Status Disclosure among People Living With HIV/AIDS in Ilorin, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: HIV/AIDS is a disease that is characterised by discrimination and stigmatisation particularly in Africa. OBJECTIVE: To determine rate of disclosure of HIV status among People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Ilorin, Nigeria. METHODS: A semi-structured, interviewer administered questionnaire containing 40 items was used to collect information from persons living with HIV/AIDS accessing treatment at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria. Information on patients’ socio-demography and lifestyle history, HIV medical history and HIV status disclosure was obtained from the patients. RESULTS: A total of 253 patients participated in the study. Their ages ranged between 26 and 58 years. Majority were females, 58.5% and 41.5% were males. The disclosure rate was 39.5%. As many as 60.5% of the respondents had not disclosed their HIV status to anybody. The disclosure was to the spouses, in 18.6% of the instances and to relatives or friends or co workers in another 20.6% of cases. There was a significant difference. The knowledge of their spouses on HIV/AIDS status correlated with disclosure rate, r=0.237, p=0.02. Female sex, intact family and monogamy correlated well with high disclosure rate. CONCLUSION: HIV status disclosure rate among PLWHA in Ilorin is low. Female sex and monogamous marital status are positive predictors of disclosure. There is need to ensure effective disclosure counselling for the unmarried; single/ separated, patients in polygamous marriages and males member of the society.