Print media reporting of male circumcision for preventing HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa
Alberta L Wang, William Duke & George P Schmid
Volume 87, Number 8, August 2009, 595-603
Table 2. Coverage and accuracy of key messages on male circumcision for preventing HIV infection in men in sub-Saharan Africa, as found in unique print media articles (n = 219) from 28 March 2007 to 30 June 2008
| Messagea | Reported |
Accurate |
Inaccurate |
Accurate when reported |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No.b | % | No.b | % | No.b | % | %c | ||||||||||
| Only partial protection against HIV | 186 | 84.9 | 186 | 84.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | |||||||||
| MC is additional, not a substitute | 119 | 54.3 | 118 | 53.9 | 1 | 0.5 | 99.2 | |||||||||
| Use condoms, whether circumcised or not | 82 | 37.4 | 76 | 34.7 | 6 | 2.7 | 92.7 | |||||||||
| Ensure surgical safety and quality | 65 | 29.7 | 62 | 28.3 | 3 | 1.4 | 95.4 | |||||||||
| All men should limit number of sexual partners | 61 | 27.9 | 61 | 27.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | |||||||||
| Lack of data on protection for women | 51 | 23.3 | 45 | 20.5 | 6 | 2.7 | 88.2 | |||||||||
| Refrain from intercourse for 6 weeks after MC | 39 | 17.8 | 30 | 13.7 | 9 | 4.1 | 76.9 | |||||||||
| MC has risks of complications | 36 | 16.4 | 35 | 16.0 | 1 | 0.5 | 97.2 | |||||||||
| Informed consent and confidentiality | 26 | 11.9 | 26 | 11.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | |||||||||
| Not associated with risk compensation | 24 | 11.0 | 10 | 4.6 | 14 | 6.4 | 41.7 | |||||||||
| Lack of data on protection for anal sex | 21 | 9.6 | 19 | 8.7 | 2 | 0.9 | 90.5 | |||||||||
| Not recommended for HIV+ men | 18 | 8.2 | 11 | 5.0 | 7 | 3.2 | 61.1 | |||||||||
| Medical exam to confirm healing | 10 | 4.6 | 7 | 3.2 | 3 | 1.4 | 70.0 | |||||||||
| HIV testing is recommended | 9 | 4.1 | 6 | 2.7 | 3 | 1.4 | 66.7 | |||||||||
| MC is very different from FGM | 3 | 1.4 | 1 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.9 | 33.3 | |||||||||
FGM, female genital mutilation; MC, male circumcision.
a The messages are listed in descending order of frequency.
b This represents the number of articles that reported the respective message, either accurately or inaccurately.
c This represents the percentage of accurate reports when the message was reported in the articles.