Disclosure of HIV status in the Workplace: Considerations and Strategies.

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Disclosure of HIV status in the Workplace: Considerations and Strategies.

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Maintaining a role in the workplace despite significant health concerns can be important in meeting an individual's emotional and economic needs. This qualitative research study reviewed the workplace experiences and disclosure decisions of 18 HIV-positive individuals. The most frequently cited reasons for disclosing HIV status were to explain choices they were making as they interviewed for a job and concerns about their job performance and the need for accommodations. For individuals who disclosed their HIV status to selective members of the workplace or disclosed to no one, the primary reasons given were preference for privacy nature of the work environment, and fear of possible consequences. The practice, policy and research implications for social workers are also discussed.

The introduction of the three-drug "cocktail" -- zidovudine, lamivudine, and the protease inhibitor indinavir--has reduced the HIV viral load of many patients (Knox, 1997). HIV-positive individuals are living longer and maintaining healthy and productive lives (Bellenir & Dresser, 1995; McReynolds, 1998), which increasingly has implications for HIV-positive individuals in the workplace. AIDS service organizations (ASOs), which previously focused on concerns related to disability and death, now focus on employment issues. AIDS benefit counselors in San Francisco, for example, have reported a threefold increase in requests for assistance with employment (Richardson, 1997). Individuals who only a few years ago might have been told to "retire" and enjoy the remaining years of their lives now value the role that work plays in their lives (Caulfield, Carey, & Mason, 1994).

For HIV-positive individuals who experience improved health, returning to work or maintaining their current employment is critical (Goodman, 1997). Many HIV-positive individuals find that they need to adjust their work demands (for example, reduction in work schedule, time off for medical appointments, or reduction in physically demanding work) to accommodate their health status (Courage Center, 1994; Greenwald, 1997). To obtain the needed accommodations, individuals must disclose their HIV ...

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