Project 175066

Current research has unequivocally proven that to change outcomes for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, multi-disciplinary approaches are our best hope. For individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, the stresses of disclosing to family members and adapting to life with a chronic, life threatening disease, mental health status becomes increasingly important to survival. As a result, mental health care has been recognized as one of the integral components of comprehensive HIV care in Canada, with great success. However, for patients in sub- Saharan Africa, home to more than 60% of global AIDS cases, a scarcity of human and financial resources make the incorporation of mental health care into existing care frameworks a near impossibility. As such, addressing burgeoning need in these contexts requires the reconfiguration, support and expansion of existing resources dedicated to improving quality of life for HIV positive patients. Thus, through the use of resources in the form of local health programs and NGOs, which provide access to high risk groups such as women and children with HIV, the screening and treatment of mental illness via simple psychological methods employed by local health providers, could make the incorporation of mental health treatments into HIV/AIDS care a plausible reality. This research will engage in the design, implementation and evaluation of an 'add on' program to address mental health needs in rural South African contexts. Informed by an approach to mental health care which incorporates local culture, knowledge and practices to better manage phenomenon such as stigma and local understandings of mental illness, the program will also incorporate models of prevention to generate resilience against mental health risk where possible. This type of program will allow for mental health issues to be addressed without increasing strains to developing health systems, while improving the quality of life for AIDS patients in the short term.