Dataset Information

Increasing voluntary medical male circumcision uptake among adult men in Tanzania.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:We evaluated a demand-creation intervention to increase voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) uptake among men aged 20-34 years in Tanzania, to maximise short-term impact on HIV incidence. METHODS:A cluster randomized controlled trial stratified by region was conducted in 20 outreach sites in Njombe and Tabora regions. The sites were randomized 1?:?1 to receive either a demand-creation intervention package in addition to standard VMMC outreach, or standard VMMC outreach alone. The intervention package included enhanced public address messages, peer promotion by recently circumcised men, facility setup to increase privacy, and engagement of female partners in demand creation. The primary outcome was the proportion of VMMC clients aged 20-34 years. FINDINGS:Overall, 6251 and 3968 VMMC clients were enrolled in intervention and control clusters, respectively. The proportion of clients aged 20-34 years was slightly greater in the intervention than control arm [17.7 vs. 13.0%; prevalence ratio?=?1.36; 95% confidence intervals (CI):0.9-2.0]. In Njombe region, the proportion of clients aged 20-34 years was similar between arms but a significant two-fold difference was seen in Tabora region (P value for effect modification?=?0.006). The mean number of men aged 20-34 years (mean difference per cluster?=?97; 95% CI:40-154), and of all ages (mean difference per cluster?=?227, 95% CI:33-420) were greater in the intervention than control arm. CONCLUSION:The intervention was associated with a significant increase in the proportion of clients aged 20-34 years in Tabora but not in Njombe. The intervention may be sensitive to regional factors in VMMC programme scale-up, including saturation.

SUBMITTER: Wambura M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5378002 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Increasing voluntary medical male circumcision uptake among adult men in Tanzania.

Wambura Mwita M Mahler Hally H Grund Jonathan M JM Larke Natasha N Mshana Gerry G Kuringe Evodius E Plotkin Marya M Lija Gissenge G Makokha Maende M Terris-Prestholt Fern F Hayes Richard J RJ Changalucha John J Weiss Helen A HA

AIDS (London, England) 20170401 7

<h4>Objective</h4>We evaluated a demand-creation intervention to increase voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) uptake among men aged 20-34 years in Tanzania, to maximise short-term impact on HIV incidence.<h4>Methods</h4>A cluster randomized controlled trial stratified by region was conducted in 20 outreach sites in Njombe and Tabora regions. The sites were randomized 1 : 1 to receive either a demand-creation intervention package in addition to standard VMMC outreach, or standard VMMC outr ...[more]

PMID: 28350578

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Project description:BackgroundVoluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) remains an essential component of combination HIV prevention services, particularly in priority countries in sub-Saharan Africa. As VMMC programs seek to maximize impact and efficiency, and to support World Health Organization guidance, specific uptake-enhancing strategies are critical to identify.MethodsWe systematically reviewed the literature to evaluate the impact of service delivery interventions (e.g., facility layout, service co-location, mobile outreach) on VMMC uptake among adolescent and adult men. For the main effectiveness review, we searched for publications or conference abstracts that measured VMMC uptake or uptake of HIV testing or risk reduction counselling within VMMC services. We synthesized data by coding categories and outcomes. We also reviewed studies assessing acceptability, values/preferences, costs, and feasibility.ResultsFour randomized controlled trials and five observational studies were included in the effectiveness review. Studies took place in South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. They assessed a range of service delivery innovations, including community-, school-, and facility-based interventions. Overall, interventions increased VMMC uptake; some successfully improved uptake among age-specific subpopulations, but urban-rural stratification showed no clear trends. Interventions that increased adult men's uptake included mobile services (compared to static facilities), home-based testing with active referral follow-up, and facility-based HIV testing with enhanced comprehensive sexual education. Six acceptability studies suggested interventions were generally perceived to help men choose to get circumcised. Eleven cost studies suggested interventions create economies-of-scale and efficiencies. Three studies suggested such interventions were feasible, improving facility preparedness, service quality and quantity, and efficiencies.ConclusionsInnovative changes in male-centered VMMC services can improve adult men's and adolescent boys' VMMC uptake. Limited evidence on interventions that enhance access and acceptability show promising results, but evidence gaps persist due to inconsistent intervention definition and delivery, due in part to contextual relevance and limited age disaggregation.

Project description:As an HIV prevention strategy, the scale-up of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is underway in 14 countries in Africa. For prevention impact, these countries must perform millions of circumcisions in adolescent and adult men before 2015. Although acceptability of VMMC in the region is well documented and service delivery efforts have proven successful, countries remain behind in meeting circumcision targets. A better understanding of men's VMMC-seeking behaviors and experiences is needed to improve communication and interventions to accelerate uptake. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 clients waiting for surgical circumcision at clinics in Zambia. Based on Stages of Change behavioral theory, men were asked to recount how they learned about adult circumcision, why they decided it was right for them, what they feared most, how they overcame their fears, and the steps they took to make it to the clinic that day. Thematic analysis across all cases allowed us to identify key behavior change triggers while within-case analysis elucidated variants of one predominant behavior change pattern. Major stages included: awareness and critical belief adjustment, norming pressures and personalization of advantages, a period of fear management and finally VMMC-seeking. Qualitative comparative analysis of ever-married and never-married men revealed important similarities and differences between the two groups. Unprompted, 17 of the men described one to four failed prior attempts to become circumcised. Experienced more frequently by older men, failed VMMC attempts were often due to service-side barriers. Findings highlight intervention opportunities to increase VMMC uptake. Reaching uncircumcised men via close male friends and female sex partners and tailoring messages to stage-specific concerns and needs would help accelerate men's movement through the behavior change process. Expanding service access is also needed to meet current demand. Improving clinic efficiencies and introducing time-saving procedures and advance scheduling options should be considered.

Dataset Information

Increasing voluntary medical male circumcision uptake among adult men in Tanzania.

Publications

Increasing voluntary medical male circumcision uptake among adult men in Tanzania.

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