HIV-positive status disclosure and associated factors among children in public health facilities in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: HIV status disclosure in children is one of acontroversial issue in current health. Over 44,000 children in Ethiopia were living with HIV in the year 2019 with a variable level of disclosure, which ranges from 16.3% to 49%. Therefore, this study aimed to assess HIV-positive status disclosure and associated factors among HIV-infected children. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in ten public health facilities providing pediatric antiretroviral therapy services. Systematic random sampling was used to select 221 caregivers of children aged 6–15 years. Face-to-face interviews were employed to generate the data. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the association between HIV-positive status disclosure to children and independent variables with statistical significance set at p-value <0.05. RESULTS: Out of the total, 134 (60.6%) of HIV-infected children knew about their HIV status. The mean age at disclosure was 10.71 years. Children aged older than 10 years [AOR = 22, 95% CI: 5.3–79.2], female children [AOR = 3; 95% CI = 1.2–8.7], children lost their family member by HIV [AOR = 3.5, 95% CI: 1.2–10], caregiver’s perception of child did not get stigmatized [AOR = 4, 95% CI: 1.6–11], and children’s responsible for anti-retroviral therapy [AOR = 16, 95% CI: 5–50] were significantly associated with HIV positive status disclosure compared to their counterpart respectively. Children who stayed on anti-retroviral for 10–15 years were [AOR = 7; 95% CI: 2–27] more likely to know their HIV positive status compared to those staying on anti-retroviral therapy for <6 years. CONCLUSION: The proportion of disclosure of HIV-positive status among HIV-infected children was low. Factors associated were the age of the child, sex, existence of parent, stigma, ART duration, and responsibility of the child for his/her drugs. HIV care providers should consider these factors while supporting disclosure.