Disclosure of Parental HIV Status to Children: Experiences of Adults Receiving Antiretroviral Treatment at an Urban Clinic in Kampala, Uganda

Table 2

Barriers/hindrances to disclosure as presented by parents who did not disclose HIV serostatus to their children.

Themes	Subthemes
Viewing disclosure as a risk or burden	(i) Parent being in poor health and therefore concerned more about their health than disclosure.; (ii) Parents perceived the children as already knowing their (parent’s) HIV status.; (iii) Parents feared that the children may ask them about their own (child’s) HIV status.; (iv) Parents feared their children’s assumption that they (parents) are about to die.; (v) Parents preferring to have “peace of mind” and hence avoid disclosure to children.
Immaturity of children	(i) Children were viewed by the parent as being unable to understand the meaning and consequences of being HIV-positive.; (ii) Parents observed that the child might not keep the parent’s HIV-positive status confidential.
Relationship between parent and child	(i) Relationship between parent and the children was viewed as not good enough to facilitate disclosure.; (ii) Parents reported not being personally confident enough to disclose their HIV status.; (iii) Children did not seem interested and passionate enough about the health of their parents.; (iv) Parents viewed their children as being interested only in sharing the parent’s property.; (v) Children being closer to one of the parents, making the other uncomfortable to disclose their HIV status under such circumstances.
Anticipated support from children	(i) Parent viewed children as not being able to support them emotionally or practically.; (ii) Parent still felt in good health and saw no need to be supported by the children.