Acceptability of male circumcision among mothers with male children in Mysore

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Acceptability of male circumcision among mothers with male children

in Mysore, India.

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND SOCIAL: AIDS. 22(8):983-988, May 11, 2008.

Madhivanan, Purnima a,b; Krupp, Karl b; Chandrasekaran, Varalakshmi

b; Karat, C c; Reingold, Arthur L a; Klausner, D d

Abstract:

Objective: There is currently little information on the acceptability

of male circumcision in India. This study investigated the

acceptability of male circumcision among Indian mothers with male

children.

Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience

sample of 795 women attending a reproductive health clinic in Mysore,

India, between January and April 2007.

Results: Of the 1012 invited eligible participants, 795 women agreed

to participate (response rate = 78.5%). The majority of women were

Hindus (78%), 18% were Muslims, and 4% were Christians. About 26% of

respondents had no schooling, 29% had 7 years of schooling, 42% had 8-

12 years, and 3% had more than 12 years. After women were informed

about the risks and benefits of male circumcision, a majority of

women with uncircumcised children (n = 564, 81%) said they would

definitely circumcise their children if the procedure were offered in

a safe hospital setting, free of charge, and a smaller number (n =

50, 7%) said they would probably consider the procedure. Only seven

women (1%) said that they would definitely/probably not consider male

circumcision, and 63 (9%) were unsure.

Conclusion: Since male circumcision has been found to decrease risk

of HIV infection among men, it is important to determine its

acceptability as a potential HIV prevention strategy in India. This

study found male circumcision to be highly acceptable among a broad

range of mothers with male children in Mysore, India. Further studies

of acceptability among fathers and other populations are warranted.