The relationship between perceived quality of provider initiated testing and counselling service and disclosure among urban antenatal mothers aged 18 – 40 years in Makoni district

Abstract

Antenatal mothers on the PMTCT programmes appear to be having problems in disclosing their HIV status. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to examine the relationship between perceived quality of PITC service and disclosure among urban antenatal mothers aged 18 to 40 years in Makoni district. King’s model of Goal Attainment was used to guide this study. A sample of 80 participants was recruited using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using face to face interviews and structured questionnaires developed by the investigator. The research instruments comprised the Demographic Data Questionnaire, The Disclosure Questionnaire and the Perceived Quality of PITC Services Questionnaire. Data analysis was done using the SPSS computer software package. The results showed that the partial disclosure pattern was the most common for 65 (81.3%) of the participants. The level of disclosure was generally low. A total of 71 (88.8%) scored low level disclosure scores of between 1 and 10 out of 14. The perceived quality of PITC services was average for 43 (53.8%) of the sample. Pearson correlation analysis showed a statistically non significant and weak person correlation coefficient (r = .193). Although not statistically significant, the correlation analysis showed a weak linear relationship and therefore confirmed that to some extent, perceived quality of PITC services have a linear association with level of disclosure. Therefore, as perceived quality of PITC increases. Level of disclosure also increases. Existing PITC services need to be strengthened to increase the level of disclosure. In addition, further research is necessary to identify more causes for the low levels of disclosure.