Disclosure of HIV Status among Clients Accessing Care at A Tertiary Health Facility in Sagamu, Southwestern Nigeria

摘要

HIV/AIDS remains an important health and development issue in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria inclusive. A major driver of its spread is the secrecy, associated with a positive test result. We therefore assessed the pattern of HIV status disclosure among people living with HIV attending care and treatment centre at a tertiary health facility in Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out among adult clients at the Anti-Retroviral Treatment and Care centre, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. Data was collected with the aid of semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaires. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 18. Relevant descriptive statistics were calculated and presented as frequencies and proportions. Participants' informed consent was obtained prior to commencement of the study. A total of 500 PLWHA were recruited into the study. The mean age of respondents was 32±5.5 years. Males were 355 (71%) of respondents, while females were 145 (29%); 73.7% were married and 48.1% were traders. Disclosure rate among respondents was 76%; of these 51.3% disclosed their HIV status to sexual partners. Some reasons for non-disclosure included: fear of discrimination and stigmatization; fear of divorce; domestic violence and perception of HIV infectivity. Disclosure was high among respondents. Counselling and support of clients should be sought by healthcare providers, in order to improve the rate and promptness of status disclosure among people living with HIV.