Factors Influencing Uptake Of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Amongst Males Above The Age Of 15 Years Up To 49 Years In Purongo Sub County, Nwoya District .

Abstract

Back ground: Safe male circumcision is believed to be associated with reduced HIV prevalence, yet it's uptake in the northern Ugandan district of Nwoya district is very low. If well embraced and adopted widely, Safe Male Circumcision (SMC) can reduce new HIV infections by 60% (WHO, 2013). The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors influencing the uptake of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision amongst males above age of 15 years in Purongo sub-county, Nwoya district. Methods: This was a cross sectional study that was carried out in 380 males aged 15 years and above in Purongo Sub County, Nwoya District. Data on uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision and factors associated with its uptake was collected using semi- administered questionnaire and key informant interviews. Data analysis was performed using SPSS Version 20.0 soft ware and Pearson chi square tests were used to assess the relationship between the socio demographic factors and personal factors with uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision. All statistical tests were 2-tailed and P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: In this study, 138 (36.30%) of the respondents reported to have been voluntarily circumcised medically. All the socio demographic factors had a statistically significant relationship with uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision (P < 0.05). Only occupation of the respondent didn't reflect a statistically significant relationship with uptake of male circumcision (P =0.32). Awareness about safe circumcision, willingness to get circumcised, pains and the belief that circumcision reduces sexual pleasure were the individual factors that significantly affected the uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision in Purongo sub-county, Nwoya district (P < 0.05). Conclusions and recommendations: The uptake of male circumcision was low, thus the district health team should carry out mass sensitization campaigns to improve knowledge and change attitudes in order to scale up safe male circumcision services in the area as a way of reducing HIV infections.