Abstract:
Background: Men who have sex with men have been disproportionately affected with HIV and
anal intercourse carrying more risk of HIV than vaginal intercourse for receptors, which coupled
with other factors such as not using proper lubricants and condom. Even most of them did not
well understood HIV transmission risk of anal intercourse.
Objective: to explore anal intercourse experience and HIV transmission risk awareness of men
who have experienced sex with men in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, 2016.
Method: A qualitative study design with thematic analysis approach was used. The study
participant men who had sex with men recruited using respondent driven sampling method.
Sample sizes were attained with saturation of ideas from 15 men who had sex with men.
Interviews were carried out with Amharic and were tape recorded. Data analysis was done
concomitantly with data collection. A tape recorded data was transcribed and translated to
English and then entered into open code software version 3.4 for coding and theme
identification. Major themes were identified for final analysis.
Result: Men who had had sex with men engaged in anal intercourse for financial reasons, to
satisfying sexual pleasure, because of their socioeconomic vulnerability and without their will.
Moreover engaging for better sexual pleasure, inaccessibility of condom and thinking as condom
is not necessary among men who have sex with men were the reasons for engaging in
unprotected anal intercourse. On the other hand not knowing about lubricants was one of the
reasons for not using lubricants by men who have sex with men. Exacerbated risk of anal
intercourse for HIV transmission not understood by half men who had sex with men. Poor health
service utilization and provision about anal intercourse may be the root cause for not applying
condom use behaviors and low awareness of HIV transmission risk through anal intercourse
among them.
Conclusion and recommendation: men who have sex with men engaged in risky anal intercourse
and have poor awareness as HIV transmits through anal intercourse. All stakeholders including
the ministry of health need to incorporate potential HIV transmission risk awareness for men
who had sex with men practice anal intercourse.
