Violent injuries and regional correlates among women in China: results from 21 cities study in China.
Ecological models depict violent injuries against women being influenced by both individual and environmental characteristics. However, only few studies examined the association between regional variables and the likelihood of violent injuries. Our study is a preliminary assessment of the impact of regional variables on the likelihood that a woman has experienced violent injuries.



Participants were 16 866 urban residents, who were identified through a multi-stage sampling process conducted in 21 Chinese cities. Out of the sampled population, 8071 respondents were female. Subsequent analyses focused solely on the female sample. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to examine regional variation in violent injuries.



Prevalence of violent injuries against women is 10.7% (95% CI: 7.8%, 15.5%). After controlling for individual-level characteristics, higher regional male-female ratio (OR: 1.97, P < 0.05), population growth rate (OR: 4.12, P < 0.01) and unemployment rate (OR: 2.45, P < 0.01) were all associated with an elevated risk of violent injuries among Chinese women caused by physical attack.



The results suggest violent injuries among Chinese women caused by physical attack have become an important social and public health problem. The findings point to the importance of developing effective health policies, laws and interventions that focuses on the unequal economic development between different regions.
Center for Tobacco Control Research, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China Injury Control Research Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA Tingzhongyang@zju.edu.cn.
Tingzhong
T
Yang
Department of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
Xiaozhao Y
XY
Yang
Public Health Studies Program, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA.
Randall R
RR
Cottrell
Center for Tobacco Control Research, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China Department of Health Psychology, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan 52423, China.
Dan
D
Wu
Center for Tobacco Control Research, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Shuhan
S
Jiang
Department of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
James G
JG
Anderson
D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002947:Cities; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011158:Population Growth; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult