Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda.
J Int AIDS Soc. 2012;15(2):17429. doi: 17429.
Disclosure of HIV serostatus by women to their sexual partners is critical for the success of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme as an integrated service in antenatal care. We explored pregnant HIV-positive and HIV-negative women's partner disclosure experiences and support needs in eastern Uganda.
This was a qualitative study conducted at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital in eastern Uganda between January and May 2010. Data collection was through in-depth interviews with 15 HIV-positive and 15 HIV-negative pregnant women attending a follow up antenatal clinic (ANC) at Mbale Hospital, and six key informant interviews with health workers at the clinic.Data management was done using NVivo version 9, and a content thematic approach was used for analysis.
All HIV-negative women had disclosed their HIV status to their sexual partners but expressed need for support to convince their partners to also undergo HIV testing.Women reported that their partners often assumed that they were equally HIV-negative and generally perceived HIV testing in the ANC as a preserve for women. Most of the HIV-positive women had not disclosed their HIV status to sexual partners for fear of abandonment, violence and accusation of bringing HIV infection into the family. Most HIV-positive women deferred disclosure and requested health workers' support in disclosure. Those who disclosed their positive status generally experienced positive responses from their partners.
Within the context of routine HIV testing as part of the PMTCT programme, most women who test HIV-positive find disclosure of their status to partners extremely difficult. Their fear of disclosure was influenced by the intersection of gender norms, economic dependency, women's roles as mothers and young age. Pregnant HIV-negative women and their unborn babies remained at risk of HIV infection owing to the resistance of their partners to go for HIV testing. These findings depict a glaring need to strengthen support for both HIV-positive and HIV-negative women to maximize opportunities for HIV prevention.
妇女向其性伴侣透露 HIV 血清状况对于预防母婴传播艾滋病毒（PMTCT）计划作为产前保健综合服务的成功至关重要。我们在乌干达东部探索了感染 HIV 的孕妇和 HIV 阴性孕妇的伴侣披露经验和支持需求。
这是 2010 年 1 月至 5 月在乌干达姆巴莱地区转诊医院进行的一项定性研究。数据收集是通过对 15 名在姆巴莱医院参加后续产前检查（ANC）的 HIV 阳性和 15 名 HIV 阴性孕妇进行深入访谈以及对诊所的 6 名卫生工作者进行关键知情人访谈进行的。数据管理使用 NVivo 版本 9 进行，内容主题分析方法用于分析。
所有 HIV 阴性妇女都向其性伴侣透露了自己的 HIV 状况，但表示需要支持以说服其伴侣也接受 HIV 检测。妇女们报告说，她们的伴侣经常假设她们同样是 HIV 阴性，并且通常认为 ANC 中的 HIV 检测是女性的专利。大多数 HIV 阳性妇女由于害怕被抛弃、暴力和被指控将 HIV 感染带入家庭而没有向性伴侣透露自己的 HIV 状况。大多数 HIV 阳性妇女推迟了披露，并请求卫生工作者在披露方面提供支持。那些透露自己阳性状况的人通常会得到伴侣的积极回应。
在常规 HIV 检测作为 PMTCT 计划一部分的背景下，大多数 HIV 阳性妇女发现向伴侣透露自己的状况极其困难。她们对披露的恐惧受到性别规范、经济依赖、女性作为母亲的角色和年轻年龄的交叉影响。由于其伴侣不愿接受 HIV 检测，HIV 阴性孕妇及其未出生的婴儿仍然面临 HIV 感染的风险。这些发现描绘了一个明显需要加强对 HIV 阳性和 HIV 阴性妇女的支持，以最大限度地提高 HIV 预防机会的迫切需要。
