Abstract
This study assessed the practices and challenges of the health care professionals (HCPs) and care givers in relation to HIV status disclosure to minors attending clinic at Longisa County Referral Hospital (LCRH) in Bomet County, Kenya. It was conducted between April 2017 and October 2017. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was employed with census sampling method used for the HCPs and purposive sampling for care givers. A total of 18 HCPs and 140 care givers participated in the study. The study revealed that most of the minors (62.35%) at LCRH had been informed of their HIV status. Some of the factors identified to facilitate disclosure included minor inquisitiveness, child being sickly, child nearing puberty, suspicion that the child was sexually active. While those hindering included: fear of child’s reaction, stigma, and lack of knowledge by care givers, culture, and child being young among others. The HCPs reported facing challenges of: lack of cooperation from care givers, stigma associated with HIV, cultural beliefs that hinder disclosure, lack of clear guidelines on disclosure and lack of formal training on disclosure. While care givers reported: fears of how the child will react, not knowing how to disclose, not knowing the exact words to use, minimal support from HCPs and discouragement from family members and friends. The study recommended sensitization of the community and enhanced educational programs to address stigma, and enhanced support group activities to facilitate disclosure, as well as the institution to organize for formal training for staff on disclosure counseling.
Users
Please
log in to take part in the discussion (add own reviews or comments).