Tshisuyi, Emmanuel Tshibanda (2014-04)
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Disclosure of HIV status can be an important step as far as HIV prevention and subsequent treatment and care among discordant couples are concerned, also for the prevention of mother to child transmission, family or partner support, and treatment adherence. The purpose of this study was to determine factors affecting disclosure of HIV positive status among pregnant women to their sexual partners in a rural district of Botswana.
A cross sectional quantitative survey was employed. Structured interviews were conducted with 39 randomly selected HIV-positive respondents at seven sexual and reproductive health clinics in the district.
A significant association was found between the knowledge of HIV status of the partner and disclosure to that partner [Χ2 (1) = 16.89; p < 0.001]. That is, respondents were less likely to disclose their HIV-status to their partner if they did not know the partner’s HIV status compared to knowing that partner’s status. Factors such as age, education status, employment status, income, religion, marital status were not found to be significantly associated with disclosure. Factors that respondents thought influenced people to reveal their HIV positive status to a partner were fear of blame (65.0%), casual relationships (52.0%) and fear of abuse (50.0%).
Based on the overall findings presented, it is concluded that no single factor as mentioned above could be necessarily said to influence disclosure of HIV status to a sexual partner, but rather possibly a combination of such factors. Recommendations based on the findings in this study included the promotion of couples counselling to reduce the barriers to disclosure and increase the awareness of the partner’s status; and the establishment of support groups in the community to address issues around the fear of stigmatization contributing to non-disclosure.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die bekendmaking van MIV-status kan ’n belangrike stap wees ten opsigte van MIV-voorkoming en die verdere behandeling en sorg onder paartjies met verskillende status, ook vir die voorkoming van moeder-tot-kind-oordrag, ondersteuning van familie of lewensmaats en die nougesette gebruik van behandeling. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die faktore te bepaal wat die bekendmaking van MIV-positiewe status van swanger vroue aan hul seksmaats affekteer in ’n landelike distrik van Botswana.
’n Deursnee- kwantitatiewe opname is gebruik. Gestruktureerde onderhoude is met 39 ewekansig gekose MIV-positiewe respondente by sewe klinieke vir seksuele en voortplantingsgesondheid in die distrik gevoer.
Daar is ’n betekenisvolle verband gevind tussen die kennis van die MIV-status van die lewensmaat en die bekendmaking aan daardie maat [Χ2 (1) = 16.89; p < 0.001]. Dit beteken dat respondente minder waarskynlik hul MIV-status aan hul maat bekend sou maak as hulle nie geweet het wat die maat se MIV-status was nie in vergelyking met as die maat se status wel aan hulle bekend was. Daar is bevind dat faktore soos ouderdom, opvoedingsvlak, werkstatus, inkomste, geloof en huwelikstaat nie beduidend met bekendmaking geassosieer is nie. Respondente het gedink dat faktore soos vrees vir verwyte (65.0%), oppervlakkige, toevallige verhoudings (52.0%) en vrees vir mishandeling (50.0%) mense beïnvloed het om hul MIV-positiewe status aan lewensmaats bekend te maak.
Op grond van die algemene bevindings wat aangebied is, word bevind dat geen enkele van die bogenoemde faktore noodwendig die bekendmaking van MIV-status aan ’n seksmaat sou beïnvloed nie, maar dat ’n kombinasie van sodanige faktore dit eerder moontlik kon doen. Aanbevelings op grond van die bevindings van hierdie studie behels onder andere die bevordering van voorligting aan paartjies om die versperrings tot bekendmaking af te breek en bewustheid van die maat se status te verskerp, asook die vestiging van ondersteuningsgroepe in die gemeenskap om aandag te gee aan kwessies rondom die vrees vir stigmatisering, wat tot nie-bekendmaking bydra.
Please refer to this item in SUNScholar by using the following persistent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/86431