Feasibility and Acceptability of a Task-Shifted Intervention to Enhance Adherence to HIV Medication and Improve Depression in People Living with HIV in Zimbabwe, a Low Income Country in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Using a pilot trial design in an HIV care clinic in Zimbabwe, we randomised 32 adults with poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy and at least mild depression to either six sessions of Problem-Solving Therapy for adherence and depression (PST-AD) delivered by an adherence counsellor, or to Enhanced Usual Care (Control). Acceptability of PST-AD was high, as indicated by frequency of session attendance and through qualitative analyses of exit interviews. Fidelity was >80% for the first two sessions of PST-AD but fidelity to the adherence component of PST-AD dropped by session 4. Contamination occurred, in that seven patients in the control arm received one or two PST-AD sessions before follow-up assessment. Routine health records proved unreliable for measuring HIV viral load at follow-up. Barriers to measuring adherence electronically included device failure and participant perception of being helped by the research device. The study was not powered to detect clinical differences, however, promising change at 6-months follow-up was seen in electronic adherence, viral load suppression (PST-AD arm 9/12 suppressed; control arm 4/8 suppressed) and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-4.7 points in PST-AD arm vs. control, adjusted p value = 0.01). Results inform and justify a future randomised controlled trial of task-shifted PST-AD.

A systematic review of psychological functioning of children exposed to HIV: using evidence to plan for tomorrow's HIV needs.

Prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV can virtually eliminate paediatric HIV infection. Studies are needed to understand child development outcomes for children exposed to HIV in utero but born HIV negative (HIV affected children). This systematic review examined cognitive, developmental and behavioural outcomes for HIV affected children compared to control unexposed and uninfected children. Key word searches of electronic databases generated 1,739 hits and 11 studies with adequate quality design and measures of standardised cognitive, behavioural and developmental indices. Cognitive performance, behaviour and developmental delay were measured with 15 different standardised scales from 650 HIV affected children, 736 control children and 205 HIV positive children. Performance scores for HIV affected children were significantly lower than controls in at least one measure in 7/11 studies. An emerging pattern of delay seems apparent. HIV affected children will grow in number and their development needs to be monitored and provided for.

A systematic review examining whether interventions are effective in reducing cognitive delay in children infected and affected with HIV.

Cognitive delay has been recorded in children infected and affected by HIV. This finding is well established, yet few countries report provision of special educational interventions for this group of children. The general rehabilitation literature describes an array of effective interventions for children with learning difficulties. These have rarely been adapted for children affected by HIV, despite their growing numbers. A systematic review was conducted to examine effective interventions for cognitive delay in children (under 18 years) infected with HIV and/or exposed to HIV (HIV-negative child born to an HIV-positive mother). A keyword search of electronic databases with reference follow-up generated 1745 hits. These abstracts were screened for relevance, resulting in 17 papers available for shortlisting. Studies were then included if they were randomised control trials, were longitudinal, pre/post or cohort studies and presented empirical data on an intervention for children infected by HIV or exposed to HIV and had at least one cognitive measure. Carer interventions were included if they had at least one child cognitive measure. Of the 17 papers, 4 met the inclusion criteria based on design and quality. Interventions included cognitive rehearsal, home-based stimulation and parental support. All four interventions showed at least one significant child improvement at follow-up. Despite such improvements, many children still scored within the disability range at follow-up. These results show that the effective interventions are available and should be scaled up to meet the needs of children. Complex interventions are not sufficiently studied. This review suggests an ongoing need to build evidence-based interventions, but calls on evidence-based programmes to be initiated for HIV-positive and HIV-affected children.

Mental health of carers of children affected by HIV attending community-based programmes in South Africa and Malawi.

There is strong evidence that both adults and children infected with and affected by HIV have high levels of mental health burden. Yet there have been few studies investigating carer mental health outcomes in the context of HIV in Malawi and South Africa. The objective of this study was to assess the mental health of carers of children affected by HIV as a part of the Child Community Care study, which aims to generate evidence on the effectiveness of community-based organisation (CBO) services to improve child outcomes. In a cross-sectional study, we interviewed 952 carers of children (aged 4-13 years) attending 28 randomly selected CBOs funded by 11 major donors in South Africa and Malawi. Psychological morbidity was measured using the Shona Symptom Questionnaire and suicidal ideation was measured using an item from the Patient Health Questionnaire. Carers were asked about care-seeking for emotional problems. Overall, 28% of carers scored above the clinical cut-off for current psychological morbidity and 12.2% reported suicidal ideation. We used logistic regression models to test factors associated with poor outcomes. Household unemployment, living with a sick family member and perceived lack of support from the community were associated with both psychological morbidity and suicidal ideation in carers. Reported child food insecurity was also associated with psychological morbidity. In addition, carers living in South Africa were more likely to present with psychological morbidity and suicidal ideation than carers in Malawi. Rates of help-seeking for mental health problems were low. Carers of children affected by HIV are at risk for mental health problems as a result of HIV, socio-economic, care-giving and community factors. We call for increased recognition of the potential role of CBOs in providing mental health care and support for families as a means to improve equity in mental health care. Specifically, we highlight the need for increased training and supervision of staff at CBOs for children affected by HIV, and the inclusion of CBOs in broader efforts to improve population mental health outcomes.

Differential effects of single and double parental death on child emotional functioning and daily life in South Africa.

There is a high level of orphaning in Africa due to war, violence, and more recently HIV and AIDS. This study examines parental death in South African children and examines the differential impact on child functioning of double, single and non-orphanhoods. Bereavement, depression, behavior problems, and violence were examined in a consecutive sample of 381 children/adolescents (51.2% girls) between 8 and 19 years of age (M = 12.8). Parental death experience was high; 70 (17.5%) reported the death of one parent, and a further 24 (6%) reported the death of both. Group comparisons showed double orphans had elevated depression, worse psychosocial functioning, were more likely to be kept home from school for household chores, and were more likely to be slapped. Single orphans were more similar to the non-orphans than the double orphans on most scores. Our study reveals that parental loss should be studied with more fine-grained definitions and that emotional sequelae should be addressed.

How does body mass index impact self-perceived health? A pan-European analysis of the European Health Interview Survey Wave 2.

Background: Obesity remains a major global public health issue, despite numerous attempts to address it. Health behaviour theories suggest that a misconception of how excess weight affects general health may be preventing individuals from taking action towards addressing it. The present study explores this relationship in European countries. Methods: This study analysed cross-sectional secondary data collected as part of the European Health Interview Survey Wave 2 (2013-2015), with a total sample of 299 846 participants. The association between body mass index and self-perceived health was analysed using logistic regression models. Age, sex, country, degree of urbanisation and level of education were included in the model to determine excess weight's independent contribution to self-perceived health over and above these variables. Results: The majority of the sample was in the excess weight category (52.92%; n=155 812), with only Austria and Luxembourg reporting a higher proportion of normal weight than excess weight. An analysis of self-perceived health revealed that most individuals perceived themselves to be in good health (42.88%; n=128 579). Logistic regression results show that overweight individuals were more likely to report being in poorer self-perceived health (OR=1.27, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.29) compared with normal weight individuals. The same effect was observed for individuals in the obese class I (OR=2.00, 95% CI 1.96 to 2.05), obese class II (OR=3.00, 95% CI 2.88 to 3.13) and obese class III (OR=4.38, 95% CI 4.07 to 4.71) categories. However, this study did not find a rigid pattern of association between excess weight and self-perceived health across European countries. Conclusion: In general, a higher body mass index category is associated with poorer self-perceived health, suggesting that the majority of the study population have a correct perception of how their weight affects their health. However, in some key countries this relationship is not observed and should be further explored.

HIV infection and mental health: suicidal behaviour--systematic review.

Suicide has long been associated with serious illness generally and HIV specifically. New treatments have affected prognosis in HIV positively, but it is unclear how they impact on suicidal burden (thoughts, self-harm and completions). This review examines all published suicide and HIV data for a definitive account of (1) prevalence of HIV-related suicidality, (2) measurement within studies and (3) effectiveness of interventions. Standard systematic research methods were used to gather quality published papers on HIV and suicide, searching published databases according to quality inclusion criteria. From the search, 332 papers were generated and hand searched resulting in 66 studies for analysis. Of these, 75% were American/European, but there was representation from developing countries. The breakdown of papers provided 12, which measured completed suicides (death records), five reporting suicide as a cause of attrition. Deliberate self-harm was measured in 21, using 22 instruments; 16 studies measured suicidal ideation using 14 instruments, suicidal thoughts were measured in 17, using 15 instruments. Navigating the diverse range of studies clearly points to a high-suicidal burden among people with HIV. The overview shows that autopsy studies reveal 9.4% of deceased HIV+ individuals had committed suicide; 2.4% HIV+ study participants commit suicide; approximately 20% of HIV+ people studied had deliberately harmed themselves; 26.9% reported suicidal ideation, 28.5% during the past week and 6.5% reported ideation as a side effect to medication; 22.2% had a suicide plan; 19.7% were generally "suicidal" (11.7% of people with AIDS, 15.3% at other stages of HIV); 23.1% reported thoughts of ending their own life; and 14.4% expressed a desire for death. Only three studies recruited over 70% female participants (39 studies recruited over 70% men), and six focussed on injecting drug users. Only three studies looked at interventions - predominantly indirect. Our detailed data suggest that all aspects of suicide are elevated and urgently require routine monitoring and tracking as a standard component of clinical care. There is scant evidence of direct interventions to reduce any aspect of suicidality, which needs urgent redress.

Patient-reported barriers and facilitators to antiretroviral adherence in sub-Saharan Africa.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the range and frequency of patient-reported barriers and facilitators to antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). DESIGN: Studies from 2005 to 2016 were identified by searching 10 electronic databases and through additional hand and web-searching. METHODS: Inclusion criteria were HIV-positive adults taking ART based in any SSA country, qualitative study or quantitative survey and included at least one patient-reported barrier or facilitator to ART adherence. Exclusion criteria were only including data from treatment-naive patients initiating ART, only single-dose treatment, participants residing outside of SSA and reviews. RESULTS: After screening 11 283 records, 154 studies (161 papers) were included in this review. Forty-three barriers and 30 facilitators were reported across 24 SSA countries. The most frequently identified barriers across studies were forgetting (n = 76), lack of access to adequate food (n = 72), stigma and discrimination (n = 68), side effects (n = 67) and being outside the house or travelling (n = 60). The most frequently identified facilitators across studies were social support (n = 60), reminders (n = 55), feeling better or healthier after taking ART (n = 35), disclosing their HIV status (n = 26) and having a good relationship with a health provider (n = 22). CONCLUSION: This review addresses the gap in knowledge by collating all the patient-reported barriers and facilitators to ART adherence in SSA. Current barriers measures need to be adapted or new tools developed to include the wide variety of factors identified. The factors that have the greatest impact need to be isolated so interventions are developed that reduce the barriers and enhance the facilitators.

Involving fathers in prevention of mother to child transmission initiatives--what the evidence suggests.

INTRODUCTION: The current UNAIDS goal towards virtual ending or elimination of infants acquiring HIV by 2015 is perhaps the most achievable goal to date. Yet, models show that delivery of antiretroviral compounds alone will not suffice to achieve this goal, and a broader community-based approach to pregnancy, families and HIV is needed. Such an approach would highlight the important role of men in reproduction. Although early studies have shown it is cost-effective to include males, very few interventions have proceeded to involve men. METHODS: This review utilized systematic review techniques to explore the literature on effective interventions for the inclusion of men in the prevention of HIV to infants. A key word search of literature sources generated 248 studies for hand sorting and interrogation. Of these, 13 were found to contain some information on involvement of males in some form of provision. Data were abstracted from these and form the basis of this review. RESULTS: Background descriptive studies painted a picture of low male involvement, poor male inclusion and barriers to engagement at all stages. Yet, pregnancy intentions among men affected by HIV are high and the importance of fathers to family functioning--from relationships, through conception, pregnancy and parenting--is well established. Search strategies for interventions for males in HIV and pregnancy were used to generate studies of sufficient quality to inform strategies on the future of male involvement. Of the 317,434 papers on pregnancy and HIV, only 4178 included the term male (paternal or father). When these were restricted to intervention studies, only 248 remained for hand sorting, generating 13 studies of relevance for data extraction. The results show that all these interventions were concentrated around male partner HIV testing. In general, male partner testing was low and was amenable to change by offering voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) information, providing couple-based testing facilities and encouraging male attendance. All interventions used indirect approaches to men via their pregnant spouse. Non-health facility (clinic or hospital)-based provision (such as testing facilities in the community in bars and churches) were more effective than healthcare facilities in attracting male participation. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the review showed that approaches to men are limited to HIV testing with little innovative planning and provision for male treatment and care. As such, initiatives run the risk of alienating rather than including males. Direct approaches and the provision of male-specific facilities and benefits should be explored.

Pain-related bias in the classification of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions in mothers of children with chronic abdominal pain.

This study sought to determine whether mothers of young people with chronic abdominal pain (CAP) compared to mothers of pain-free children show a pain recognition bias when they classify facial emotional expressions. One hundred demographically matched mothers of children with CAP (n=50) and control mothers (n=50) were asked to identify different emotions expressed by adults in 2 experiments. In experiment 1, participants were required to identify the emotion in a series of facial images that depicted 100% intensity of the following emotions: Pain, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Happiness, and Neutral. In experiment 2, mothers were required to identify the predominant emotion in a series of computer-interpolated ("morphed") facial images. In this experiment, pain was combined with Sad, Angry, Fearful, Happy, and Neutral facial expressions in different proportions-that is, 90%:10%, 70%:30%, 50%:50%, 30%:70%, 10%:90%. All participants completed measures of state and trait anxiety, depression, and anxiety sensitivity. In experiment 1, there was no difference in the performance of the 2 groups of mothers. In experiment 2, it was found that overall mothers of children with CAP were classifying ambiguous emotional expressions predominantly as pain. Mean response times for CAP and control groups did not differ significantly. Mothers of children with CAP did not report more anxiety, depression, and anxiety sensitivity compared to control mothers. It is concluded that mothers of children with CAP show a pain bias when interpreting ambiguous emotional expressions, which possibly contributes to the maintenance of this condition in children via specific parenting behaviours.