Disclosure of HIV Status Among Rural Malawians

Philip A. Anglewicz, University of Pennsylvania

With growing access to HIV testing throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the reaction to learning one’s HIV status becomes an increasingly important factor in determining the course of the AIDS epidemic. A growing number of studies reveal action being taken by individuals to prevent becoming infected with HIV, and an important component of such behavior change is to know one’s own HIV status and the HIV status of a spouse. In this paper, I use data from rural Malawi to examine an aspect of VCT that is relevant to both behavior change and divorce in sub-Saharan Africa: to what extent to couples share their HIV test results after VCT? To what extent do individuals share their HIV test results with others in the community? In addressing these questions, I investigate whether differences in disclosing HIV status are associated with actual HIV status and with gender.