Abstract
Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is a scientifically proven HIV prevention intervention. Uganda, like many countries has been implementing VMMC for over 10 years but uptake is still low especially in northern Uganda. To attain 80% needed for public health impact, scale-up was recommended with many innovations implemented with sub-optimal results. This study therefore wanted to find out some of the correlates of VMMC uptake in Gulu district, northern Uganda. Two studies were conducted separately but data was analyzed for this study. For the quantitative study, proportions and frequencies were used to measure perception of increased risk of HIV infection using age, gender, occupation, marital and circumcision status. Qualitative study provided data from FGDs, IDIs and KIIs were first transcribed in Acholi and then translated in English. Transcripts were uploaded in MAXDQA software for data management. A code book for emerging themes was developed. A total of 548 respondents were interviewed for the quantitative study, where two thirds (66%) of the participants perceived themselves to be at increased risk of HIV infection. For the qualitative study, 149 participants from 19 FGDs, 11 KIIs and 9 IDIs were interviewed. Data were analyzed thematically using both inductive and deductive approaches. Devices were preferred to conventional surgery while mobile services were preferred to static services. However, there were divergent views regarding circumcision service providers' socio-demographics and these were influenced mainly by age, level of education and location. People in Northern Uganda perceived themselves to be at an increased risk of HIV infection. They preferred devices to conventional surgery, mobile services to static services but had varying views about the socio-demographics of the service providers.
Highlights
Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is a scientifically proven HIV prevention intervention
A total of 548 respondents were interviewed for the quantitative study, where two thirds (66%) of the participants perceived themselves to be at increased risk of HIV infection
Qualitative data were collected from 149 individuals aged 10 to 69 years who participated in 19 focus group discussions (FGDs), 11 key informant interviews (KIIs), 9 in-depth interviews (IDIs) until saturation
Summary
Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is a scientifically proven HIV prevention intervention. In 2007, WHO and UNAIDS recommended VMMC for countries with high HIV prevalence but low VMMC coverage[2]. This was after the three clinical trials that provided evidence that circumcision can reduce HIV acquisition of a male from an infected female by up to 60%3,4,5. Many countries started VMMC implementation in 2008 after the recommendation by WHO and UNAIDS, Uganda started in 2010 after the development of VMMC policies and guidelines These regional variations in VMMC coverage correlate with HIV prevalence and it’s unfortunate that the regions with high HIV prevalence have low VMMC coverage[6]. ABCs have not been effective in reducing the spread of HIV infection, their cumulative effect has diminished spread in some instances and modified behavior in other instances[7,8,9] Voluntary
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
