Abstract
Aims: To determine the rate of HIV status disclosure, caregivers’ reasons for non-disclosure, and factors influencing disclosure among a sample of HIV-infected children in Enugu, southeast Nigeria. Methods: Data were collected prospectively via a questionnaire on HIV-infected children and their caregivers who visited the pediatric HIV clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013. The data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 19 software. Results: Caregivers of 107 children (age 5–16 years; mean 10.1 ± 3.2 years) were enrolled in the study. There were 53 (49.5%) boys and 54 (50.5%) girls. HIV status had been disclosed to 31 (29%) of them. The major reason for non-disclosure was the child being considered too young. Age (p < .001), age at HIV diagnosis (p < .001) and baseline CD4 count (p = .008) were seen as significant predictors of HIV disclosure. Conclusions: There is a low rate of HIV disclosure to infected children, and it was found to be lower for younger children. We recommend improving efforts for disclosure counseling to caregivers in pediatric HIV clinics.
Highlights
Most pediatric HIV infections occur perinatally; the infected child is obviously unaware of his or her HIV status
The subject area was Enugu, southeast Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study of HIV-infected children aged 5 – 16 years, conducted at the pediatric HIV clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu, southeast Nigeria
A total of 107 HIV-infected children were enrolled in the study
Summary
Most pediatric HIV infections occur perinatally; the infected child is obviously unaware of his or her HIV status. Disclosure of HIV serostatus occurs, when the child is informed of his or her infection. One aspect of pediatric HIV disclosure refers to revealing HIV status to an infected child (Kallem, Renner, Ghebremichael & Paintsil 2011), rather than this being a one-time event, it is often a gradual process (Obermeyer, Baijal & Pegurri 2011). Other typical attributes of disclosure include ongoing discussion of health and health-related issues, starting the process early and using simple explanations of HIV disease for younger children, and in the case of older children educating about the virus’ nature and consequences (FMoH 2010)
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