Male circumcision and consistent condom use in South Africa
Date
2017
Authors
Maakamedi, Tetelo
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Abstract
Background: Evidence shows that circumcised men are less likely to be infected with HIV compared to their uncircumcised counterparts. However, critics have argued that adopting male VMMC as part of the comprehensive HIV prevention strategy might lead circumcised men to believe that they are completely protected against HIV. Consequently, this could cause them to neglect other HIV protective measures, such as consistent condom use. This study investigated the association between male circumcision and consistent condom use among sexually active men in South Africa.
Methodology: The analyses were done using nationally representative cross-sectional secondary data drawn from the 2012 Third National HIV Communication Survey. The study sampled a total of 1899 single black men who were sexually active and were aged between 16-55 years. The management and analysis of the data were carried out using STATA version 14. Descriptive statistics were computed to describe the levels of male circumcision and consistent condom use in South Africa, and crosstabulations and a Pearson Chi-square test were used to assess associations between patterns of male circumcision and consistent condom use by selected variables. Bivariate and multivariate binomial logistic regressions were used to examine the socio-demographic determinants of male circumcision, as well as the association between male circumcision and consistent condom use.
Results: The main findings showed that circumcised men were more likely (OR=1.18; C.I, 1.171 - 1.182) to consistently use condoms, compared to uncircumcised men. Furthermore, place of residence, education, occupation status and socioeconomic status were positively associated with consistent condom use. On the other hand, men who believed that they would get HIV, and those who were older than 24 years were less likely to consistently use condoms. While circumcision rates were lower in all the provinces compared to the Eastern Cape; Kwa-Zulu Natal and North West had the lowest odds of circumcision of all the provinces. However, both these provinces had the highest odds of consistent condom use compared to all the other provinces.
Conclusion: This study found a positive association between male circumcision and consistent condom use. The findings revealed that, contrary to concerns that circumcised men may have a false sense of protection and therefore use condoms less consistently, circumcised men were more likely to consistently use condoms compared to uncircumcised men. There is, therefore, no evidence of risk compensation associated with circumcision. As a result, male circumcision should continue to be rolledout nationally, as part of an effective and comprehensive HIV prevention strategy. On the other hand, it is also evident that HIV prevention education targeting men is crucial, as men who believe that they will get infected with HIV and those older than 24 years need to be encouraged to practice safe sexual and HIV protective behaviours such as consistent condom use.
Description
This research report is submitted in partial fulfilment of the Master of Arts in Demography and Population Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, March 2017
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Citation
Maakamedi, Tetelo (2017) Male circumcision and consistent condom use in South Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24605>
Maakamedi, Tetelo (2017) Male circumcision and consistent condom use in South Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24605>
Maakamedi, Tetelo (2017) Male circumcision and consistent condom use in South Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24605>