PEDIATRIC HIV DISCLOSURE STATUS AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS IN PEDIATRIC ART CLINICS OF GONDAR TOWN PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITIES, NORTH WEST ETHIOPIA, MIXED METHOD.

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Pediatric HIV positive status disclosure is an essential component of pediatric care and long-term disease management. However, Pediatric HIV disclosure is complex and varies in different communities. Objective: To assess the prevalence of pediatric HIV disclosure status and associated factors among care givers at pediatric ART clinics in Gondar town Public health facilities, North West Ethiopia, 2019. Methods: A facility based, Concurrent nested mixed method, cross sectional study was conducted. Structured questionnaire and in-depth interview guide were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The final sample size was 400 and 19 for quantitative and qualitative respectively. Simple random sampling & purposive sampling were applied for Quantitative & qualitative parts respectively. Content/Thematic/ analysis for qualitative and Binary logistic regression was used for Quantitative one. Model fitness was checked. Result: A total of 400 care givers with children of aged 6-18 years children were participated in the study. About two third 262 (65.5%) of children were disclosed their HIV positive status. Age of the child (AOR=8.05(3.98-16.27)),Age of the care giver (AOR= 1.92(1.07-3.42)),Duration on ART(AOR=3.24(1.66-6.32),death of family(AOR=1.99(1.01-3.92),Training(AOR=4.02(1.83-8.36)) and responsible person for medication of the child (AOR=2.87(1.43-5.76)) had significant association to HIV disclosure. participants expressed the view that if children were given adequate information about having HIV, they would not only adhere to medication, they would also play an active part in the management of their own conditions. Conclusion & Recommendation: The prevalence of disclosure in this study was found to be relatively high. Age of the child, age of the care giver, duration on ART, death of family, training and responsible person for the child’s medication were factors that increase the odds of Child HIV disclosure status. Thus, we recommend the establishment of effective strategies to promote disclosure in health facilities. Key words: - HIV, Children, Disclosure, Mixed Method, Ethiopia