Self-disclosure of HIV status, disclosure counseling, and retention in HIV care in Cameroon

Poor retention in care is common among HIV-positive adults in sub-Saharan Africa settings and remains a key barrier to HIV management. We quantify the associations of disclosure of HIV status and referral to disclosure counseling with successful retention in care using data from three Cameroon clinics participating in the Phase 1 International epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS Central Africa cohort. Of 1646 patients newly initiating antiretroviral therapy between January 2008 and January 2011, 43% were retained in care following treatment initiation. Self-disclosure of HIV status to at least one person prior to treatment initiation was associated with a minimal increase in the likelihood of being retained in care (risk ratio [RR]=1.14; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.94, 1.38). However, referral to disclosure counseling was associated with a moderate increase in retention (RR=1.37; 95% CI: 1.21, 1.55) and was not significantly modified by prior disclosure status (p=.3). Our results suggest that while self-disclosure may not significantly improve retention among patients receiving care at these Cameroon sites, counseling services may play an important role regardless of prior disclosure status.