Suchergebnisse

AbstractIntroductionNumerous effective HIV prevention options exist, including behaviour change interventions, condom promotion and biomedical interventions, like voluntary medical male circumcision and pre‐exposure prophylaxis. However, populations at risk of HIV also face overlapping vulnerabilities to common mental disorders and severe mental illness. Mental health status can affect engagement in HIV risk behaviours and HIV prevention programmes. We conducted a narrative review of the literature on HIV prevention among key populations and other groups vulnerable to HIV infection to understand the relationship between mental health conditions and HIV prevention outcomes and summarize existing evidence on integrated approaches to HIV prevention and mental healthcare.MethodsWe searched five databases for studies published from January 2015 to August 2020, focused on HIV prevention and mental health conditions among key populations and individuals with serious mental illness. Studies were included if they evaluated an HIV prevention intervention or assessed correlates of HIV risk reduction and included assessment of mental health conditions or a mental health intervention.Results and discussionWe identified 50 studies meeting our inclusion criteria, of which 26 were randomized controlled trials or other experimental designs of an HIV prevention intervention with or without a mental health component. Behaviour change interventions were the most common HIV prevention approach. A majority of studies recruited men who have sex with men and adolescents. Two studies provided distinct approaches to integrated HIV prevention and mental health service delivery. Overall, a majority of included studies showed that symptoms of mental disorder or distress are associated with HIV prevention outcomes (e.g. increased risky sexual behaviour, poor engagement in HIV prevention behaviours). In addition, several studies conducted among groups at high risk of poor mental health found that integrating a mental health component into a behaviour change intervention or linking mental health services to combination prevention activities significantly reduced risk behaviour and mental distress and improved access to mental healthcare.ConclusionsEvidence suggests that mental health conditions are associated with poorer HIV prevention outcomes, and tailored integrated approaches are urgently needed to address overlapping vulnerabilities among key populations and other individuals at risk.

The collaborative care model is an evidence-based intervention for behavioral and other chronic conditions that has the potential to address the large burden of mental illness globally. Using the World Health Organization Health Systems Framework, the authors present challenges in implementing this model in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and discuss strategies to address these challenges based on experiences with three large-scale programs: an implementation research study in a district- level government hospital in rural Nepal, one clinical trial in 50 primary health centers in rural India, and one study in four diabetes clinics in India. Several strategies can be utilized to address implementation challenges and enhance scalability in LMICs, including mobilizing community resources, engaging in advocacy, and strengthening the overall health care delivery system.