Paediatric HIV/AIDS disclosure: towards a developmental and process-oriented approach.
As antiretroviral therapy becomes more widely available in low-resource settings and children with HIV/AIDS live for longer periods, disclosure of HIV diagnosis to infected children is becoming increasingly important. This article reviews the current literature on HIV-related disclosure in light of theories of cognitive development, and argues for the adoption of a process-oriented approach to discussing HIV with infected children. Disclosure presents unique challenges to healthcare workers and caregivers of children with HIV/AIDS that include controlling the flow of information about the child's HIV status to him/her and deciding on what is in his/her best interest. Health care workers' and caregivers' views regarding disclosure to children may often be contradictory, with healthcare workers likely to support disclosing the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS to children and caregivers more reluctant to discuss the disease with them. There is a clear need for practical interventions to support paediatric HIV disclosure which provide children with age-appropriate information about the disease.
Lesch
A
A
Department of Psychology, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland, South Africa. alesch@sun.ac.za
Swartz
L
L
Kagee
A
A
Moodley
K
K
Kafaar
Z
Z
Myer
L
L
Cotton
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014342:Truth Disclosure / Q000941:ethics