1.Type and severity of intimate partner violence and formal help-seeking among women in the Philippines
Kim Carmela D. Co ; Amiel Nazer C. Bermudez ; Ma. Lourdes Rossana E. De Guzman
Philippine Journal of Health Research and Development 2019;23(2):1-9
Background:
In the Philippines, 25% of ever-married women reported experiencing some form of violence from their partners but only 10% of them actually sought medical or legal help (NDHS, 2013). The objective of this study was to describe the type and severity of intimate partner violence experienced, and its association with formal help-seeking,among women aged 15-49 years in the Philippines.
Methodology:
The cross-sectional data used for this study came from the National Demographic and Health Survey of women aged 15-49 years old conducted in 2013. To estimate the association of interest, confounders were identified using the change-in-estimate criterion and were controlled by multiple logistic regression
modelling.
Results:
Among women aged 15-49 years who experienced intimate partner violence, those who experienced all types of abuse had the highest proportion of formal help-seeking (7.3%), while women who experienced only sexual abuse had the lowest (0 out of 67). Controlling for the effect of other variables, women who experienced severe physical abuse were more likely to seek medical or legal assistance compared to those who experienced moderate physical abuse (OR=4.77; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.96 – 11.62).
Conclusion
Formal help-seeking rates were low among victims of intimate partner violence in the Philippines. The severity of the abuse experienced is likely an important factor in seeking medical and legal help. These systems should thus be capable of handling severe cases of abuse in order to address the needs of women who seek help. Efforts should be made to increase formal help-seeking among all victims of domestic violence.
Intimate Partner Violence
;
Domestic Violence
;
Physical Abuse
2.An epidemiological overview of human infections with HxNy avian influenza in the Western Pacific Region, 2003–2022
Jozica Skufca ; Leila Bell ; JC Pal Molino ; Dina Saulo ; Chin-kei Lee ; Satoko Otsu ; Kim Carmela Co ; May Chiew ; Phetdavanh Leuangvilay ; Sarika Patel ; Asheena Khalakdina ; Vang Ieng ; Tamano Matsui ; Babatunde Olowkure
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response 2022;13(4):24-29
Avian influenza subtype A(HxNy) viruses are zoonotic and may occasionally infect humans through direct or indirect contact, resulting in mild to severe illness and death. Member States in the Western Pacific Region (WPR) communicate and notify the World Health Organization of any human cases of A(HxNy) through the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) mechanism. This report includes all notifications in the WPR with illness onset dates from 1 November 2003 to 31 July 2022. During this period, there were 1972 human infections with nine different A(HxNy) subtypes notified in the WPR. Since the last report, an additional 134 human avian influenza infections were notified from 1 October 2017 to 31 July 2022. In recent years there has been a change in the primary subtypes and frequency of reports of human A(HxNy) in the region, with a reduction of A(H7N9) and A(H5N1), and conversely an increase of A(H5N6) and A(H9N2). Furthermore, three new subtypes A(H7N4), A(H10N3) and A(H3N8) notified from the People’s Republic of China were the first ever recorded globally. The public health risk from known A(HxNy) viruses remains low as there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission. However, the observed changes in A(HxNy) trends reinforce the need for effective and rapid identification to mitigate the threat of a pandemic from avian influenza if person-to-person transmission were to occur.