New research into mental wellbeing and HIV highlights need for greater support

New careful search into mental wellbeing and HIV highlights necessity for greater support

New research means of leading HIV support agency Positively UK, in partnership with Janssen, has provided fresh insights into the links between HIV and poor mental wellbeing. The results, launched at Positively UK's Conference of People Living With HIV and published in the States of Mind Report, highlight the surcharge of poor mental health in the HIV community. The report explores the impact of mental health issues on the lives of persons living with HIV (PLWHIV) and calls according to more to be done to form the burden.

Positively UK commissioned examination that surveyed the experiences and views of not quite 200 PLWHIV.[1] Results showed that:

Three habitation (75%) of respondents have experienced intellectual health problems

Nearly a quarter (24%) acquire missed treatment doses as a end, potentially impacting on their overall freedom from disease

Six out of ten (68%) respondents fixed that they had suffered from couching in the past year

Only sum of units fifths (40%) of PLWHIV surveyed made employment of counselling or psychology services

Just half (51.4%) of respondents had discussed these issues with their support worker

"Despite the bed available, mental health problems, and deterioration in particular, are hugely important issues during the term of people living with HIV," said Allan Anderson, Chief Executive of Positively UK. "The tools and materials of the States of Mind communicate highlight that more needs to have ing done to support people and make sure they are offered holistic care. I press upon attention people with HIV, healthcare professionals and accompany workers to read the report and operate together to improve mental wellbeing in the HIV community."

The report also found that: [1]

Of those PLWHIV to actual observation depression, almost a third considered the condition to have had a 'huge impinging' on their quality of life

Seven on the side of ten women with HIV experienced mental health issues in the bygone time year

40% of respondents have practised discrimination in the past 12 months

Based ward the survey findings, which reflected a deputy sample of the HIV community,[2] the announce calls for more to be executed to support the mental health of PLWHIV. The States of Mind Report makes a tell of recommendations:

Improvements must be made over all HIV services to tackle the ongoing demand of mental health issues in the HIV common

Increased dialogue between PLWHIV and healthcare professionals is needed to superior understand the complex relationship between mental health and adherence to treatment

Closer coordination is needed between multidisciplinary support functions to help make sure a more effective allocation of official function provision

Professor Jane Anderson, Director of the Centre in favor of the Study of Sexual Health and HIV, and Consultant Physician at Homerton University Hospital in London, commented: "This bruit emphasises the importance of ensuring the clinical community are fully aware of the pack together that HIV can have on mental and emotional wellbeing. The multidisciplinary clinical team in HIV physic is uniquely placed to address the total of the health and wellbeing indispensably of people who use our clinics. We iness seek ways to care for the multitude effectively in terms of the pertaining to physics and mental aspects of HIV."

Positively UK has believed support from Janssen to conduct the examination. Janssen has a heritage of developing innovative HIV treatments and is committed to the future fight against HIV and providing information and support for people with HIV and those in operation with them.

The full States of Mind Report can be accessed at the following conjoin: http://www.positivelyUK.org/policy/statesofmind.

HIV in the UK

It is estimated that 100,000 men will be living with HIV in the UK in 2013 and not fa from 6,000 new diagnoses are confirmed both year.[2] Thanks to treatment advances completely the past three decades, HIV is not at all longer considered a fatal illness in developed countries.[3] People with HIV are more likely to experience mental health problems than the not special population, with depression thought to exist around twice as common in the million with HIV.[4]

About the description

The States of Mind Report is based without interrupti outputs from a survey of the bulk of mankind with HIV. In total, 192 the community completed the survey, of whom 171 responded online and 21 by way of paper surveys. The survey opened forward Monday 8th April 2013 and closed on Monday 15th July 2013. Participants were in the first place recruited through a number of HIV back up agencies and recruitment also occurred in more groups through informal local meetings and from one side word of mouth.