Disclosure of HIV diagnosis to children: a poorly addressed issue in pediatric HIV care.

As antiretroviral therapy becomes more widely available in developing countries, increasing numbers of HIV infected children are surviving into adolescence and beyond. As they grow older, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serostatus disclosure presents a unique challenge to health care workers and care givers of children with HIV/AIDS. Although disclosure is a crucial component of the continuum of pediatric HIV care with proven health benefits, it is poorly addressed in routine clinical practice. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of researches on disclosure of pediatric HIV infection. The need for practical interventions including a guideline development to support pediatric HIV disclosure which provides children with developmentally appropriate information about the disease is suggested.