Prevalence and factors associated with safe male circumcision among Makerere University undergraduate students, Kampala - Uganda
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Square
Abstract
Background
Safe male circumcision (SMC) is currently recognized as a preventive strategy in reducing
the risk of HIV; however, the prevalence of circumcised men in Uganda is still quite low at 26%. This study
aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with SMC and among Makerere University
undergraduate students, in Kampala Uganda.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study among 602
participants selected using multistage probability sampling strategy. Pretested semi-structured
questionnaires and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Quantitative data were analyzed
with Stata 12.0, the prevalence ratio and p-values were calculated. Possible interactions and confounding
variables were assessed with the Poisson regression model while qualitative data was analyzed with
content analysis.
Results
The overall prevalence of safe male circumcision among male undergraduates
was 58.3% (95% CI: 54.37 – 62.24). Factors associated with SMC prevalence included: safety of SMC
procedure (Prevalence Ratio (PR) = 1.13, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.03 – 1.25) and friendly health
workers (PR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.74 – 0.83). The perceived benefits of SMC included hygiene (86.5%, n =
521), reduced risk of HIV transmission (4.5%, n = 26) and reduced risk of penile cancer (45.7%, n = 275)
while, the perceived barrier was pain (10.1%, n = 61). The students perceived that SMC recipient’s first
sexual partner post-procedure should not be his girlfriend. Most participants in all the focus group
discussions perceived SMC increases sexual pleasure.
Conclusion
The overall self-reported SMC success
rate among participants was high, along with the safety of SMC services and friendly health workers as
important factors among male students. There is a need for continuous sensitization campaigns and
communication strategies to address beliefs about SMC, some related misconceptions, and barriers so
as to increase its prevalence.
Description
Keywords
Safe male circumcision, Makerere University undergraduate students, Uganda
Citation
Nyamwiza, J., Mukisa, J., Ictho, J., Ssenyonga, R., Nalutaaya, A., Kawooya, I., ... & Karamagi, C. (2019). Prevalence and factors associated with safe male circumcision among Makerere University undergraduate students, Kampala-Uganda. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.2.11964/v1