The Perspectives of Adolescents with Disclosed HIV Status on Disclosure in Bamenda Health District in the North West Region of Cameroon.

Abstract

Disclosure is a process of telling an adolescent that he or she has HIV and helping him or her to understand what this means. It has always been a very difficult task for most parents since they don’t know what and how to tell the child and also because they find it very difficult to tell them the truth about their condition. This has led to low disclosure rates and a consequent abandonment of treatment by these children (adolescents) with a subsequent increase in viral load and a rapid spread of the disease. Objective: To analyze the perspectives of adolescents with disclosed HIV status on disclosure. Methods: this study was a cross-sectional study carried out from June 2023 to September2023 in the Bamenda Health District. The target population was made up of 120 adolescents with disclosed HIV status, who are on antiretroviral therapy in 6 different sampled health areas. Data was collected using questionnaires. It was analyzed using SPSS.  Results:  Adolescents want to be told the truth about their condition. They prefer that disclosure should be done at 12 years because they are eager to know why they are taking medications on a daily basis, and also because they do not want to remain in the dark for long. Majority of them prefer to be disclosed to in the health facility and by health workers because the health facility is an environment that makes the information to look real, and the health workers usually tell them the truth.  Conclusion: This study revealed that adolescents will like to be told the truth concerning their disease. They will not like to remain in the dark for long. They prefer to be disclosed to at 12years, as this promotes adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and safer sex practices.