Sankofa pediatric HIV disclosure intervention did not worsen depression scores in children living with HIV and their caregivers in Ghana

Abstract

Abstract Background The ‘Sankofa’ pediatric HIV disclosure study (2013–2017) was an intervention that aimed to address the low prevalence of disclosure of HIV status in Ghana. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study at the intervention site in Kumasi, Ghana, in 2019, (2 years after study closure) and administered the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the 10-item Child Depression Inventory (CDI) to caregiver-child dyads who received the intervention. Results We enrolled 65% (N = 157) of the original dyads in the present study. Between Sankofa enrollment baseline and the present study, both children and caregivers had significant (p < 0.0001) mean reductions in CDI scores and BDI scores, respectively. CDI scores of the children were significantly correlated with BDI scores of the caregivers (r = 0.019, p = 0.019). No statistically significant associations between disclosure status and either CDI score or BDI score were found. Conclusions Our findings did not support caregivers’ fears that disclosure leads to depression. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01701635 (date of registration Oct 5, 2012).