BMC international health and human rights
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BMC Int Health Hum Rights · Apr 2017
Prevalence of, and barriers to the disclosure of HIV status to infected children and adolescents in a district of Ghana.
Globally there are about 3.3million children under the age of 15 years living with HIV. Of this number, 88% live in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, an estimated 33,000 children were said to be living with the HIV infection in 2012. Lack of disclosure adversely affects the well-being of the child, including access to paediatric HIV treatment and care and adherence to treatment. However, the greatest psychosocial challenges that parents and caregivers of HIV-infected children face is disclosure of HIV status to their infected children. This study sought to determine the prevalence of and the barriers to the disclosure of HIV status to infected children and adolescents in Lower Manya-Krobo District in Ghana. ⋯ There is the need for the Ghana Health Service in conjunction with the Ghana Aids Commission and the National Aids Control Programme to develop comprehensive context-based disclosure guidelines.