Abstract:

Introduction: Only 48% of women living with HIV are receiving ART, leaving a gap of 10,591 women yet to be initiated to ART (Spectrum, 2022). The gap between women yet to be initiated to ART treatment is twice that of men. Assisting women to disclose their HIV status will contribute positively to bridging this gap, as some women refuse to take treatment because they are not willing to disclose their status for reasons like fear of isolation, stigmatization, separation, and intimate partner violence. Objective: The main aim of this study is to determine the patterns and predictors of HIV status disclosure by women to their sexual partners. Method: This study employed a mixed approach. A total of 248 women who began ART treatment between June 2020 and May 2023 were randomly selected. Face-to-face interviews utilized a questionnaire comprising 7 closed-ended questions and 3 open-ended questions. The collected data was organized in a designated spreadsheet, where it was cleaned, cross-verified, and coded before being transferred to the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 29 for storage and descriptive analysis. Conclusion: The prevalence of HIV disclosure to partners was 48.8%. Disclosure was higher among older respondents and in the educated than among those who could not read or write. HIV disclosure was also higher in the illiterate respondents involved in polygamous relationships. Women who were diagnosed at the PMTCT services disclosed more (60%) than those tested during sickness (53%) and those who tested through VCT (42%).

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