Talking about sex in HIV-affected families: perspectives of HIV-infected mothers and their children from a mixed-methods study

ABSTRACTSexual education in HIV-affected families could be impeded by secrecy surrounding HIV status. This paper aims to (1) examine the prevalence of mother–child communication about sexuality, (2) evaluate the impact on sexual education of disclosing the mother’s HIV-positive status to her children and (3) explore the willingness of mothers living with HIV (MLWH) to talk about sexuality with their children. A mixed-methods design (combination of quantitative and qualitative methods) was used. A total of 109 MLWH (average age: 40.7 years) and 71 of their children (average age: 16.3 years) completed a face-to-face questionnaire. Descriptive analyses and 2×2 Fisher’s exact tests were conducted to compare the occurrence of communication about nine sexual topics from the children’s and mother’s standpoint according to the children’s awareness of their mother’s HIV status or lack thereof. A subsample of 11 MLWH also took part in a semistructured interview. Interviews were analyzed using thematic content analy...