Prevalence, Patterns and Predictors of Status Disclosure amongst HIV Clients Accessing Care in a Tertiary Health Facility in Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Mankind has been battling the AIDS pandemic since its advent in the eighties. So far, diverse measures have been taken and strategies formulated to combat the disease one of which is geared towards establishing barriers to its spread. HIV status disclosure as a preventive tool amidst other strategies is key to achieving the end AIDS goal by 2030. The study aims to determine the prevalence, patterns and factors associated with HIV disclosure among HIV clients accessing care in the ART clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. Methods: A cross sectional analytical survey was conducted among 260 HIV seropositive clients using interviewer administered questionnaires. Simple random sampling was carried out.  Ethical issues were considered. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS and summarized using proportion, percentages and mean. Pearson Chi-square test was used for associations at significant level of p ≤ 0.05. Results: All participants chosen for the study responded (100%). The survey revealed that; 96.5% of the respondents had disclosed their status to someone, 82.7% to their relative/friend. For clients who had spouse/partner, 91.4% have informed them. Majority had disclosed to more than one person (74.6%). There was a relationship between gender (p = 0.031), length of on treatment (p = 0.009), parity status (p = 0.049), think it is important to disclose (p = 0.000) and years of diagnosis (p = 0.003) with disclosure status. Conclusion: Prevalence of disclosure was high.  Characteristics of participants were associated with status disclosure. HIV disclosure though good but need to be sustained or improved as it is key to HIV control.