Ashenafi Kebede Debela
Addis Ababa University School of Medicine, Ethiopia
Title: Assessment of magnitude and factors affecting caregivers disclosure of HIV diagnosis to their HIV-infected children in Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2015
Biography
Biography: Ashenafi Kebede Debela
Abstract
Most studies conducted on HIV disclosure to infected children report on the challenges experienced by care givers to disclose HIV status to their HIV infected children. Objective of this study was to assess magnitude and factors affecting care givers’ disclosure of HIV diagnosis to their HIV infected children in Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A facility based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2015 - June 2015 among 239 primary care givers of HIV infected children aged 6- 18 years in Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In this study, 25.9% of HIV-positive children were disclosed their HIV-positive status. The lower prevalence of disclosure in this study might be due to fear of stigma and discrimination by the family members, neighbors and friends. There is a need for the development of new appropriate disclosure guidelines and modules for health care providers and parents/caregivers as there was a low rate of disclosure; moreover, parent/caregivers expressed the need for assistance from the health care providers for future disclosures. Such guidelines should particularly focus on how to disclose the diagnosis of HIV to the infected children.