Reasons for non-disclosure of HIV-Positive status to healthcare providers: a mixed methods study in Mozambique.
Laura Fuente-SoroAntía Figueroa-RomeroSheila Fernández-LuisOrvalho AugustoElisa López-VarelaEdson BernardoAnna Saura-LázaroPaula VazStanley C WeiPeter R KerndtTacilta NhampossaDenise NanichePublished in: BMC health services research (2023)
Previous mistreatment by healthcare workers was the main barrier to disclosing HIV-positive status. The high proportion of those disclosing their HIV status to their community but not to healthcare providers suggests that challenges with patient-provider relationships affect this care behavior rather than social stigma and discrimination. Improving patient-provider relationships could increase trust in healthcare providers, reduce non-disclosures, and help optimize resources and provide accurate estimates of the UNAIDS first 95 goal.