<b>Sexual pleasure or HIV prevention?: </b><b>A qualitative study of </b><b>male circumcision </b><b>in Zambia</b>

This study was conducted in Lusaka and Shibuyunji, Zambia. Lusaka is the Capital of Zambia while the latter is a rural district. The study employed a qualitative approach and participants were drawn from both urban and rural areas. This was to ensure a diverse range of opinions about VMMC. Men and women of reproductive age were purposively selected and recruited to participate in the study. They were approached at health facilities and in their communities. To identify and recruit circumcised men, snowball sampling was also used.In total, 30 in-depth interviews and two focus group interviews were conducted. Individual interviews were held with 10 women and 20 men. There was an equal distribution of each sex from the rural and urban areas. Two focus group interviews were conducted exclusively with men. In total, each focus group had 10 participants and only one focus group was conducted in the rural area and one in the urban area. The participants in the in-depth interviews did not participate in the group interviews.Ethical clearance was granted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee (HSSREC) and the University of Zambia Biomedical Research Ethics Committee (UNZA-BREC). Meanwhile the Zambia National Health Research Authority (NHRA) also authorised the study.The interview recordings were then transcribed verbatim by the first author, with translations effected where needed. Transcripts were imported into NVivo 12 Plus, and were then reviewed; themes were then identified after which codes were developed and the data was analyzed thematically.<br>