case on the same hospital/health center, date of injury, sex, and age. The violence control groups were selected from male patients with only one violent injury in the past 12 months and the non-violence control group were recruited from those injured due to nonviolent causes. Results: A total of 257 cases with recurrent violent injuries and 514 control patients were recruited. Results of multivariable conditional logistic regression for the two control groups showed that polygamous family, more family members, being brought up by a family relative, smoked cigarette in the past week, and perceived no family social support were significantly associated with the occurrence of recurrent violent injuries. Furthermore, when compared to nonviolent injury controls, the risk for recurrent physical violence was significantly associated with men who had more than two male siblings (OR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.12~3.03), low household income (OR, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.65~5.86) and alcohol consumption in the past week (OR, 4.66; 95% CI, 1.41~15.44). Conclusions: Several risk factors for recurrent violent injuries in Gambian men were identified. These findings may be beneficial for developing effective violence interventions specifically to reduce recurrent injuries in African men.

關鍵字

men ； risk factors ； recurrent violent injuries