"Keep It to Yourself": A Qualitative Study of HIV Disclosure Perspectives Among Older Adults Living With HIV in South Carolina Who Are Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors.
Monique J Brown, Chigozie A Nkwonta, Titilayo James and 4 others
PMID 35878050WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults living with HIV who had survived childhood sexual abuse described four ways of deciding disclosure: keeping it secret, disclosing regardless, choosing by person, or choosing by circumstance.
Fear of stigma drove secrecy.
Key findings
01The analysis produced four disclosure themes: secrecy or not planning to disclose, disclosing regardless, disclosing depending on the person, and disclosing depending on the circumstance.
02Most participants reported that they were not planning to disclose their HIV status mainly because of fear of stigmatization.
03In this qualitative sample, women were more likely to say everyone or most people knew their status, while men were more likely to say some people knew.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study included 24 participants recruited from one immunology clinic, so the themes may not represent older adults living with HIV in other settings. Participants were receiving HIV care and had to be willing to report a history of childhood sexual abuse, so people outside care or less willing to disclose may differ. Most participants identified as Black, so the findings may not reflect the views of older adults living with HIV from other racial or ethnic groups. There was no comparison group of older adults living with HIV without a history of childhood sexual abuse, so the study cannot identify disclosure views unique to this trauma history. The study described perspectives and did not test an intervention or measure health, adherence, stigma, or disclosure outcomes.
Declared interests
The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural research funding. The authors reported no conflicts of interest to disclose for any author.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these themes as proof that disclosure conversations help older adults living with HIV, or that childhood sexual abuse caused nondisclosure. The study describes the views of 24 people and did not test an intervention or outcome.