Gasasira et al. BMC Public Health 2012, 12:134 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/134 Table 1 Socio demographic characteristics of the study participants by Province of Rwanda, 2010 (N = 1096) City of Kigali n = 99 (%) Southern n = 290 (%) Northern n = 212 (%) Eastern n = 199 (%) Total n = 1094 (%) n = 101 (%) n = 290 (%) n = 293 (%) n = 212 (%) n = 199 (%) n = 1095 (%) Socio demographic characters Age group ≤ 19 20-29 30-39 40+ Religion Catholic Protestant Adventist Muslim Other Education Attended school Never attended school Level of education Never attended school Primary school Vocational school Secondary school University Marital Status Married Cohabitation Singles/living alone Province Western n = 294 (%) 57 (19) 83 (28) 71 (24) 83 (28) 99 (34) 139 (47) 46 (16) 2 (0.7) 7 (2) 39 (13) 206 (81) 12 (5) 33 (13) 4 (2) 151 (51) 32 (11) 111 (38) n = 294 (%) 255 (87) 39 (13) n = 294 (%) 7 (7) 21 (21) 41 (41) 30 (30) 36 (36) 39 (39) 10 (10) 13 (13) 3 (3) 92 (91) 9 (9) 9 (9) 45 (49) 11 (12) 25 (27) 11 (12) 37 (37) 22 (22) 42 (42) n = 101 (%) n = 101 (%) 21 (7.) 87 (30) 82 (28) 100 (34) 170 (59) 89 (31) 27 (9) 2 (0.7) 2 (0.7) 63 (22) 194 (86) 9 (4) 24 (11) 0 (0.0) 162 (56) 55 (19) 73 (25) n = 290 (%) 227 (78) 63 (22) n = 290 (%) 34 (16) 63 (30) 51 (24) 64 (30) 137 (65) 57 (27) 10 (5) 6 (3) 2 (0.9) 38 (18) 154 (89) 4 (2) 15 (9) 1 (0.6) 103 (49) 34 (16) 75 (35) n = 212 (%) 174 (82) 38 (18) n = 212 (%) 27 (14) 59 (30) 43 (22) 70 (35) 97 (49) 73 (37) 20 (10) 8 (4) 1 (0.5) n = 199 (%) 170 (85) 29 (15) n = 199 (%) 29 (15) 135 (79) 4 (2) 25 (15) 6 (4) 88 (44) 51 (26) 60 (30) Page 4 of 8 146 (14) 313 (29) 288 (26) 347 (32) 539 (49) 397 (36) 113 (10) 31 (3) 15 (1) 918 (84) 178 (16) 178 (16) 734 (80) 40 (4) 122 (13) 22 (2) 541 (49) 194 (18) 361 (33) n = 1096 (%) n = 1096 (%) n = 101 (%) n = 290 (%) n = 294 (%) n = 212 (%) n = 199 (%) n = 1096 (%) Mean age was 33.6 years [standard deviation (sd) = .12 years]. Most (96%) respondents were Christians (49% Catholic; 36% Protestant; and 10% Adventist) followed by Muslim (2%). The majority (84%) of respondents had ever attended school and this proportion was higher in the City of Kigali (91%) (Table 1). percent of the men who attended school were circum- cised while only 9% of the men who never attended school were found to be circumcised. Prevalence of circumcision was found to be higher in men who attended universities and secondary schools with 82% and 41% respectively. Single or living alone men were more circumcised (23%) compared to married men (15%). Within provinces, there are disparities among districts. Rusizi had the highest prevalence of male cir- cumcision (71%) followed by the three districts of Kigali city: Kicukiro (56%), Gasabo (56%) and Nyaru- genge (49%). None interviewed in the districts of Nya- bihu (West), Kayonza (East) and Kamonyi (South) were circumcised. Knowledge/awareness of Male circumcision In general, circumcision was well known among men who participated in the study, 72% of the respondents correctly defined circumcision as ‘removal of the entire foreskin’. While all Muslims participating in the study (n = 31) defined MC correctly, 52% of them defined it as partial removal of the foreskin. Among non Muslims, 31% (n = 535) of Catholics were not able to define MC. Thirty seven percent of adolescents (≤ 19 years) could not define correctly MC. Perception /Attitudes of uncircumcised men (UCM) towards circumcision Half of the interviewed UCM were willing to get circum- cised, with the highest demand from Eastern province (62%). The main motivators for MC among UCM were its benefits for preventing sexually transmitted Infections (STI) including HIV (69%) and improving hygiene (49%). Amongst the men belonging to the age group 20-29 years, 74% (n = 312) mentioned STI/HIV prevention as the main reason for MC. The predominant reason for not to be cir- cumcised was being too old (32%). Forty-eight men (11%) mentioned that circumcision was not needed because they were not sexually promiscuous. While the men belonging to the age groups above 29 years mostly did not want to be circumcised because of older age, younger were afraid of pain, particularly those less than 19 years old (42%).