Supporting choices about HIV disclosure in the workplace: A cross-Canada survey of strategies.
Gayle Restall, Alexandria Simms, Emily Etcheverry and 7 others
PMID 31815713WHAT IT FOUND
About a third of surveyed providers were only a little or not confident supporting HIV workplace disclosure decisions.
Web/print referrals were common but rated less effective by users than intensive counseling. OTs can note that Canadian accommodations often do not require naming a diagnosis.
Key findings
01Of 94 respondents, 81.91% reported some level of experience supporting workplace HIV disclosure decisions, but 32.98% were only a little or not confident supporting disclosure decisions.
02Referral to web or print resources was used by 82% of respondents, but only 61% of those users rated it moderately or very effective; intensive workplace disclosure counseling was used by 49%, and 96% of its users rated it moderately or very effective.
03Open-ended responses identified privacy, respect and self-determination as key values; stigma, lack of knowledge and personal vulnerabilities as barriers; and peer support, counselling, education, advocacy and workplace policies as supports.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The final analysis included 94 respondents, a small sample. Most respondents worked for HIV-specific service organizations, so the results are biased toward that sector. The survey was cross-sectional and descriptive, so it cannot show which strategies cause better disclosure decisions or work outcomes. Effectiveness ratings are perceptions from people who used each strategy, not measured patient outcomes. Invitation was by e-mail, and no one requested a hard copy, so people without Internet access could not respond. Likert scales and fixed strategy lists may have limited how respondents could describe their experiences.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the high effectiveness ratings as proof that these strategies work. They are perceptions from a small survey of 94 mostly HIV-service providers, and the study did not test patient outcomes.