Abstract
The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly encourages the disclosure of HIV status to school-age children and further recommends that adolescents know their HIV status. Limited information exists on the impact of disclosure. We designed and implemented a disclosure model hypothesized to be associated with healthy psychological adjustment and improved medication adherence. We report the model's design and implementation and results of a quasi-experimental study of the disclosure's effects on health care professionals (n = 16), caregivers (n = 39), and HIV-infected youth (n = 40) in Puerto Rico. Information was collected from youth, caregivers, and professionals by semistructured interviews and questionnaires. Most youth (70%) had feelings of normalcy 6 months post-disclosure, and most also improved their adherence to therapy after disclosure as reported by both patients (58%) and caregivers (59%). Eighty-five percent of youth and 97% of caregivers considered disclosure a positive event for themselves and their families. Fewer health care professionals reported feelings of fear, discomfort, and insecurity after protocol participation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 181-189 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2004 |
Keywords
- Cultural sensitivity
- Disclosure
- HIV
- Pediatric
- Psychosocial
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Psychology(all)
- Developmental and Educational Psychology