Mental Health, Coping, and Social Support Among People Living with HIV in the Americas: A Comparative Study Between Argentina and the USA During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Jones, Deborah L.; Ballivian, Jamile; Rodriguez, Violeta J.; Uribe, Claudia; Cecchini, Diego; Salazar, Ana S.; Cassetti, Isabel; Alcaide, María L.

doi:10.1007/s10461-021-03201-3

Cited by 30 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…isolating self) that increased during the pandemic (Additional File 3). Another study similarly reported that higher levels of social support and resilient coping were associated with lower depressive symptoms among adults with HIV in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (50). The increase in social isolation (spending less time with support networks, less time going out or spending time with others, and tending to isolate self more), a likely consequence of the COVID-19 restrictions, aligns with the increase in disability in dimensions of social inclusion and mental-emotional health as measured by the HDQ.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Disability and Self-care Living Strategies Among Adults Living With HIV During the COVID-19 Pandemic

O’Brien

Bayoumi

Carusone

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundEvents associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as physical distancing, closure of community services, postponement of health appointments, and loss of employment can lead to social isolation, financial uncertainty, and interruption of antiretroviral adherence, resulting in additional health-related challenges (disability) experienced among adults living with chronic illness such as HIV. ‘Living strategies’ is a concept derived from the perspective of people living with HIV, defined as behaviors, attitudes and beliefs adopted by people living with HIV to help deal with disability associated with HIV and multi-morbidity. Our aim was to describe disability among adults living with HIV and self-care living strategies used during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsAdults living with HIV in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including some with pre-pandemic HIV Disability Questionnaire (HDQ) data, completed a cross-sectional web-based survey between June-August 2020. The survey included the HDQ and questions about self-care living strategy use during the pandemic. We compared disability (HDQ) scores prior to versus during the pandemic using paired t-tests. We reported the proportion of participants who engaged in various living strategies at least ‘a few times a week’ or ‘everyday’ during the pandemic. ResultsOf the 63 respondents, 84% were men, median age 57 years, and 62% lived alone. During the pandemic the greatest disability severity was in the uncertainty (median 30; Interquartile range (IQR): 16, 43) and mental-emotional (25; IQR: 14, 41) domains. Among the 51 participants with pre-pandemic data, HDQ severity scores were significantly greater (worse) during the pandemic (vs prior) in all domains. Greatest change from prior to during the pandemic was in the mental-emotional domain for presence (17.7; p<0.001), severity (11.4; p<0.001), and episodic nature (9.3; p<0.05) of disability. Most participants (>60%) reported engaging a ‘few times a week’ or ‘everyday’ in self-care strategies associated with maintaining sense of control and adopting positive attitudes and beliefs. ConclusionsPeople living with HIV reported high levels of uncertainty and mental-emotional health challenges during the pandemic. Disability increased across all HDQ dimensions, with the greatest worsening in the mental-emotional health domain. Results provide an understanding of disability and self-care strategy use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Disability and Self-care Living Strategies Among Adults Living With HIV During the COVID-19 Pandemic

O’Brien

Bayoumi

Carusone

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The majority of participants reported sustained use of positive living strategies during the pandemic with the exception of positive social interaction strategies and negative strategies (e.g., isolating self) that increased during the pandemic (Additional file 3 ). Another study similarly reported that higher levels of social support and resilient coping were associated with lower depressive symptoms among adults with HIV in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic [ 50 ]. The increase in social isolation (spending less time with support networks, less time going out or spending time with others, and tending to isolate self more), a likely consequence of the COVID-19 restrictions, aligns with the increase in disability in dimensions of social inclusion and mental-emotional health as measured by the HDQ.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disability and self-care living strategies among adults living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Events associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as physical distancing, closure of community services, postponement of health appointments, and loss of employment can lead to social isolation, financial uncertainty, and interruption of antiretroviral adherence, resulting in additional health-related challenges (disability) experienced among adults living with chronic illness such as HIV. ‘Living strategies’ is a concept derived from the perspectives of people living with HIV, defined as behaviors, attitudes and beliefs adopted by people living with HIV to help deal with disability associated with HIV and multi-morbidity. Our aim was to describe disability among adults living with HIV and self-care living strategies used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Adults living with HIV in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including some with pre-pandemic HIV Disability Questionnaire (HDQ) data, completed a cross-sectional web-based survey between June–August 2020. The survey included the HDQ and questions about self-care living strategy use during the pandemic. We compared disability (HDQ) scores prior to versus during the pandemic using paired t-tests. We reported the proportion of participants who engaged in various living strategies at least ‘a few times a week’ or ‘everyday’ during the pandemic. Results Of the 63 respondents, 84% were men, median age 57 years, and 62% lived alone. During the pandemic the greatest disability severity was in the uncertainty [median 30; Interquartile range (IQR): 16, 43] and mental-emotional (25; IQR: 14, 41) domains. Among the 51 participants with pre-pandemic data, HDQ severity scores were significantly greater (worse) during the pandemic (vs prior) in all domains. Greatest change from prior to during the pandemic was in the mental-emotional domain for presence (17.7; p < 0.001), severity (11.4; p < 0.001), and episodic nature (9.3; p < 0.05) of disability. Most participants (> 60%) reported engaging a ‘few times a week’ or ‘everyday’ in self-care strategies associated with maintaining sense of control and adopting positive attitudes and beliefs. Conclusions People living with HIV reported high levels of uncertainty and mental-emotional health challenges during the pandemic. Disability increased across all HDQ dimensions, with the greatest worsening in the mental-emotional health domain. Results provide an understanding of disability and self-care strategy use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“…Among US African-American women, resilience correlated significantly to medication adherence ( 33 ). Outside of the US, depression and resilience were correlated inversely, among South African women (99% of Black race) ( 37 ), and Latin American men and women ( 38 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pills, PrEP, and Pals: Adherence, Stigma, Resilience, Faith and the Need to Connect Among Minority Women With HIV/AIDS in a US HIV Epicenter

Duthely

Sanchez‐Covarrubias

Brown

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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Background: Ending HIV/AIDS in the United States requires tailored interventions. This study is part of a larger investigation to design mCARES, a mobile technology-based, adherence intervention for ethnic minority women with HIV (MWH).Objective: To understand barriers and facilitators of care adherence (treatment and appointment) for ethnic MWH; examine the relationship between these factors across three ethnic groups; and, explore the role of mobile technologies in care adherence.Methods: Cross-sectional, mixed-methods data were collected from a cohort of African-American, Hispanic-American and Haitian-American participants. Qualitative data were collected through a focus group (n = 8) to assess barriers and facilitators to care adherence. Quantitative data (n = 48) surveyed women on depressive symptomology (PHQ-9), HIV-related stigma (HSS) and resiliency (CD-RISC25). We examined the relationships between these factors and adherence to treatment and care and across groups.Findings: Qualitative analyses revealed that barriers to treatment and appointment adherence were caregiver-related stressors (25%) and structural issues (25%); routinization (30%) and religion/spirituality (30%) promoted adherence to treatment and care. Caregiver role was both a hindrance (25%) and promoter (20%) of adherence to treatment and appointments. Quantitatively, HIV-related stigma differed by ethnic group; Haitian-Americans endorsed the highest levels while African-Americans endorsed the lowest. Depression correlated to stigma (R = 0.534; p < 0.001) and resiliency (R = −0.486; p < 0.001). Across ethnic groups, higher depressive symptomology and stigma were related to viral non-suppression (p < 0.05)—a treatment adherence marker; higher resiliency was related to viral suppression. Among Hispanic-Americans, viral non-suppression was related to depression (p < 0.05), and among African-Americans, viral suppression was related to increased resiliency (p < 0.04).Conclusion: Multiple interrelated barriers to adherence were identified. These findings on ethnic group-specific differences underscore the importance of implementing culturally-competent interventions. While privacy and confidentiality were of concern, participants suggested additional intervention features and endorsed the use of mCARES as a strategy to improve adherence to treatment and appointments.

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Mental Health, Coping, and Social Support Among People Living with HIV in the Americas: A Comparative Study Between Argentina and the USA During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Cited by 30 publications

References 40 publications

Disability and Self-care Living Strategies Among Adults Living With HIV During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Disability and Self-care Living Strategies Among Adults Living With HIV During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Disability and self-care living strategies among adults living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic

Pills, PrEP, and Pals: Adherence, Stigma, Resilience, Faith and the Need to Connect Among Minority Women With HIV/AIDS in a US HIV Epicenter

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