Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, Baltimore, Maryland.
Clin Infect Dis. 2018 Apr 3;66(suppl_3):S183-S188. doi: 10.1093/cid/cix1057.
While female involvement in voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) has been studied among adults, little is known about the influence of adolescent females on their male counterparts. This study explored adolescent females' involvement in VMMC decision making and the postoperative wound healing process in South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
Across 3 countries, 12 focus group discussions were conducted with a total of 90 adolescent females (aged 16-19 years). Individual in-depth interviews were conducted 6-10 weeks post-VMMC with 92 adolescent males (aged 10-19 years). Transcribed and translated qualitative data were coded into categories and subcategories by 2 independent coders.
Adolescent female participants reported being supportive of male peers' decisions to seek VMMC, with the caveat that some thought VMMC gives males a chance to be promiscuous. Regardless, females from all countries expressed preference for circumcised over uncircumcised sexual partners. Adolescent females believed VMMC to be beneficial for the sexual health of both partners, viewed males with a circumcised penis as more attractive than uncircumcised males, used their romantic relationships with males or the potential for sex as leveraging points to convince males to become circumcised, and demonstrated supportive attitudes in the wound-healing period. Interviews with males confirmed that encouragement from females was a motivating factor in seeking VMMC.
Adolescent female participants played a role in convincing young males to seek VMMC and remained supportive of the decision postprocedure. Programs aiming to increase uptake of VMMC and other health-related initiatives for adolescent males should consider the perspective and influence of adolescent females.
虽然已经研究了女性在自愿男性包皮环切（VMMC）中的参与情况，但对于青春期女性对其男性同伴的影响知之甚少。本研究探讨了南非、坦桑尼亚和津巴布韦青春期女性参与 VMMC 决策制定和术后伤口愈合过程的情况。
在 3 个国家中，共对 90 名年龄在 16-19 岁的青春期女性进行了 12 次焦点小组讨论。对 92 名年龄在 10-19 岁的青春期男性在 VMMC 后 6-10 周进行了单独的深入访谈。两名独立编码员将转录和翻译后的定性数据编码为类别和子类别。
青春期女性参与者报告支持男性同伴寻求 VMMC 的决定，但也有一些人认为 VMMC 给了男性滥交的机会。尽管如此，来自所有国家的女性都表示更喜欢割礼后的性伴侣。青春期女性认为 VMMC 对双方的性健康都有益，认为割礼后的男性比未割礼的男性更有吸引力，她们利用与男性的浪漫关系或潜在的性行为来说服男性割礼，并在伤口愈合期间表现出支持态度。对男性的访谈证实，女性的鼓励是寻求 VMMC 的一个动机因素。
青春期女性参与者在说服年轻男性寻求 VMMC 方面发挥了作用，并在手术后仍对这一决定表示支持。旨在提高 VMMC 普及率和其他与青少年男性健康相关的倡议的项目应考虑青春期女性的观点和影响。
