Utilization of safe male circumcision among adult men in a fishing community in rural Uganda.

Mutaawe Lubogo,Ronald Anguzu,Aggrey D Mukose,Nazarius M Tumwesigye,Humphrey Wanzira,Abdul R Shour,Agnes Nyabigambo

doi:10.4314/ahs.v19i3.40

Mutaawe Lubogo, Ronald Anguzu + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i3.40

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Abstract

In Uganda, most-at-riskpopulations(MARPs) such as fishing communities remain vulnerable to preventable HIV acquisition. Safe Male Circumcision (SMC) has been incorporated into Uganda's HIV prevention strategies. This study aimed at determining SMC utilization and associated factors among adult men in a rural fishing community in Uganda. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a rural fishing village in central Uganda. Stratified random sampling of 369 fishermen aged 18-54 yearswas used according to their occupational category; fish monger, boat crew and general merchandise. The dependent variable wasutilization of SMC.A forward fitting multivariable logistic regression model was fitted with variables significant at p≤0.05 controlling for confounding and effect modification. Respondents'mean(SD) age was 30.0(9.3) years. Only8.4%hadSMC and among non-circumcised men, 84.9% had adequate knowledge of SMC benefits while 79.3% did not know were SMC services were offered. Peer support(AOR0.17;95%-CI0.05-0.60) and perceived procedural safety (AOR6.8;95%CI2.16-21.17) were independently associated with SMC utilization. In this rural fishing community, SMC utilization was low. These findings underscore the need to inform HIV preventionstrategies inthecontextof peer support and perceptionsheld by rural dwelling men.

Highlights

In Uganda, most-at-riskpopulations(MARPs) such as fishing communities remain vulnerable to preventable HIV acquisition
This study aimed at determining utilization of Safe Male Circumcision (SMC) and other factors associated with SMC by adult men (18-54 years) in a fishing community in a rural district in Uganda
Among non-circumcised men, the majority (84.9%) had adequate knowledge of SMC benefits while 79.3% did not know where SMC services were offered in Kalungu district (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

In Uganda, most-at-riskpopulations(MARPs) such as fishing communities remain vulnerable to preventable HIV acquisition. This study aimed at determining SMC utilization and associated factors among adult men in a rural fishing community in Uganda. Utilization of safe male circumcision among adult men in a fishing community in rural Uganda. According to the United Nations Programme on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS), new HIV infections increased from 120,000 to 150,000 between 2004 and 2012 with 62,000 deaths annually attributed to it alone[2] There is paucity of literature, regarding the proportion of adult male saccessing SMC in fishing communities, one of the most-at-risk populations (MARPs) for HIV acquisition. This study aimed at determining utilization of SMC and other factors associated with SMC by adult men (18-54 years) in a fishing community in a rural district in Uganda

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