IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0106230.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Male Circumcision and Sexual Risk Behaviors May Contribute to Considerable Ethnic Disparities in HIV Prevalence in Kenya: An Ecological Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Chris Richard Kenyon
  • Lung Vu
  • Joris Menten
  • Brendan Maughan-Brown

Abstract

Background: HIV prevalence varies between 0.8 and 20.2% in Kenya’s various ethnic groups. The reasons underlying these variations have not been evaluated before. Methods: We used data from seven national surveys spanning the period 1989 to 2008 to compare the prevalence of a range of risk factors in Kenya’s ethnic groups. Spearman’s and linear regression were used to assess the relationship between HIV prevalence and each variable by ethnic group. Results: The ethnic groups exhibited significant differences in a number of HIV related risk factors. Although the highest HIV prevalence group (the Luo) had the highest rates of HIV testing (Men 2008 survey: 56.8%, 95% CI 51.0–62.5%) and condom usage at last sex (Men 2008∶28.6%, 95% CI 19.6–37.6%), they had the lowest prevalence of circumcision (20.9%, 95% CI 15.9–26.0) the highest prevalence of sex with a non-married, non-cohabiting partner (Men: 40.2%, 95% CI 33.2–47.1%) and pre-marital sex (Men 2008∶73.9%, 95% CI 67.5–80.3%) and the youngest mean age of debut for women (1989 Survey: 15.7 years old, 95% CI 15.2–16.2). At a provincial level there was an association between the prevalence of HIV and male concurrency (Spearman’s rho = 0.79, P = 0.04). Ethnic groups with higher HIV prevalence were more likely to report condom use (Men 2008 survey: R2 = 0.62, P = 0.01) and having been for HIV testing (Men 2008 survey: R2 = 0.47, P = 0.04). Conclusion: In addition to differences in male circumcision prevalence, variation in sexual behavior may contribute to the large variations in HIV prevalence in Kenya’s ethnic groups. To complement the prevention benefits of the medical male circumcision roll-out in several parts of Kenya, interventions to reduce risky sexual behavior should continue to be promoted.

Suggested Citation

  • Chris Richard Kenyon & Lung Vu & Joris Menten & Brendan Maughan-Brown, 2014. "Male Circumcision and Sexual Risk Behaviors May Contribute to Considerable Ethnic Disparities in HIV Prevalence in Kenya: An Ecological Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(8), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0106230
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106230
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0106230
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0106230&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0106230?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Walque, Damien, 2006. "Who gets AIDS and how ? The determinants of HIV infection and sexual behaviors in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3844, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. de Walque, Damien, 2007. "How does the impact of an HIV/AIDS information campaign vary with educational attainment? Evidence from rural Uganda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 686-714, November.
    2. Pedro de Araujo, 2008. "The Socio-Economic Distribution of AIDS Incidence and Output," Caepr Working Papers 2008-014_updated, Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Economics Department, Indiana University Bloomington, revised Sep 2008.
    3. Hans-Peter Kohler & Rebecca L. Thornton, 2012. "Conditional Cash Transfers and HIV/AIDS Prevention: Unconditionally Promising?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 26(2), pages 165-190.
    4. Smriti Agarwal & Pedro de Araujo & Jayash Paudel, 2013. "HIV-Related Knowledge and Risky Sexual Behaviour in Sub-Saharan Africa," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 173-189, June.
    5. Fabrice Murtin & Federica Marzo, 2007. "HIV/AIDS and Poverty in South Africa: a Bayesian Estimation," Cahiers de recherche 07-08, Departement d'économique de l'École de gestion à l'Université de Sherbrooke.
    6. Mika Ueyama & Futoshi Yamauchi, 2009. "Marriage behavior response to prime-age adult mortality: evidence from malawi," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 46(1), pages 43-63, February.
    7. Kathleen Beegle & Joachim De Weerdt & Stefan Dercon, 2008. "Adult Mortality and Consumption Growth in the Age of HIV/AIDS," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(2), pages 299-326, January.
    8. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7310 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Djemaï, Elodie, 2008. "Risk Taking of HIV-Infection and Income Uncertainty: Empirical Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," MPRA Paper 15605, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 09 Jan 2009.
    10. World Bank, 2010. "Lesotho - Sharing Growth by Reducing Inequality and Vulnerability : Choices for Change A Poverty, Gender, and Social Assessment," World Bank Publications - Reports 2884, The World Bank Group.
    11. Pedro de Araujo, 2008. "Socio-Economic Status, HIV/AIDS Knowledge and Stigma, and Sexual Behavior in India," Caepr Working Papers 2008-019_updated, Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Economics Department, Indiana University Bloomington, revised Sep 2008.
    12. Emmanouil Taxiarchis Gazilas, 2024. "Factors Influencing Life Expectancy in Low-Income Countries: A Panel Data Analysis," Journal of Applied Economic Research, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, vol. 23(3), pages 580-601.
    13. Kathleen Beegle & Sofya Krutikova, 2008. "Adult mortality and children’s transition into marriage," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(42), pages 1551-1574.
    14. Damien De Walque, 2007. "Sero‐Discordant Couples in Five African Countries: Implications for Prevention Strategies," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 33(3), pages 501-523, September.
    15. Sarah Baird & Ephraim Chirwa & Craig McIntosh & Berk Özler, 2010. "The short‐term impacts of a schooling conditional cash transfer program on the sexual behavior of young women," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(S1), pages 55-68, September.
    16. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7314 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Juan Leon & David P. Baker & Daniel Salinas & Adrienne Henck, 2017. "Is education a risk factor or social vaccine against HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa? The effect of schooling across public health periods," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 347-372, December.
    18. World Bank, 2008. "Mozambique - Beating the Odds : Sustaining Inclusion in a Growing Economy - A Mozambique Poverty, Gender, and Social Assessment, Volume 1. Main Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 7981, The World Bank Group.
    19. Francesco Strobbe & Claudia Olivetti & Mireille Jacobson, 2010. "Breaking the Net: Family Structure and Street Children in Zambia," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 11110, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    20. Pedro de Araujo, 2008. "The Socio-Economic Distribution of AIDS Incidence and Output," CAEPR Working Papers 2008-014, Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Department of Economics, Indiana University Bloomington, revised Sep 2008.
    21. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/5lbapr8bjc81qrd7pa70f0iqp1 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Ana María Iregui-Bohórquez & Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & María Teresa Ramírez-Giraldo, 2015. "Risky Health Behaviors: Evidence for an Emerging Economy," Borradores de Economia 13040, Banco de la Republica.
    23. Sterck Olivier, 2013. "Why are Testing Rates so Low in Sub-Saharan Africa? Misconceptions and Strategic Behaviors," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 16(1), pages 219-257, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0106230. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.