A study to establish the beliefs and expectations of adult males who enrol for male circumcision at Mariental State Hospital (Mariental District, Hardap Region, Namibia)

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Background:Since the launch of the Male Circumcision (MC) HIV prevention program in Mariental, Namibia, concerns have arisen that men in this community might start developing a false sense of protection against HIV and engage in risk compensatory behaviors after circumcision. Though the effectiveness of male circumcision as an HIV prevention strategy has been established, no conclusive remarks have been made as yet on the aspect of risk compensation after male circumcision. However, one study done in Kisumu Kenya was able to establish that men's beliefs and perceptions towards male circumcision do play a major role in determining how they are likely to behave after the procedure (Mattsony, Wilsonz & Xiong, 2011).Objectives:The objectives of this study were;- To establish males who enrol for circumcision's knowledge and beliefs about MC.- To identify what influenced their decision to enrol for MC.- To establish males who enrol for circumcision's perception on MC and HIV prevention.- To determine adult males' perceived lifestyle changes after male circumcision.Methods:This study was a cross sectional survey which employed quantitative methodologies to quantify the knowledge beliefs and expectations of adult males who came to enrol for male circumcision.Results:Findings from the study show that many adult males who come to enrol for male circumcision in Mariental do not recognise the importance of MC as an HIV prevention strategy. Most of them have the wrong perceptions about MC and HIV prevention. The findings also show that men with wrong perceptions about MC and HIV prevention are more likely to engage in risk compensatory behaviour after MC.Conclusion:The launch of the male circumcision for HIV prevention in Mariental is a most crucial and significant development in curbing the spread of HIV in this part of Namibia. Current efforts need to focus on ensuring that men in our community have the correct understanding about MC and HIV prevention, so that they will enrol for the program with the right perspective, thus enabling them to focus on pursuing desired lifestyle changes after MC.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University