Disclosure of Hiv status to sexual partners among people who ...

infection and to encourage safer sex practices. The exchange of information about one’s
HIV status with a partner (disclosure) is associated with safer sexual practices (Larkins,
Shoptaw & Veniegas, 2005). The prevention of sexual transmission of HIV within
couples involves HIV testing for each member and consistent use of condoms. This is the
intervention if one of the members is HIV positive or until both members have been
tested HIV negative and have adopted safe sex practices. Research exploring how the risk
of sexual transmission is managed within couples in Uganda shows that these simple
principles are rarely implemented. The 2004-2005 Uganda sero -behavioural survey
(MOH & ORC Macro, 2006) shows high risk behaviour among couples, low uptake of
HIV testing, low levels of disclosure, increased casual sex high levels of discordance and
low condom use. The survey found that 88% of men and 56% of women have concurrent
multiple sexual partners; it found an increase in sex with casual partners and decreased
use of condoms by men with these partners. Prevention of HIV transmission to sex
partners requires consistent condom use. For proper and consistent condom use
particularly among discordant sexual partners, disclosure of sero-status to sexual partners
is paramount.
Notably, men play a major role in decision making regarding women’s reproductive
health, health education, HIV counselling and testing and women’s access to treatment.
Programmes for women alone cannot reduce the rate of HIV infection because of their
inability to make critical decisions like using condoms, HIV testing, drug taking and
access to other prevention services (UNAIDS, 1999). Emphasis should be laid on
involving men in HIV prevention because they influence women’s access to health
services through control of finances and decisions (Greene, 2002). Moreover, the survey
found that in 8.1 % of co-habiting couples in Uganda one or both are HIV positive and
57% of HIV positive individuals in a partnership have an HIV negative spouse (MoH &
ORC Macro, 2006).
Positive prevention efforts should focus on ensuring that HIV infected individuals and
couples mutually disclose their status (King, Lifshay, Nakayiwa, Kantuntu, Lindkvist &
Bunnell, 2008). Disclosing HIV results to one’s sexual partner allows the couple to
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