ArticlePloS one2026
Intimate partner violence and unmet need for family planning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A secondary analysis of the moderating role of reproductive coercion using performance monitoring for action data.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionIntimate partner violence (IPV) has harmful effects on women's physical, mental, and reproductive health. This study investigates the relationship between experiencing IPV and unmet need for family planning in two provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), emphasizing the potential mediating effect of reproductive coercion. To our knowledge, this is the first examination of the connection between IPV and unmet need for family planning in the DRC, particularly regarding the underlying mechanisms of this association. MATERIALS AND
methodsThis research utilized secondary data from the third wave of the Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) surveys carried out in two provinces of the DRC during the period from 2021 to 2022. The analysis focused on a sample comprising 1,387 women in unions aged between 15 and 49 years. To investigate the relationship between IPV and unmet need for family planning, linear probability models were employed and various factors were controlled. Additionally, we explored the moderating influence of reproductive coercion in this context.
resultsThe linear probability model indicated that experiencing sexual IPV within the past 12 months was linked to an unmet need for family planning [aCoef = 0.12, CI95% = 0.04-0.21]. When sexual IPV occurred alongside reproductive coercion, a stronger correlation with unmet need was detected [aCoef = 0.24, CI95% = 0.03-0.44].
conclusionWe showed that sexual IPV is associated with an unmet need for family planning in the DRC. While IPV should be considered a policy target, these results emphasize the importance of responding appropriately to IPV when sexual and reproductive health services are provided to women. This was the first study on the DRC and, more generally, on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to illuminate the underlying mechanisms of the association, revealing the moderating role of reproductive coercion.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.