Assessment of the Provision of Education Materials on HIV/AIDS Prevention among Boys Who Undergo Male Circumcision at Hospitals in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Background: Literature shows the importance of health education coupled with educational materials as important tools towards HIV/AIDS prevention. HIV/AIDS remains a major obstacle against the achievement of the millennium development goals (MDGs).  Male circumcision as one of the HIV prevention strategies endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) can be of great assistance in the reduction of the high HIV statistics as well as aiding in the achievement of the MDGs. Although male circumcision has been practised traditionally, boys are found to prefer medical than traditional due to safety concerns associated with the latter.

Objective: The educational role played by traditional male circumcision seems missing in the medical male circumcision. This article aims to assess if there are educational materials provided to boys who undergo male circumcision at a hospital setting.

Method: Quantitative descriptive survey was used to conduct the study. Data was collected amongst males aged between 12 and 21 years through a self-designed standardised questionnaire, administered through face-to-face interviews. Convenience sampling was applied to select the participants and to identify hospitals were data was collected. STATISTICA and Microsoft Excel were used as software to analyse the data.

Results: The results of the article revealed that there is limited provision of educational materials regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among boys who undergo male circumcision at a hospital setting.

Conclusion: The development of an educational package for HIV/AIDS prevention for boys, who undergo medical male circumcision which is culture sensitive, was recommended.