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. 2018 Aug 18;18(1):272.
doi: 10.1186/s12887-018-1252-2.

Disclosure to HIV-seropositive children in rural Zambia

Shinya Tsuzuki  1 , Naoko Ishikawa  2 , Hideki Miyamoto  2 , Christopher Dube  3   4 , Nangana Kayama  3   4 , Janet Watala  3   4 , Albert Mwango  4   5
Affiliations

Disclosure to HIV-seropositive children in rural Zambia

Shinya Tsuzuki et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Care of children living with HIV comprises various issues, some considered challenging. One of the challenging areas is the serostatus disclosure to HIV-positive children. This study describes the current situation of HIV disclosure among rural children in Zambia and examines the socio-demographic factors promoting disclosure.

Methods: We used a mixed method approach applying both quantitative and qualitative methods to obtain comprehensive picture of HIV serostatus disclosure for children. Data were collected in Mumbwa district, Zambia (2010-2012), included 57 clinical records of children older than 5 years old. We examined children's age, gender, and cohabitation status with their parents, caregivers' level of education and income, and the relation between children and caregivers. Logistic regression model was applied to examine associations between disclosure and socio-demographic characteristics. Semi-structured interviews with 50 caregivers and 22 HIV-positive children were conducted to qualitatively investigate attitude towards disclosure and support needed.

Results: Full disclosure was completed in 17 out of 57 (29.8%) patients. Median ages of patients in disclosed group and non-disclosed group were 10 and 9, respectively (IQR 8.0-13.0, 7.0-11.25). In univariate analyses, older age and male gender has positive relation to the completion of serostatus disclosure. In logistic regression models, cohabitation status with patients' mothers showed positive correlation to the completion of serostatus disclosure. In the interviews with caregivers, all caregivers said that disclosure of serostatus is a necessary process and good for their children, while actual serostatus disclosure rate was low.

Conclusion: Serostatus disclosure to HIV-seropositive children is not prevalent in Rural Zambia. Although further researches would be desirable, increased support to caregivers would be beneficial.

Keywords: Children; Disclosure; HIV; Zambia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approvals were obtained from the University of Zambia and National Center for Global Health and Medicine. Participation to the study was voluntary and written informed consent was obtained from the caregivers and assent was obtained from the children.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
HIV-positive children’s perceptions of “healthy” and “unhealthy” persons, Mumbwa district, Zambia, 2012
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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