Prevalence and correlates of HIV serostatus disclosure: A prospective study among HIV-infected postparturient women in Barbados

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of self-disclosure of HIV status among the postparturient HIV-infected women and to describe the correlates of disclosure in this population. Subjects for this study include all known HIV-infected postparturient women in Barbados who delivered during 1997 through 2004. Sociodemographic data are routinely collected from all HIV-infected postparturient women. Data on disclosure were collected through one-to-one interview of the consenting women included in this study. One hundred thirtynine women were studied. Forty women ( 28.8%) had self-disclosed their HIV status to other people including their current sex partner. Among women who did not disclose their HIV status to anybody, 30 (30%) gave fear of stigmatization as the reason for nondisclosure, while 23 (23%) did not disclose their status as they feared abnormal reaction from their current sex partner and possible violence directed at them. Women who had disclosed their HIV status were more likely to use condoms during all sexual encounters, less likely to have had subsequent pregnancy from a different sex partner, were more likely to have a partner who had been tested for HIV, and were themselves more likely to be attending the centralized HIV clinic for follow-up and care compared to those who did not disclose. A substantial proportion of HIV-infected postparturient women never disclosed their result to a partner or a close relative. Lack of disclosure may have limited their ability to engage in preventive behaviors or to obtain the necessary emotional support for coping with their serostatus or illness.