"You Take Medications, You Live Normally": The Role of Antiretroviral Therapy in Mitigating Men's Perceived Threats of HIV in Côte d'Ivoire.

Men diagnosed with HIV face gender-related barriers to initiating and adhering to antiretroviral therapy (ART). This qualitative study (73 in-depth interviews; 28 focus group discussions), conducted with men in three urban sites in Côte d'Ivoire in 2016, examined perceptions of ART, including benefits and challenges, to explore how ART mitigates HIV's threats to men's sexuality, economic success, family roles, social status, and health. Participants perceived that adhering to ART would reduce risk of transmitting HIV to others, minimize job loss and lost productivity, and help maintain men's roles as decision makers and providers. ART adherence was thought to help reduce the threat of HIV-related stigma, despite concerns about unintentional disclosure. While ART was perceived to improve health directly, it restricted men's schedules. Side effects were also a major challenge. Social and behavior change approaches building on these insights may improve male engagement across the HIV care continuum.

Scaling Up Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention for Adolescents and Young Adult Men: A Modeling Analysis of Implementation and Impact in Selected Countries.

Background: The new World Health Organization and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS strategic framework for voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) aims to increase VMMC coverage among males aged 10-29 years in priority settings to 90% by 2021. We use mathematical modeling to assess the likelihood that selected countries will achieve this objective, given their historical VMMC progress and current implementation options. Methods: We use the Decision Makers' Program Planning Toolkit, version 2, to examine 4 ambitious but feasible scenarios for scaling up VMMC coverage from 2017 through 2021, inclusive in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Results: Tanzania is the only country that would reach the goal of 90% VMMC coverage in 10- to 29-year-olds by the end of 2021 in the scenarios assessed, and this was true in 3 of the scenarios studied. Mozambique, South Africa, and Lesotho would come close to reaching the objective only in the most ambitious scenario examined. Conclusions: Major changes in VMMC implementation in most countries will be required to increase the proportion of circumcised 10- to 29-year-olds to 90% by the end of 2021. Scaling up VMMC coverage in males aged 10-29 years will require significantly increasing the number of circumcisions provided to 10- to 14-year-olds and 15- to 29-year-olds.

Providers' Perceptions and Training Needs for Counseling Adolescents Undergoing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision.

Background: The majority of individuals who seek voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services in sub-Saharan Africa are adolescents (ages 10-19 years). However, adolescents who obtain VMMC services report receiving little information on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and care. In this study, we assessed the perceptions of VMMC facility managers and providers about current training content and their perspectives on age-appropriate adolescent counseling. Methods: Semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted with 33 VMMC providers in Tanzania (n = 12), South Africa (n = 9), and Zimbabwe (n = 12) and with 4 key informant facility managers in each country (total 12). Two coders independently coded the data thematically using a 2-step process and Atlas.ti qualitative coding software. Results: Providers and facility managers discussed limitations with current VMMC training, noting the need for adolescent-specific guidelines and counseling skills. Providers expressed hesitation in communicating complete sexual health information-including HIV testing, HIV prevention, proper condom usage, the importance of knowing a partner's HIV status, and abstinence from sex or masturbation during wound healing-with younger males (aged <15 years) and/or those assumed to be sexually inexperienced. Many providers revealed that they did not assess adolescent clients' sexual experience and deemed sexual topics to be irrelevant or inappropriate. Providers preferred counseling younger adolescents with their parents or guardians present, typically focusing primarily on wound care and procedural information. Conclusions: Lack of training for working with adolescents influences the type of information communicated. Preconceptions hinder counseling that supports comprehensive HIV preventive behaviors and complete wound care information, particularly for younger adolescents.

Females' Peer Influence and Support for Adolescent Males Receiving Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Services.

Background: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.

Age Differences in Perceptions of and Motivations for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Among Adolescents in South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have set a Fast-Track goal to achieve 90% coverage of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) among boys and men aged 10-29 years in priority settings by 2021. We aimed to identify age-specific facilitators of VMMC uptake among adolescents. Methods: Younger (aged 10-14 years; n = 967) and older (aged 15-19 years; n = 559) male adolescents completed structured interviews about perceptions of and motivations for VMMC before receiving VMMC counseling at 14 service provision sites across South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) were estimated using multivariable modified Poisson regression models with generalized estimating equations and robust standard errors. Results: The majority of adolescents reported a strong desire for VMMC. Compared with older adolescents, younger adolescents were less likely to cite protection against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or other sexually transmitted infections (aPR, 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], .66-.91) and hygienic reasons (aPR, 0.55; 95% CI, .39-.77) as their motivation to undergo VMMC but were more likely to report being motivated by advice from others (aPR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.54-2.29). Although most adolescents believed that undergoing VMMC was a normative behavior, younger adolescents were less likely to perceive higher descriptive norms (aPR, 0.79; .71-.89), injunctive norms (aPR, 0.86; 95% CI, .73-1.00), or anticipated stigma for being uncircumcised (aPR, 0.79; 95% CI, .68-.90). Younger adolescents were also less likely than older adolescents to correctly cite that VMMC offers men and boys partial HIV protection (aPR, 0.73; 95% CI, .65-.82). Irrespective of age, adolescents' main concern about undergoing VMMC was pain (aPR, 0.95; 95% CI, .87-1.04). Among younger adolescents, fear of pain was negatively associated with desire for VMMC (aPR, 0.89; 95% CI, .83-.96). Conclusions: Age-specific strategies are important to consider to generate sustainable demand for VMMC. Programmatic efforts should consider building on the social norms surrounding VMMC and aim to alleviate fears about pain.

Counseling Received by Adolescents Undergoing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: Moving Toward Age-Equitable Comprehensive Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention Measures.

Background: The minimum package of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services, as defined by the World Health Organization, includes human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, HIV prevention counseling, screening/treatment for sexually transmitted infections, condom promotion, and the VMMC procedure. The current study aimed to assess whether adolescents received these key elements. Methods: Quantitative surveys were conducted among male adolescents aged 10-19 years (n = 1293) seeking VMMC in South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. We used a summative index score of 8 self-reported binary items to measure receipt of important elements of the World Health Organization-recommended HIV minimum package and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief VMMC recommendations. Counseling sessions were observed for a subset of adolescents (n = 44). To evaluate factors associated with counseling content, we used Poisson regression models with generalized estimating equations and robust variance estimation. Results: Although counseling included VMMC benefits, little attention was paid to risks, including how to identify complications, what to do if they arise, and why avoiding sex and masturbation could prevent complications. Overall, older adolescents (aged 15-19 years) reported receiving more items in the recommended minimum package than younger adolescents (aged 10-14 years; adjusted ß, 0.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], .12-.21; P < .001). Older adolescents were also more likely to report receiving HIV test education and promotion (42.7% vs 29.5%; adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 1.53; 95% CI, 1.16-2.02) and a condom demonstration with condoms to take home (16.8% vs 4.4%; aPR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.30-4.58). No significant age differences appeared in reports of explanations of VMMC risks and benefits or uptake of HIV testing. These self-reported findings were confirmed during counseling observations. Conclusions: Moving toward age-equitable HIV prevention services during adolescent VMMC likely requires standardizing counseling content, as there are significant age differences in HIV prevention content received by adolescents.

Adolescent Wound-Care Self-Efficacy and Practices After Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision-A Multicountry Assessment.

Background: Adolescent boys (aged 10-19 years) constitute the majority of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) clients in sub-Saharan Africa. They are at higher risk of postoperative infections compared to adults. We explored adolescents' wound-care knowledge, self-efficacy, and practices after VMMC to inform strategies for reducing the risks of infectious complications postoperatively. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected in South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe between June 2015 to September 2016. A postprocedure survey was conducted approximately 7-10 days after VMMC among male adolescents (n = 1293) who had completed a preprocedure survey; the postprocedure survey assessed knowledge of proper wound care and wound-care self-efficacy. We also conducted in-depth interviews (n = 92) with male adolescents 6-10 weeks after the VMMC procedure to further explore comprehension of providers' wound-care instructions as well as wound-care practices, and we held 24 focus group discussions with randomly selected parents/guardians of the adolescents. Results: Adolescent VMMC clients face multiple challenges with postcircumcision wound care owing to factors such as forgetting, misinterpreting, and disregarding provider instructions. Although younger adolescents stated that parental intervention helped them overcome potential hindrances to wound care, parents and guardians lacked crucial information on wound care because most had not attended counseling sessions. Some older adolescents reported ignoring symptoms of infection and not returning to the clinic for review when an adverse event had occurred. Conclusions: Increased involvement of parents/guardians in wound-care counseling for younger adolescents and in wound-care supervision, alongside the development of age-appropriate materials on wound care, are needed to minimize postoperative complications after VMMC.

Parental Communication, Engagement, and Support During the Adolescent Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Experience.

Background: Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is one of few opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa to engage male adolescents in the healthcare system. Limited data are available on the level of parental communication, engagement, and support adolescents receive during the VMMC experience. Methods: We conducted 24 focus group discussions with parents/guardians of adolescents (N = 192) who agreed to be circumcised or were recently circumcised in South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. In addition, male adolescents (N = 1293) in South Africa (n = 299), Tanzania (n = 498), and Zimbabwe (n = 496) were interviewed about their VMMC experience within 7-10 days postprocedure. We estimated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) using multivariable Poisson regression with generalized estimating equations and robust standard errors. Results: Parents/guardians noted challenges and gaps in communicating with their sons about VMMC, especially when they did not accompany them to the clinic. Adolescents aged 10-14 years were significantly more likely than 15- to 19-year-olds to report that their parent accompanied them to a preprocedure counseling session (56.5% vs 12.5%; P < .001). Among adolescents, younger age (aPR, 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], .76-.99) and rural setting (aPR, 0.34; 95% CI, .13-.89) were less likely to be associated with parental-adolescent communication barriers, while lower socioeconomic status (aPR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.00-1.87), being agnostic (or of a nondominant religion; aPR, 2.87; 95% CI, 2.21-3.72), and living in South Africa (aPR, 2.63; 95% CI, 1.29-4.73) were associated with greater perceived barriers to parental-adolescent communication about VMMC. Parents/guardians found it more difficult to be involved in wound care for older adolescents than for adolescents <15 years of age. Conclusions: Parents play a vital role in the VMMC experience, especially for younger male adolescents. Strategies are needed to inform parents completely throughout the VMMC adolescent experience, whether or not they accompany their sons to clinics.

Perceived Quality of In-Service Communication and Counseling Among Adolescents Undergoing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision.

Background: Experience with providers shapes the quality of adolescent health services, including voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). This study examined the perceived quality of in-service communication and counseling during adolescent VMMC services. Methods: A postprocedure quantitative survey measuring overall satisfaction, comfort, perceived quality of in-service communication and counseling, and perceived quality of facility-level factors was administered across 14 VMMC sites in South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Participants were adolescent male clients aged 10-14 years (n = 836) and 15-19 years (n = 457) and completed the survey 7 to 10 days following VMMC. Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) were estimated by multivariable modified Poisson regression with generalized estimating equations and robust variance estimation to account for site-level clustering. Results: Of 10- to 14-year-olds and 15- to 19-year-olds, 97.7% and 98.7%, respectively, reported they were either satisfied or very satisfied with their VMMC counseling experience. Most were also very likely or somewhat likely (93.6% of 10- to 14-year olds and 94.7% of 15- to 19-year olds) to recommend VMMC to their peers. On a 9-point scale, the median perceived quality of in-service (counselor) communication was 9 (interquartile range [IQR], 8-9) among 15- to 19-year-olds and 8 (IQR, 7-9) among 10- to 14-year-olds. The 10- to 14-year-olds were more likely than 15- to 19-year-olds to perceive a lower quality of in-service (counselor) communication (score <7; 21.5% vs. 8.2%; aPR, 1.61 [95% confidence interval, 1.33-1.95]). Most adolescents were more comfortable with a male rather than female counselor and provider. Adolescents of all ages wanted more discussion about pain, wound care, and healing time. Conclusions: Adolescents perceive the quality of in-service communication as high and recommend VMMC to their peers; however, many adolescents desire more discussion about key topics outlined in World Health Organization guidance.

Impact of Counseling Received by Adolescents Undergoing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision on Knowledge and Sexual Intentions.

Background: Little is known regarding the impact of counseling delivered during voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services on adolescents' human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) knowledge, VMMC knowledge, or post-VMMC preventive sexual intentions. This study assessed the effect of counseling on knowledge and intentions. Methods: Surveys were conducted with 1293 adolescent clients in 3 countries (South Africa, n = 299; Tanzania, n = 498; Zimbabwe, n = 496). Adolescents were assessed on HIV and VMMC knowledge-based items before receiving VMMC preprocedure counseling and at a follow-up survey approximately 10 days postprocedure. Sexually active adolescents were asked about their sexual intentions in the follow-up survey. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by modified Poisson regression models with generalized estimating equations and robust variance estimators. Results: Regarding post-VMMC HIV prevention knowledge, older adolescents were significantly more likely than younger adolescents to know that a male should use condoms (age 10-14 years, 41.1%; 15-19 years, 84.2%; aPR, 1.38 [95% CI, 1.19-1.60]), have fewer sex partners (age 10-14 years, 8.1%; age 15-19 years, 24.5%; aPR, 2.10 [95% CI, 1.30-3.39]), and be faithful to one partner (age 10-14 years, 5.7%; age 15-19 years, 23.2%; aPR, 2.79 [95% CI, 1.97-3.97]) to further protect himself from HIV. Older adolescents demonstrated greater improvement in knowledge in most categories, differences that were significant for questions regarding number of sex partners (aPR, 2.01 [95% CI, 1.18-3.44]) and faithfulness to one partner post-VMMC (aPR, 3.28 [95% CI, 2.22-4.86]). However, prevention knowledge levels overall and HIV risk reduction sexual intentions among sexually active adolescents were notably low, especially given that adolescents had been counseled only 7-10 days prior. Conclusions: Adolescent VMMC counseling needs to be improved to increase knowledge and postprocedure preventive sexual intentions.

Addressing Uptake of HIV Testing and Linkage to Care Among Men in Côte d'Ivoire: An Evaluation of the Brothers for Life Program Implementation.

BACKGROUND: Historically, men in sub-Saharan Africa have worse outcomes along the HIV care continuum than women. Brothers for Life (BFL) is a community-based behavior change intervention for men, adapted for Côte d'Ivoire, involving group discussions that address salient gender norms and promote HIV prevention, testing, and linkage to care with support from peer navigators. The goal of this study was to describe the BFL program as implemented in Côte d'Ivoire, evaluate program implementation, and report uptake of HIV testing and treatment among BFL participants. SETTING: Three urban and periurban sites in Côte d'Ivoire. METHODS: The implementation evaluation assessed the fidelity and acceptability of the BFL program and the reach of program completion, testing and peer navigation using qualitative and quantitative approaches. RESULTS: BFL facilitation fidelity and content fidelity were high. Semistructured interviews with BFL participants indicated that men appreciated the format and content and that the BFL program helped some participants overcome their fears and adopt more positive attitudes and behaviors around testing and treatment. Assessments of reach showed that, of the 7187 BFL participants, 81% tested for HIV as part of BFL and 2.3% (135) tested HIV-positive. Of those, 76% (102) accepted peer navigator support, and 97% (131) initiated treatment. After 6 months, 100% of the 131 men who initiated treatment remained in care. CONCLUSION: The implementation of BFL in Côte d'Ivoire successfully achieved the goals of engaging participants in discussions around HIV prevention, encouraging HIV testing, and achieving linkage to care, treatment initiation, and retention.

Bringing fear into focus: The intersections of HIV and masculine gender norms in Côte d'Ivoire.

This qualitative research study explored the role of masculinity in men's engagement in the HIV care continuum in Côte d'Ivoire. The researchers conducted 73 in-depth interviews and 28 focus group discussions with 227 Ivoirian men between November and December 2016 across three urban sites. Participants in the study expressed that fear was the primary barrier to HIV testing and treatment. These men described five value domains-health, sexuality, work and financial success, family, and social status. Men saw HIV as a direct threat to their agency and strength with respect to each of these value domains, thus shedding light on their reluctance to discover their HIV status through HIV testing. With this data, the researchers created the Masculine Values Framework, a descriptive framework of masculine values that can be applied to better understand the behavior men exhibit in Côte d'Ivoire in the face of HIV. The Masculine Values Framework offers practical guidance for developing gender-sensitive HIV-focused social and behavior change programming in Côte d'Ivoire and similar contexts to reach the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets.

Men's perceptions of HIV care engagement at the facility- and provider-levels: Experiences in Cote d'Ivoire.

Men in sub-Saharan Africa have lower rates of HIV testing and are less likely to initiate treatment compared to women. Service delivery dimensions are a key factor in facilitating engagement along the HIV treatment continuum for men and women, yet male specific overall perceptions of the service delivery environment have received little attention in West Africa. This study draws on qualitative data collected in Côte d'Ivoire to explore provider-level and structural factors affecting men's engagement in HIV testing and treatment through interviews and focus group discussions conducted with health workers and men living with HIV (some on ART) or whose HIV status was unknown. Factors influencing decisions to test or initiate treatment were considered in terms of perceived benefits and costs. Men described costs at the interpersonal (client-provider) level, such as unwanted disclosure or stigma, which were weighed against the potential for social support and clinical guidance. Likewise, fear of unwanted disclosure operated at the facility level, as the layout of facilities sometimes grouped clients living with HIV together. Notably, the benefits men described from engaging in HIV testing and care all operated at the interpersonal level and none at the facility level. In light of the fact that provider- and facility-level factors influenced the perceptions and experiences of men along the treatment continuum, we offer recommendations to reduce barriers to testing and engagement in care related to service delivery.

Voluntary medical male circumcision among adolescents: a missed opportunity for HIV behavioral interventions.

OBJECTIVE: Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is one of the first opportunities for adolescent males in African countries to interact with the healthcare system. This study explored the approaches used during adolescent VMMC counseling and whether these strategies maximize broader HIV prevention opportunities. METHODS: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 92 VMMC clients ages 10-19 years in South Africa (n = 36), Tanzania (n = 36), and Zimbabwe (n = 20) and 33 VMMC providers across the three countries. Discussions explored HIV prevention counseling, testing, and disclosure of results. Audio recordings were transcribed, translated into English, and coded thematically by two individuals. RESULTS: Male adolescents in all three countries reported that limited information was provided about HIV prevention and care, and adolescents were rarely provided condoms. Although VMMC protocols require opt-out HIV testing, adolescents recounted having blood taken without knowing the purpose, not receiving results, nor completely understanding the link between VMMC and HIV. Most males interviewed assumed they had tested negative because they were subsequently circumcised without knowing test results. Providers reported spending little time talking about HIV prevention, including condom use. They admitted that younger adolescent clients often receive little information if assumed they are not sexually active or too young to understand and instead discussed nonsexually transmitted routes of HIV. CONCLUSION: In the sites of the three countries studied, HIV prevention and care messages were inconsistent and sometimes totally absent from VMMC counseling sessions. VMMC appears to be a missed opportunity to engage in further HIV prevention and care with adolescents.

Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Implications for the Provision of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: Results of a Systematic Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is a critical HIV prevention tool. Since 2007, sub-Saharan African countries with the highest prevalence of HIV have been mobilizing resources to make VMMC available. While implementers initially targeted adult men, demand has been highest for boys under age 18. It is important to understand how male adolescents can best be served by quality VMMC services. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A systematic literature review was performed to synthesize the evidence on best practices in adolescent health service delivery specific to males in sub-Saharan Africa. PubMed, Scopus, and JSTOR databases were searched for literature published between January 1990 and March 2014. The review revealed a general absence of health services addressing the specific needs of male adolescents, resulting in knowledge gaps that could diminish the benefits of VMMC programming for this population. Articles focused specifically on VMMC contained little information on the adolescent subgroup. The review revealed barriers to and gaps in sexual and reproductive health and VMMC service provision to adolescents, including structural factors, imposed feelings of shame, endorsement of traditional gender roles, negative interactions with providers, violations of privacy, fear of pain associated with the VMMC procedure, and a desire for elements of traditional non-medical circumcision methods to be integrated into medical procedures. Factors linked to effective adolescent-focused services included the engagement of parents and the community, an adolescent-friendly service environment, and VMMC counseling messages sufficiently understood by young males. CONCLUSIONS: VMMC presents an opportune time for early involvement of male adolescents in HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health programming. However, more research is needed to determine how to align VMMC services with the unique needs of this population.

Toward a Systematic Approach to Generating Demand for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: Insights and Results From Field Studies.

By the end of 2014, an estimated 8.5 million men had undergone voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) for HIV prevention in 14 priority countries in eastern and southern Africa, representing more than 40% of the global target. However, demand, especially among men most at risk for HIV infection, remains a barrier to realizing the program's full scale and potential impact. We analyzed current demand generation interventions for VMMC by reviewing the available literature and reporting on field visits to programs in 7 priority countries. We present our findings and recommendations using a framework with 4 components: insight development; intervention design; implementation and coordination to achieve scale; and measurement, learning, and evaluation. Most program strategies lacked comprehensive insight development; formative research usually comprised general acceptability studies. Demand generation interventions varied across the countries, from advocacy with community leaders and community mobilization to use of interpersonal communication, mid- and mass media, and new technologies. Some shortcomings in intervention design included using general instead of tailored messaging, focusing solely on the HIV preventive benefits of VMMC, and rolling out individual interventions to address specific barriers rather than a holistic package. Interventions have often been scaled-up without first being evaluated for effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. We recommend national programs create coordinated demand generation interventions, based on insights from multiple disciplines, tailored to the needs and aspirations of defined subsets of the target population, rather than focused exclusively on HIV prevention goals. Programs should implement a comprehensive intervention package with multiple messages and channels, strengthened through continuous monitoring. These insights may be broadly applicable to other programs where voluntary behavior change is essential to achieving public health benefits.

What is health communication and how does it affect the HIV/AIDS continuum of care? A brief primer and case study from New York City.

This article responds to key questions related to health communication that are commonly asked in the HIV/AIDS arena: "What is health communication?"; "What is its role beyond HIV prevention?"; and "How can it be used to achieve better HIV/AIDS outcomes?" We review how communication scientists think about their own discipline and build on a basic definition of communication as a fundamental human process without which most individual, group, organizational, and societal activities could not happen, including how people think about and respond to health issues such as HIV and AIDS. Diverse factors and processes that drive human behavior are reviewed, including the concept of ideation (what people know, think, and feel about particular behaviors) and the influence of communication at multiple levels of a social ecological system. Four main functions of communication-information seeking and delivery, persuasion, social connection and structural/cultural expression and maintenance-are linked to a modified version of the Department of Health and Human Services Continuum of Care and are used to conceptualize ways in which communication can achieve better HIV/AIDS outcomes. The article provides examples of how communication complements other types of interventions across the HIV/AIDS continuum of care and has effects on HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, social norms, risk perceptions, service delivery quality, and behavioral decisions that affect if and when the virus is transmitted, when and where testing and care are sought, and how well adherence to antiretroviral therapy is maintained. We illustrate this approach with a case study of HIV/AIDS communication conducted by the New York City Health Department during 2005-2013.

Lessons learned from scale-up of voluntary medical male circumcision focusing on adolescents: benefits, challenges, and potential opportunities for linkages with adolescent HIV, sexual, and reproductive health services.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: By December 2013, it was estimated that close to 6 million men had been circumcised in the 14 priority countries for scaling up voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC), the majority being adolescents (10-19 years). This article discusses why efforts to scale up VMMC should prioritize adolescent men, drawing from new evidence and experiences at the international, country, and service delivery levels. Furthermore, we review the extent to which VMMC programs have reached adolescents, addressed their specific needs, and can be linked to their sexual and reproductive health and other key services. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In priority countries, adolescents represent 34%-55% of the target population to be circumcised, whereas program data from these countries show that adolescents represent between 35% and 74% of the circumcised men. VMMC for adolescents has several advantages: uptake of services among adolescents is culturally and socially more acceptable than for adults; there are fewer barriers regarding sexual abstinence during healing or female partner pressures; VMMC performed before the age of sexual debut has maximum long-term impact on reducing HIV risk at the individual level and consequently reduces the risk of transmission in the population. Offered as a comprehensive package, adolescent VMMC can potentially increase public health benefits and offers opportunities for addressing gender norms. Additional research is needed to assess whether current VMMC services address the specific needs of adolescent clients, to test adapted tools, and to assess linkages between VMMC and other adolescent-focused HIV, health, and social services.