Intimate partner violence (IPV), including physical, sexual, emotional, and economic violence, has profound immediate and long-term effects on individuals and communities worldwide. To date, few studies have focused on couples' reporting of IPV. The aim of this article is to present the results of a survey of couples' reporting of IPV and the individual, interpersonal, and social correlates of IPV in northern Tanzania. Four hundred fifty couples from Karatu District, Tanzania, completed a questionnaire measuring attitudes on gender norms and relations, men's experience of childhood trauma, and men's perpetration and women's experience of IPV. We found high levels of acceptance and experience of IPV: 72% of men justified a husband's perpetration of IPV, and 54% of men and 76% of women said that a woman should tolerate violence to keep her family together. The majority of women had ever experienced IPV (77.8%), and 73.6% and 69% had experienced IPV in the past 12 and 3 months, respectively. Men were significantly less likely to report that they had committed IPV: 63.6% ever, 48.9% in the past 12 months, and 46.2% in the past 3 months. Multivariate logistic regression found that younger men, men who reported gender inequitable attitudes, childhood trauma, multiple sexual partners, and alcohol use were significantly more likely to report IPV perpetration in the past 3 months. Younger women, and women with low levels of education and reported food shortages were significantly more likely to report IPV in the past 3 months. These results indicate that social and individual acceptance and justification of IPV are common. Experience of violence persists over time in many relationships. This study demonstrates the need for interventions that address individual-, interpersonal-, and community-level determinants of IPV, including attitudes regarding gender equity, exposure to violence as children and intergenerational violence, lack of education, and poverty.

Intimate-partner violence (IPV) is a major public health issue that disproportionately affects women, especially in Tanzania where 40% of women report experiencing IPV. While IPV research has focused on IPV victims and perpetrators, community leaders can provide valuable insight on IPV at the community level. We conducted 50 key informant interviews with community leaders in nine villages in the Karatu district. These leaders identified common themes regarding IPV causes and consequences, reporting methods, and future recommendations. This information can help mitigate IPV at the community level in future interventions and shows community leaders themselves could be powerful tools in future IPV programming.

In Tanzania, women suffer high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). We conducted a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial to test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of IPV prevention interventions targeting men and communities in nine villages randomly assigned to one of three study arms (n = 450 couples). In the Control Group, women participated in savings groups while male partners received no intervention. In Intervention Group 1, women participated in savings groups and men participated in peer-groups addressing gender relations and IPV prevention. In Intervention Group 2, women participated in savings groups, men participated in peer-groups, and community leaders facilitated dialogues on similar topics. Recruitment was completed within one month with 95% retained in the intervention and 81% retained in the endline survey. Acceptability was high, with men participating in 82% of peer-group session hours. More men in Interventions 1 (24%) and 2 (19%) disagreed with wife-beating compared to men in the Control (13%); and more men reported non-perpetration of IPV in Interventions 1 (16%) and 2 (14%) compared to the Control (−2%). Findings suggest a fully powered RCT may detect significant reductions in men’s justification and use of IPV, paving the way for evidence-based violence prevention programming. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02434796.

Risk of neonatal mortality secondary to infections such as pneumonia and diarrhoeal diseases can be influenced by maternal hygiene, but little information is known about current maternal hygiene practices in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to assess the hygiene practices of mothers of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients in Lusaka, Zambia and associated epidemiological factors. A cross-sectional survey of the mothers of hospitalized neonates at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka was conducted. Study nurses orally administered questionnaires to mothers in their local languages about their hygiene practices related to newborn care. Of the 201 mothers surveyed, self-reported hygiene practice was associated with literacy (p = 0.013) and income (p < 0.0001). In contrast, adherence to recommended hygienic newborn care was less common, with only 36% of mothers practising recommended cord care practices. Forgetfulness (32%) and lack of hygiene resources (13%) were the major barriers to hygienic behaviours. Surveyed Zambian women who delivered babies requiring NICU care self-reported adequate hygienic practices and apparently faced difficulty practising them due to forgetfulness and a lack of hygiene resources. Future efforts should focus on improving cord care education, reinforcement of the importance of hygienic behaviours, and the supply of affordable antiseptic tools.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents a major public health burden with diverse epidemics worldwide, but at present, only a minority of infected persons have been tested and are aware of their diagnosis. The advent of highly effective direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapy, which is becoming available at increasingly lower costs in low and middle income countries (LMICs), represents a major opportunity to expand access to testing and treatment. However, there is uncertainty as to the optimal testing approaches and who to prioritize for testing. We undertook a narrative review of the cost-effectiveness literature on different testing approaches for chronic hepatitis C infection to inform decision-making and formulation of recommendations in the 2017 World Health Organization (WHO) viral hepatitis testing guidelines.