Determinants of intimate partner violence among married nursing students: A mixed-methods study of Kenya Medical Training College campuses in the lower eastern region, Kenya

Intimate partner violence (IPV) remains a pervasive public health and human rights concern that disproportionately affects women, including those in caregiving professions such as nursing. This study assessed the determinants of intimate partner violence among married nursing students at Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) campuses within the Lower Eastern Region of Kenya. Specifically, the study examined individual factors, socio-cultural factors, and the coping strategies adopted by married nursing students experiencing IPV. The study was anchored on the Ecological Theory of gender-based violence. A concurrent mixed-methods design, specifically a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, was adopted, combining a structured quantitative survey with key-informant interviews. A sample of 149 married nursing students, drawn from an estimated population of 2,650 students through systematic sampling, was interviewed using predesigned structured questionnaires, while heads of departments and deans of students were purposively selected for qualitative key informant interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS version 26, and findings were presented using frequencies, percentages, and mean Likert scores. The results showed that alcoholism (mean = 4.81) and partner's level of education (mean = 3.67) were the most influential individual determinants of IPV, while age difference (mean = 2.89) and religion (mean = 2.42) had comparatively weaker influence. Among socio-cultural factors, having been raised in a society that condones the battering of women (mean = 3.96) and early exposure to marital abuse (mean = 3.55) were strongly associated with IPV, whereas community traditions had a comparatively lower association (mean = 2.32). Respondents reported coping mechanisms ranging from informal social and spiritual support, resistance, and independence-seeking to, less frequently, formal help-seeking through legal or counseling services. The study concludes that IPV among married nursing students is shaped jointly by individual behavioral factors and the socio-cultural environment in which partners were raised, and that informal support systems remain the primary coping resource for survivors. The study recommends stronger legal enforcement against perpetrators, alcohol-control policy measures, structured pre-marital and in-service sensitization on IPV, and strengthened community-level referral pathways to formal support services.