title: Voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention in fishing communities in Uganda: the influence of local beliefs and practice.
abstract: Local beliefs and practices about voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) may influence uptake and effectiveness. Data were gathered through interviews with 40 people from four ethnically mixed fishing communities in Uganda. Some men believed that wound healing could be promoted by contact with vaginal fluids while sex with non-regular partners could chase away spirits - practices which encouraged unsafe sexual practices. Information given by providers stressed that VMMC did not afford complete protection from sexually-transmitted infections, however, a number of male community members held the view that they were fully protected once circumcised. Both men and women said that VMMC was good not just for HIV prevention but also as a way of maintaining hygiene among the men. The implementation of VMMC in high-HIV prevalence settings needs to take account of local beliefs about circumcision, working with local religious/social group leaders, women and peers in the roll-out of the intervention.
authors.affiliation: a MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS , Entebbe , Uganda.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mbonye
authors.affiliation: a MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS , Entebbe , Uganda.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuteesa
authors.affiliation: a MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS , Entebbe , Uganda.|b Department of Global Health and Development , London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine , London , United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seeley
authors.affiliation: c School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences , University of Witwatersrand , Johannesburg , South Africa.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.affiliation: d MRC Tropical Epidemiology Group , London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine , London , United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: a MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS , Entebbe , Uganda.|e Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health , London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine , London , United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anatoli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kamali
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002944:Circumcision, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D003469:Culture; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Africa; HIV-prevention; HIV-transmission; Uganda; voluntary medical male circumcision