Factors Associated with Disclosure of HIV Status Among a Cohort of Individuals on Antiretroviral Therapy in British Columbia, Canada

We sought to examine the prevalence and correlates of HIV-disclosure among treatment-experienced individuals in British Columbia, Canada. Study participants completed an interviewer-administered survey between July 2007 and January 2010. The primary outcome of interest was disclosing one’s HIV-positive status to all new sexual partners within the last 6 months. An exploratory logistic regression model was developed to identify variables independently associated with disclosure. Of the 657 participants included in this analysis, 73.4 % disclosed their HIV-positive status to all of their sexual partners. Factors independently associated with non-disclosure included identifying as a woman (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.92; 95 % confidence interval [95 % CI] 1.13–3.27) or as a gay or bisexual man (AOR 2.45; 95 % CI 1.47–4.10). Behaviours that were independently associated with non-disclosure were having sex with a stranger (AOR 2.74; 95 % CI 1.46–5.17), not being on treatment at the time of interview (AOR 2.67; 95 % CI 1.40–5.11), and not always using a condom (AOR 1.78; 95 % CI 1.09–2.90). Future preventative strategies should focus on environmental and social factors that may inhibit vulnerable HIV-positive populations, such as women and gay or bisexual men, from safely disclosing their positive status.