Factors affecting disclosure of HIV status to infected children by primary caregivers: A narrative literature review

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status should be reported to children between the ages of six and twelve, according to World  Health Organization (WHO) standards. Regardless of WHO recommendations, HIV disclosure continues to be a problem in various  nations around the world. Various factors have been reported to influence HIV disclosure to children. The purpose of this study is to  explore and describe the factors affecting disclosure of HIV status to infected children by primary caregivers. This study adopted  narrative literature review to fulfil the study's goals. The narrative literature review process was followed in this study, which comprised  define the topic and audience, search, and re-search the literature, be critical, and find a logical structure. The researchers looked at  studies published between 2018 and 2022. To find relevant material on the topic, the following databases were used: EBSCOhorst, Science  Direct, Google Scholar, and EBSCO Delivery Service (EDS). Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the studies  included namely age of the children, lack of knowledge and skills about HIV disclosure, educational level of the primary caregivers, and  stigma and discrimination. The themes were formulated from 10 studies that were deemed relevant according to selection criteria. These  findings reveal that primary caregivers do not comply with the recommendations of disclosure of HIV to infected children. The  factors identified by this study played a crucial role in poor HIV status disclosure to infected children by primary caregivers.