Factors Affecting Health System’s Support for HIV Status Disclosure of Clients in Health Facilities of Bundibugyo District

Abstract

MUHINDO ZUURA (2012-M121-10019) Factors Affecting Health System’s Support for HIV Status Disclosure of Clients in Health Facilities of Bundibugyo District Background: disclosure of HIV positive status is an important goal for prevention of HIV/AIDS. People living with the disease are faced with a difficulty in deciding with whom, when and how to disclose their HIV status. Reports of non-disclosure and consequences of disclosure are common. Understanding the health system in place to support HIV status disclosure, demands investigation. Main objective: the study then focused on factors affecting health system’s support for HIV status disclosure of people living with HIV/AIDS so as to establish functional health system support mechanisms to enable clients disclose their HIV positive results with ease. Methodology: a descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in 10 health facilities which offer comprehensive HIV/AIDS care in Bundibugyo district. Data were collected from 317 clients, 55 health workers and 10 health managers. By use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), frequency percentages were computed for uni-variate data analysis and odds ratios were computed for multivariate data analysis. Results: overall 94.90% of clients on ART disclosed their HIV status. Majority of the clients (99.50%) had disclosed to their friends. The main reasons for non-disclosure among the clients were; lack of confidentiality among people, fear of discrimination (stigma) in the community, worries of not getting a future partner and financial support. Conclusion: the health system supported clients to disclose their HIV status. Disclosure rate among clients on ART was high but most clients have reported to their friends more than anyone else indicating that clients still experience difficulties in equally revealing their HIV status to spouses, relatives and community members. Recommendation: effectively addressing issues on disclosure was recommended. Formulation of policies and strengthening the capacity of the health system (increase human resource, planning, monitoring and supervision) is of great importance to enhance disclosure. Key Words: Factors, Affecting, Health System’s Support, HIV Status, Disclosure, Clients, Bundibugyo District