Feasibility of Utilizing Abuse Assessment Tool by Midwives to Screen Pregnant Women for Intimate Partner Violence in Northern Nigeria: A Qualitative Study

Intimate partner violence among pregnant women in low-income countries continue to be on the increase and endanger the life of both mothers and their unborn child. As such it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of the incident of intimate partner violence among pregnant women. The objective of the study was to determine the feasibility and challenges of using the AAS tool by midwives to screen pregnant women for intimate partner violence in northern Nigerian. A case study qualitative design was used. Non-participant observation and focus group discussions were used to collect data from ten midwives who were purposefully selected to conduct screening of pregnant women. About 90 pregnant women were screened using the Abuse Assessment Screening tool in a tertiary hospital in northern Nigeria. Thematic data analysis revealed three themes, problematic question in AAS tool, timing of screening for IPV and pregnant women discomfort with answering IPV screening questions. Conclusion: The feasibility of using the original Abuse Assessment Screening tool is poor. A screening tool is important for screening pregnant women for IPV. For the AAS tool to be used, there is need for modification of it to suit the socio-cultural context of pregnant women in northern Nigeria.