PARTNERSHIP DURATION AND HIV SERO-STATUS

DISCLOSURE AMONG PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN

LILONGWE, MALAWI
T Mbichila1, M Chagomerana1, J Tang1,2, L Haddad3, M Hosseinipour1,4, H Tweya,5 S Phiri5
1 The University of North Carolina Project-Lilongwe, Malawi; 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; 3 Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 4 Department of Medicine, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; 5 Lighthouse Trust, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Conflict of Interest

• Nothing to disclose
Background and Significance

• HIV sero-status disclosure to sexual partners is an important aspect of

HIV prevention, treatment and care.

• raises awareness, reduces risky behavior and increases adherence to

Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) and acquisition of support.

• Sero-status disclosure could encourage protective behaviors like use of

condoms.

• The association between partnership duration and sero-status disclosure

has not been well described.
Methods - Study Design
• Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional of HIV-infected men and women
attending the Lighthouse Trust clinics in Lilongwe, Malawi from
September 2013 to December 2013.

• Eligibility: Adult clients aged 18 – 45 years registered with the ART clinic
and sexually active within the past 6 months.

• Partnership duration categorized as ≤ 1 year and > 1 year.

• Fisher’s exact test, Wilcoxon rank sum test and Logistical regression
were used
Results
• 562 participants in the survey, 308 females (54.8%) and median age of 35
years (IQR 30 - 40).
• Majority were married (n=498, 90.7%)), on ART (n=495, 88%)) and had
disclosed their serostatus to their partner (n=552, 95.3%) at the time of the
survey.
• Being married, knowledge of all sexual partners’ HIV sero-status and being
on ART were positively associated with sero-status disclosure.
• Participants in a relationship for ≤ 1 year were significantly less likely to
disclose their sero-status to their sexual partners than those who were in a
relationship for > 1 year (OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.59)
Conclusion

• HIV- infected individuals in partnership for > 1 year are more likely
to disclose their sero-status to their partners.

• Need to focus on couple-based interventions that encourage

dialogue and openness between sexual partners within their first
relationship year to decrease HIV transmission, encourage
treatment and support.
REFERENCES
1. World Health Organization. Gender Dimensions of HIV Status Disclosure to
Sexual Partners: Rates, Barriers and Outcomes: A Review Paper. Geneva,
Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2004
2. Medley A, Garcia-Moreno C, McGill S, Maman S. Rates, barriers and outcomes
of HIV sero-status disclosure among women in developing countries:
Implications for prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes. Bull
World Health Organ. 2004;82:299-307..
3. Stirratt MJ, Remien RH, Smith A, Copeland OQ, Dolezal C, Krieger D. The role
of HIV serostatus disclosure in antiretroviral medication adherence. AIDS
Behav.2006;10(5):483–493.
4. Booysen FL, Wouters E, de Walque D, Over M. Mutual HIV status disclosure is
associated with consistent condom use in public sector ART clients in Free
State province, South Africa: a short report. 2017 Feb 9:1-5 [Epub ahead of
print].
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