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Melash Belachew Asresie,1 Daniel Tarekegn Worede2 1Department of Reproductive Health and Population Studies, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 2Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Melash Belachew Asresie, Tel +251920774471, Email kalleab1@gmail.comBackground: Risky sexual behavior is defined as engaging in sexual activities that increase the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies, both of which are global public health issues, particularly in low and middle-income countries like Ethiopia. Hence, this study aimed to identify factors associated with risky sexual behaviors among sexually active men in Ethiopia.Methods: We analyzed data on 8, 103 men aged 15– 59 years obtained from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the factors associated with risky sexual behavior. Statistical significance was defined at a 95% confidence interval (CI) with a p-value less than 0.05.Results: Overall, 13.6% (95% CI: 12.8– 14.3) of men were engaged in risky sexual behavior. Men who were married (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=0.02, 95% CI: 0.01– 0.03) and residing in agrarian-dominated regions (AOR=0.58, 95% CI: 0.44– 0.76) were less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior. On the other hand, men who had alcohol-drinking habits (AOR=1.50, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.99), and initiated sexual activity before the age of 18 (AOR=1.58, 95% CI: 1.26– 1.99), those with primary education (AOR=1.32, 95% CI: 1.01– 1.72) or secondary education (AOR=1.65, 95% CI: 1.20– 2.26), and those who were Muslim (AOR=1.84, 95% CI: 1.32– 2.60) or other religion followers (AOR=2.00, 95% CI: 1.44– 2.76) were more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.Conclusion: Risky sexual behavior was significantly associated with marital status, geographic location, alcohol consumption, age of first sexual experience, religion, and educational level, which highlights the importance of encouraging men to avoid early sexual activities and to abstain from consuming alcohol. Moreover, a greater emphasis should be placed on initiatives that promote safer sexual behaviors, particularly targeting men living in pastoral regions, unmarried individuals, and Muslim religious followers.Keywords: sexual behavior, men, associated factors, Ethiopia, EDHS

Melash Belachew Asresie,1,* Getasew Tadesse Worku,2,* Yibeltal Alemu Bekele1,* 1Department of Reproductive Health and Population Studies, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 2Department of Health Economics and Health Service Management, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Melash Belachew Asresie, P.box:79, Tel +251920774471, Email kalleab1@gmail.comBackground: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing coverage among men remains low in Ethiopia; the problem of limited HIV testing coverage is worst in rural areas. Therefore, this study aims to identify factors associated with HIV testing uptake among rural men in Ethiopia.Methods: Data from 10,187 rural men was extracted from the 2016 Ethiopian Demography and Health Survey. All analyses were performed using the complex sample analysis procedure to account for the multistage sampling. Bivariable and multivariable regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with HIV testing uptake. Statistical significance was defined as a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) with a p-value of less than 0.05.Results: Overall, only 40.3% of rural men have ever been tested for HIV. Being aged 31– 44 years (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) =1.12, 95% CI [1.01– 1.42]), living in developed regions (AOR=1.43, 95% CI [1.09– 1.88]), engaging in non-agricultural activities (AOR = 1.27, 95% CI [1.05– 1.52]), being Muslim (AOR = 2.07; 95% CI [1.67– 2.67]), having comprehensive knowledge about HIV (AOR =1.31, 95% CI [1.12– 1.54]), being from a medium (AOR = 0.56, 95% CI [0.47– 0.93]) and rich (AOR = 0.80, 95% CI [0.56– 0.80]) households, attending primary (AOR = 0.21, 95% CI [0.16– 0.28]) and secondary (AOR = 0.35, 95% CI [0.25– 0.35]) school, having their first sexual experience at the age of 17 or younger (AOR = 0.26, 95% CI [0.19– 0.93]), having discriminatory attitudes towards HIV patients (AOR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.47– 0.93) and having no health insurance coverage (AOR = 0.54, 95% CI [0.42– 0.69]) were significantly associated with HIV testing uptake.Conclusion: HIV testing uptake among rural men was low. Strengthening awareness programmes on HIV and HIV testing, integrating HIV testing with all other healthcare, strengthening partner accompany and HIV testing during pregnancy and delivery, and providing home-based HIV testing may increase HIV testing uptake.Keywords: HIV, testing, rural, men, determinants, Ethiopia