Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices on Luo male child circumcision among parents/guardians in Bondo district

Abstract

In Kenya HIV prevalence rate has been consistently high in Nyanza Province, a province predominantly inhabited by the Luo community. Unlike most other communities in Kenya, the Luo community have very low rates of male circumcision. Male circumcision has been shown to reduce female to male transmission by about 60%. Thus, as part of comprehensive efforts to curb the scourge in the region, there are currently widespread campaigns encouraging adult male circumcision in the region. However, although some studies suggest that circumcision of children could be more beneficical than that of adults, little study has been done to investigate the likelihood of the community adopting the practice of routine male child circumcision. Circumcision in children in many communities depends on the attitude of their parents on this practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge that the community has on the practice of male child circumcision including benefits and dangers associated with the practice. The study further aimed to assess the general attitudes of the community towards the practice. Finally, the level of practice of male child circumcision was also assessed. The study was a cross-sectional survey in which a cross-section of parents/guardians of male children of age zero to fourteen years was sampled across Bondo District. Interviewer administered questionnaires were used to collect relevant data from the participants. The questionnaires were designed to obtain data on demographic characteristics of the participants, their knowledge, attitude and practice on male child circumcision. In the analysis, demographic characteristics of the participants, their level of knowledge on the subject of male child circumcision, attitudes toward the subject and current practices were analysed. Participants were generally knowledgeable on the subject of male child circumcision with 68.75% having good knowledge on the subject and 78.4% having a positive attitude. However, the rate of practice of male child circumcision was still low (35%) although this was an improvement compared to the rate of 17% reported by WHO in 2007. Based on the results, education, awareness on the availability of free services, training of health care providers, abolishing of cultural influence and further research were recommended in order to increase the rate of male child circumcision in the community.