Fighting HIV: No Health without Mental Health
In 2014, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) launched a Fast Track strategy to eliminate HIV by 2030. Fast Track encompasses efforts to increase testing, and more rapid initiation of treatment, and simplifies and maintains long-term adherence to effective therapy. The goal is to suppress HIV in people living with the virus so that it becomes virtually undetectable, extending the lifespan of people living with HIV and preventing further transmission.
HIV infection is frequently accompanied by depression
Major depression globally affects an estimated 350 million people. It is the second leading cause of disability worldwide, with potentially severe and long-lasting effects on people’s ability to work productively, parent effectively, and care for themselves.
Integration of depression care can improve outcomes of HIV care and treatment
Efforts are underway to include treatment for depression as part of routine HIV care, and preliminary studies show good evidence that improving depression results in better suppression of the virus.
For example, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is supporting researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to study the use of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)—an evidence-based psychotherapeutic approach—in Kenya to treat depression that occurs in women after experiencing gender-based violence, in order to improve health outcomes in women living with HIV. This activity is one of many examples undertaken within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its agencies. Any person, whether living with HIV or not, cannot live a fully healthy life without addressing mental health concerns, and HHS entities, including NIMH and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), are working with partners to research and implement the best treatment options for those living with HIV.
There is a powerful two-way relationship between HIV infection and mental health disorders → http://go.usa.gov/x8UXH via @HHSGov #WAD2016
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