Level and Perception of HIV Sero-Status Disclosure Among People Living with HIV in Mombasa County

Abstract

Kenya is one of the countries in the sub Saharan Africa which has been worst hit by the HIV and AIDS epidermic.  The government and the Non Gorvernmental Organizations have put in a lot of resources to  contain  andcontrol  the  spread  of  the  disease.The  war  on  the  spread  of  HIV  and  AIDS  may  not  be won  if  disclosure  of  status  to  partnrers  is  not  encouraged. The  objective  of  this  study  was  to determinethe  level  of  HIV  sero –status  disclosureandperceptions.  The  research  used  across-sectional study design approach. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. A sample size of  432  was selected  for  the  studyfrom  15,600  patients  enrolled at  the  Mombasa County Reffereal Hospital. Simple random sampling was used to recruit the subjects  into the study via administration of papers labeled and folded, where those who pickedyes were enrolled into the study. The subjects recruited   were   taken   through   the   research   purpose,   objective,   rights,   risks,   benefits   and confidentiality  before  consenting.  Structured  questionnaires,  in-depth  interviews  and  focused  group discussion tools were used to collect data. The results showed that out of 432 participants recruited in the study 40.3% were males and 59.7% werefemales.32.9% were married. The overall disclosure rate among  People Living  with HIV  was  79.2%. Chi  square  test  of  homogeneity  was  used  to  determine  if there is significant variation in disclosure levels among various categorical groups. Results show that there  was  significant  variation  in  proportion  of  those  who  disclose  among  gender,  age  groups, occupation and marital status. Qualitative findings on disclosure perceptions showedthat 42.78%feltgood, 32.97% had low self esteem, 17.3% had quilt and 6.22%wereashamed. Interventions that target HIV  counseling  and  testing  as  well  community  perception  on  HIV  disclosure  should  be  empowered. The  results  of  this  study  will  help  PLHIV  and  those  not  infected  to  seek  HIV  test  and  disclose  their status in order to reduce risk of HIV transmission