Prevalence, perceptions, and correlates of pediatric HIV disclosure in an HIV treatment program in Kenya.

Disclosure to HIV-infected children regarding their diagnosis is important as expanding numbers of HIV-infected children attain adolescence and may become sexually active. In order to define correlates of pediatric disclosure and facilitate development of models for disclosure, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of primary caregivers of HIV-1 infected children aged 6–16 years attending a pediatric HIV treatment program in Nairobi, Kenya. We conducted focus group discussions with a subset of caregivers to further refine perceptions of disclosure. Among 271 caregiver/child dyads in the cross-sectional survey, median child age was 9 years (interquartile range: 7–12 years). Although 79% of caregivers believed children should know their HIV status, the prevalence of disclosure to the child was only 19%. Disclosure had been done primarily by health workers (52%) and caregivers (33%). Caregivers reported that 5 of the 52 (10%) who knew their status were accidentally disclosed to. Caregivers of older children ...