Abstract
Data here reported are sample characteristics of the first nation-wide community based survey on 'obstetric violence' (OV) conducted in a high-income country (Italy). The initiative is the extension of the social media campaign “#Bastatacere: mothers have voice” that in 2016 put under national spotlight the hidden phenomenon of abuse and disrespect in childbirth in hospital facilities, advocating for a respectful maternity care. The questionnaire LOVE-THEM was firstly developed in an open format and then revised according to WHO definition of disrespect and abuse in childbirth, within human rights based approach. The survey was conducted through on line interviews (CAWI method, quota sampling) with 424 respondents representing a significant national sample of mothers with children aged 0–14 years. Here we report summary tables describing the sample distribution according to the socio-demographic characteristics (instruction, employment status, social and economic class), including the number and the age of children. The responding sample is proportionally appropriate and correctly representative of about 5 millions of childbearing women in Italy.
Specifications Table
| Subject area | Medicine |
| More specific subject area | Obstetrics and perinatal psychology |
| Type of data | Tables, charts, and spreadsheet file |
| How data was acquired | Web based survey |
| Data format | Partially analyzed |
| Experimental factors | n.a. |
| Experimental features | n.a. |
| Data source location | Italy (nation-wide) |
| Data accessibility | Data is with this article |
| Related research article | Ravaldi C., Skoko E., Battisti A., Cericco M., Vannacci A., Abuse and disrespect in childbirth assistance in Italy: a community-based survey. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2018 May;224:208-209. 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2018.03.055. |
Value of the data
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Many women across the globe experience disrespectful and abusive treatment during childbirth, conditions described as ‘obstetric violence’.
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Obstetric violence was first described and legally codified in Latin America, but its perception is increasing also in developed countries.
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Data here reported describe sociodemographic characteristics of the first nation-wide community based survey on obstetric violence conducted in a high-income country.
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Methods and data from this article may help researchers from all countries to conduct similar studies in their national settings.
1. Data
Data here reported are sample characteristics of the first nation-wide community based survey on OV conducted in a high-income country (Italy). The initiative is the extension of the social media campaign “#Bastatacere: mothers have voice” that in 2016 put under national spotlight the hidden phenomenon of abuse and disrespect in childbirth in hospital facilities, advocating for a respectful maternity care. The survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire firstly developed in an open format and then revised according to WHO definition of disrespect and abuse in childbirth, within human rights based approach [1].
2. Experimental design, materials, and methods
2.1. Sample
The survey was conducted through on line interviews (CAWI method, quota sampling) with 424 respondents representing a significant national sample of mothers with children aged 0–14 years. The sample of interviewed women was selected with the participation of “Due punto zero research”, a society belonging to the Doxa Group, experienced in digital research. The starting sample targeted women of 20–60 years of age, according to the age percentage and geographical area. Random selection allowed for a reasonable distribution of the sample according to the socio-demographic characteristics (instruction, employment status, social and economic class), including the number and the age of children. The responding sample is proportionally appropriate and correctly representative of about 5 millions of childbearing women in Italy (Fig 1).
Fig. 1.
Methods and sample characteristics of the LOVE-THEM investigation.
The “target universe”, female population within 20–60 years age range, was divided in two sections based on two characteristics: the age and the geographic area (North-West, North-East, Centre, South+Islands). The appropriate number of interviewees has been decided in order to be representative, faithfully reproducing the society in miniature scale.
The sample of 424 mothers can guarantee a minimum margin error of 4.8%, and a confidence level of 95%. The execution of the survey complied with the ASSIRM Professional Code of Conduct and with the international ESOMAR And MSPA codes, guaranteeing the methodological standards of the statistics and fulfilling the requirements of the applied scientific research. DOXA S.p.a is certified according to the international quality norm standards UNI EN ISO 9001:2008 for qualitative and quantitative market researches.
2.2. Questionnaire
The survey was conducted by means of the questionnaire LOVE-THEM (Listening to Obstetric Violence Experiences THrough Enunciations and Measurement), an instrument specifically developed for the project by the authors (AB, ES, CR and MC). LOVE-THEM was developed within the mainframe of the “#Bastatacere: mothers have voice” campaign, starting from open questions and then revising proposed items through a qualitative analysis conducted according to guidelines endorsed by FIGO and WHO for the study of abuse and disrespect during childbirth. LOVE-THEM, as used in the present research, is composed of two sections: section A explores sociodemographic features of women (data here reported, Table 1), section B explores several experiences, feelings and perceptions of women during childbirth - overall 37 closed-ended questions. The final version of the questionnaire, as well as a thorough methodological description, is under publication elsewhere (Table 1) (Fig. 1).
Table 1.
Characteristics of the actual sample, conforming to the general distribution of the target population.
| N (% out of 424) | |
|---|---|
| Age range | |
| 20–24 years | 15 (3.5%) |
| 25–34 years | 173 (40.8%) |
| 35–44 years | 183 (43.2%) |
| 45–54 years | 47 (11.1%) |
| 55–60 years | 6 (1.4%) |
| Geographical area | |
| North West | 122 (28.8%) |
| North East | 77 (18.2%) |
| Centre | 82 (19.3%) |
| South / Islands | 143 (33.7%) |
| Education | |
| Master/PHD | 26 (6.1%) |
| University Degree/five years | 64 (15.1%) |
| University Degree/Three years | 71 (16.7%) |
| High School Degree | 213 (50.2%) |
| Secondary School Degree | 47 (11.1%) |
| Primary School Degree | 2 (0.5%) |
| No school education | 1 (0.2%) |
| Number of children | |
| 1 | 169 (39.9%) |
| 2 | 195 (46.0%) |
| 3 | 50 (11.8%) |
| 4 | 7 (1.7%) |
| 5 | 3 (0.7%) |
Acknowledgments
The survey was conducted by the Italian research agency Doxa and commissioned by the civil society associations Obstetric Violence Observatory Italy, La Goccia Magica and CiaoLapo Onlus that provided infrastructure and funding for the realization of the study. No author received any grant, salary or reimbursement for the realization of the study.
Footnotes
Transparency data associated with this article can be found in the online version at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2018.04.146.
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the online version at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2018.04.146.
Transparency document. Supplementary material
Supplementary material
Appendix A. Supplementary material
Supplementary material
Reference
- 1.Ravaldi C., Skoko E., Battisti A., Cericco M., Vannacci A. Abuse and disrespect in childbirth assistance in Italy: a community-based survey. Eur. J Obstet. Gynecol. Reprod. Biol. 2018;224:208–209. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2018.03.055. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Supplementary Materials
Supplementary material
Supplementary material