• Mutaawe Lubogo, Ronald Anguzu, Humphrey Wanzira, Abdul R Shour, Aggrey D Mukose, Agnes Nyabigambo, and Nazarius M Tumwesigye.
• Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Makerere University, Uganda.
• Afr Health Sci. 2019 Sep 1; 19 (3): 2645-2653.

BackgroundIn Uganda, most-at-riskpopulations(MARPs) such as fishing communities remain vulnerable to preventable HIV acquisition. Safe Male Circumcision (SMC) has been incorporated into Uganda's HIV prevention strategies. This study aimed at determining SMC utilization and associated factors among adult men in a rural fishing community in Uganda.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in a rural fishing village in central Uganda. Stratified random sampling of 369 fishermen aged 18-54 yearswas used according to their occupational category; fish monger, boat crew and general merchandise. The dependent variable wasutilization of SMC.A forward fitting multivariable logistic regression model was fitted with variables significant at p≤0.05 controlling for confounding and effect modification.ResultsRespondents'mean(SD) age was 30.0(9.3) years. Only8.4%hadSMC and among non-circumcised men, 84.9% had adequate knowledge of SMC benefits while 79.3% did not know were SMC services were offered. Peer support(AOR0.17;95%-CI0.05-0.60) and perceived procedural safety (AOR6.8;95%CI2.16-21.17) were independently associated with SMC utilization.ConclusionIn this rural fishing community, SMC utilization was low. These findings underscore the need to inform HIV preventionstrategies inthecontextof peer support and perceptionsheld by rural dwelling men.© 2019 Lubogo et al.

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