Researchers at Ohio State University claim that gay men who are HIV-positive rarely regret revealing their health status to others.
The study, the first of its kind, could be important for clinicians who work with HIV positive men who often face uncertainty over whether to inform friends, family, co-workers or others about their diagnosis.
The data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 1 million people in the nation were living with AIDS or HIV by the end of 2003.
Head researcher and lead author of the study Julianne Serovich says, “I was very surprised at how little regret we found, because you see the angst in HIV-positive men who deliberate very carefully on whether or not to tell people.”
She continues, “The results offer hope for people who are working in this field. We can tell HIV-positive men that others in their position rarely regret the fact that other people know their status.”
In previous studies, she found that HIV-positive men who disclose their condition are more likely to get necessary medical help, to find out about new clinical trials and therapies, and are more likely to get social support.
Those who reveal their status to, and get support specifically from, family members are less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors and are less likely to be depressed.
{{/usCountry}}Those who reveal their status to, and get support specifically from, family members are less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors and are less likely to be depressed.
{{/usCountry}}The research appears in the April issue of the journal AIDS Education and Prevention.