Abstract
Disclosure of HIV serostatus to sexual partners supports risk reduction and facilitates access to prevention and care services for people living with HIV/AIDS. To assess health and social predictors of disclosure as well as to explore and describe the process, experiences and outcomes related to disclosure of HIV-infected men and women in Eastern Uganda, we conducted a study among HIV-infected men and women who were clients of The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) in Jinja, Uganda. We enrolled TASO clients in a cross-sectional study on transmission risk behavior. Demographic and behavioral data and CD4 cell count measurements were collected. Among 1,092 participants, 42% were currently sexually active and 69% had disclosed their HIV serostatus to their most recent sexual partner. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that disclosure of HIV-status was associated with being married, having attended TASO for more than 2 years, increased condom use, and knowledge of partner’s serostatus. From these clients, 45 men and women were purposefully selected and interviewed in-depth on disclosure issues. Positive outcomes included risk reduction behavior, partner testing, increased care-seeking behavior, anxiety relief, increased sexual communication, and motivation to plan for the future.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to clients and staff of TASO Jinja, the Prevention with Positives team and to Drs. Daniel Perlman, Lisa Butler and Jaco Homsy for insightful comments on the manuscript. Source of support: Funding provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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King, R., Katuntu, D., Lifshay, J. et al. Processes and Outcomes of HIV Serostatus Disclosure to Sexual Partners among People Living with HIV in Uganda. AIDS Behav 12, 232–243 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-007-9307-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-007-9307-7