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Mental disorders are common among people with HIV (PWH) and often lead to poor HIV outcomes. However, evidence-based mental health screening and treatment protocols are not widely used in low-resource HIV clinics. A recent study explored factors that affect integrating mental health services into HIV clinics in Cameroon.
“Common mental health disorders like anxiety and depression occur frequently among people with HIV, especially soon after diagnosis, prior to treatment initiation, and when there are concerns about stigma and discrimination,” says Distinguished Professor and Director of the Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health, Denis Nash, an author on the paper. “This makes it important for HIV care services to include screening and treatment for these conditions, because there are effective and low-cost treatments, which in turn can help optimize engagement in HIV care and treatment.”
Researchers interviewed clinic staff in three urban HIV clinics to understand barriers, facilitators, and the support needed for effective integration. They found a lack of standardized mental health screening, low community awareness, stigma, limited physical space, and high clinic volume. Despite these challenges, providers were motivated to integrate mental health services, seeing the potential to improve HIV care outcomes. However, they required additional training, better coordination, and leadership support.
To address these barriers, providers recommended community sensitization, training or hiring additional staff, improved coordination, and leadership buy-in to achieve sustainable integration of mental health services into HIV clinics in Cameroon.
