Health care workers’ perspectives about disclosure to HIV-infected children; cross-sectional survey of health facilities in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa
The perspectives and practices of health care workers (HCWs) regarding disclosure to HIV-infected children have not been adequately investigated ten years after the roll-out of pediatrics antiretroviral therapy (ART). The aim of the study was to examine the opinions of HCWs about disclosure to HIV-i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2015-04-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/893.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797419326856232960 |
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| author | Sphiwe Madiba Mathildah Mokgatle |
| author_facet | Sphiwe Madiba Mathildah Mokgatle |
| author_sort | Sphiwe Madiba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The perspectives and practices of health care workers (HCWs) regarding disclosure to HIV-infected children have not been adequately investigated ten years after the roll-out of pediatrics antiretroviral therapy (ART). The aim of the study was to examine the opinions of HCWs about disclosure to HIV-infected children and determine their role in disclosure to children accessing ART in health centers in South Africa. This was a cross-sectional survey using a semi-structured questionnaire among HCWs in ART centers at three hospitals and 48 primary health facilities in two provinces in South Africa. Of the 206 HCWs, 140 (68.2%) were nurses, 44 (21.5%) were lay counsellors, and 4 (2%) were doctors. The majority (n = 183, 89.3%) felt that disclosure benefits children and they should be told about their HIV status. Over half (n = 93, 51.4%) recommended 11–18 years as the appropriate age to disclose. Half (n = 99, 48.5%) said that caregivers should take the lead to disclose, 87 (42.7%) said that disclosure is a shared responsibility of caregivers and HCWs, and 18 (8.8%) said HCWs should lead disclosure. HCWs perceived their role as that of preparing the caregiver for disclosure and the child to understand the disease. However, the lack of guidelines and training on disclosure counselling for children affects their ability to fully participate in disclosure to children. There is a need to adopt the World Health Organizations’ disclosure guidelines for children and adapt them to the local cultural and community contexts and train HCWs to guide, support, and assist caregivers in their disclosure to HIV-infected children. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:45:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d6e60951a60341bdb89e70e0115cca6b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:45:44Z |
| publishDate | 2015-04-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-d6e60951a60341bdb89e70e0115cca6b2023-12-03T10:36:17ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592015-04-013e89310.7717/peerj.893893Health care workers’ perspectives about disclosure to HIV-infected children; cross-sectional survey of health facilities in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South AfricaSphiwe Madiba0Mathildah Mokgatle1Department of Environmental and Occupational Heath, School of Public Health, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South AfricaDepartment of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South AfricaThe perspectives and practices of health care workers (HCWs) regarding disclosure to HIV-infected children have not been adequately investigated ten years after the roll-out of pediatrics antiretroviral therapy (ART). The aim of the study was to examine the opinions of HCWs about disclosure to HIV-infected children and determine their role in disclosure to children accessing ART in health centers in South Africa. This was a cross-sectional survey using a semi-structured questionnaire among HCWs in ART centers at three hospitals and 48 primary health facilities in two provinces in South Africa. Of the 206 HCWs, 140 (68.2%) were nurses, 44 (21.5%) were lay counsellors, and 4 (2%) were doctors. The majority (n = 183, 89.3%) felt that disclosure benefits children and they should be told about their HIV status. Over half (n = 93, 51.4%) recommended 11–18 years as the appropriate age to disclose. Half (n = 99, 48.5%) said that caregivers should take the lead to disclose, 87 (42.7%) said that disclosure is a shared responsibility of caregivers and HCWs, and 18 (8.8%) said HCWs should lead disclosure. HCWs perceived their role as that of preparing the caregiver for disclosure and the child to understand the disease. However, the lack of guidelines and training on disclosure counselling for children affects their ability to fully participate in disclosure to children. There is a need to adopt the World Health Organizations’ disclosure guidelines for children and adapt them to the local cultural and community contexts and train HCWs to guide, support, and assist caregivers in their disclosure to HIV-infected children.https://peerj.com/articles/893.pdfHealthcare workersSouth AfricaDisclosureDisclosure guidelinesPerinatally infected childrenCaregivers |
| spellingShingle | Sphiwe Madiba Mathildah Mokgatle Health care workers’ perspectives about disclosure to HIV-infected children; cross-sectional survey of health facilities in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa PeerJ Healthcare workers South Africa Disclosure Disclosure guidelines Perinatally infected children Caregivers |
| title | Health care workers’ perspectives about disclosure to HIV-infected children; cross-sectional survey of health facilities in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa |
| title_full | Health care workers’ perspectives about disclosure to HIV-infected children; cross-sectional survey of health facilities in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Health care workers’ perspectives about disclosure to HIV-infected children; cross-sectional survey of health facilities in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Health care workers’ perspectives about disclosure to HIV-infected children; cross-sectional survey of health facilities in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa |
| title_short | Health care workers’ perspectives about disclosure to HIV-infected children; cross-sectional survey of health facilities in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa |
| title_sort | health care workers perspectives about disclosure to hiv infected children cross sectional survey of health facilities in gauteng and mpumalanga provinces south africa |
| topic | Healthcare workers South Africa Disclosure Disclosure guidelines Perinatally infected children Caregivers |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/893.pdf |
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