ArticleBMJ open2013
'The body we leave behind': a qualitative study of obstacles and opportunities for increasing uptake of male circumcision among Tanzanian Christians.
Article in BMJ open, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Educating religious leaders to promote uptake of male circumcision in Tanzania: a cluster randomised trial.Lancet (London, England) · 2017Trial
- Adult male circumcision with a circular stapler versus conventional circumcision: A prospective randomized clinical trial.Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologica · 2015Trial
- Factors influencing neonatal male circumcision uptake among expecting couples in Zambia: formative findings.AIDS care · 2024Article
- Congregation leader and member discussions in a church-based family strengthening, mental health promotion and HIV prevention trial: Intervention.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- Women's Narratives about COVID-19, Preventive Practices and Sources of Information in Northwestern Tanzania.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Religion, faith, and spirituality influences on HIV prevention activities: A scoping review.PloS one · 2020Article
- How gender and religion impact uptake of family planning: results from a qualitative study in Northwestern Tanzania.BMC women's health · 2019Article
- Circumcision and its effects in Africa.Translational andrology and urology · 2017Review
- Educating religious leaders to create demand for medical male circumcision.Lancet (London, England) · 2017Article
- Towards a gender perspective in qualitative research on voluntary medical male circumcision in east and southern Africa.Global public health · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesMale circumcision (MC) reduces HIV infection by approximately 60% among heterosexual men and is recommended by the WHO for HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa. In northwest Tanzania, over 60% of Muslims but less than 25% of Christian men are circumcised. We hypothesised that the decision to circumcise may be heavily influenced by religious identity and that specific religious beliefs may offer both obstacles and opportunities to increasing MC uptake, and conducted focus group discussions to explore reasons for low rates of MC among Christian church attenders in the region.
designQualitative study using focus group discussions and interpretative phenomenological analysis.
settingDiscussions took place at churches in both rural and urban areas of the Mwanza region of northwest Tanzania.
participantsWe included 67 adult Christian churchgoers of both genders in a total of 10 single-gender focus groups.
resultsChristians frequently reported perceiving MC as a Muslim practice, as a practice for the sexually promiscuous, or as unnecessary since they are taught to focus on 'circumcision of the heart'. Only one person had ever heard MC discussed at church, but nearly all Christian parishioners were eager for their churches to address MC and felt that MC could be consistent with their faith.
conclusionsChristian religious beliefs among Tanzanian churchgoers provide both obstacles and opportunities for increasing uptake of MC. Since half of adults in sub-Saharan Africa identify themselves as Christians, addressing these issues is critical for MC efforts in this region.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.