Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 2 of 2
Psychological distress and engagement in HIV-related services among individuals seeking mental health care
- Authors:
- BASTA Tania, SHACHAM Enbal, REECE Michael
- Journal article citation:
- AIDS Care, 20(8), September 2008, pp.969-976.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
In the US, HIV-related mental health care has been funded for its ability to help engage and retain individuals living with HIV into other components of HIV-related care and treatment. However, little is known empirically about the types of HIV prevention and care with which they are, or need to be, connected. To explore this, data were collected from 617 individuals upon their self-enrolment in HIV-related mental health care in a large US city with high rates of HIV infection. Nearly a third of the participants (n=195) were “minimally engaged” in care services, 53% were “moderately engaged” and 15.6% were “highly engaged”. There were significant differences between level of care engagement according to one's ethnicity, with African-Americans and Latinos more likely to be highly engaged in care services compared to their Caucasian counterparts. Furthermore, individuals who were highly engaged in services had significantly lower levels of depression than their less engaged peers. Results suggest that while ethnic minorities were engaged in a higher number of care services, they were enrolling in mental health care following enrolment in other care services. Given the numerous benefits of engaging in HIV-related mental health early in the course of infection, it is important that case managers and primary care physicians educate African-Americans and Latinos on the benefits of mental health care in order to facilitate earlier engagement in HIV-related mental health services.
Psychological distress patterns of women and mothers presenting for HIV-related mental health care
- Authors:
- REECE Michael, BASTA Tania B., KOERS Erin
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of HIV/AIDS and Social Services, 3(2), 2004, pp.93-109.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Over a seven year period, data were collected from 228 women living with HIV upon their self-enrollment into mental health care at an HIV-related mental health clinic in the USA. Analyses were conducted to explore the symptoms of mental health distress being presented by women upon their enrollment into care and, in particular, associations between these symptoms and characteristics of motherhood. Findings suggest that women living with HIV present for care with significant levels of psychological distress symptoms and that factors related to parenthood are associated with diverse clinical presentations. As an increasingly prevalent component of the HIV social services system, women living with HIV are in need of access to services that are responsive to their unique mental health issues and that are based upon an understanding of the extent to which familial variables influence psychological distress. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).