Depression and HIV: integrated care towards 90-90-90

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Mental Health
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Depression is a significant global health issue, affecting over 300 million individuals worldwide.
• People living with HIV (PLWH) have double the risk of depression compared to the general population.
• Untreated depression can accelerate HIV disease progression and widen the treatment gap, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the potential of lay health workers (LHW) in delivering evidence-based depression treatments.
• To assess the role of LHW in reducing the depression treatment gap among PLWH.
• To evaluate the contribution of LHW-delivered interventions towards achieving global health objectives like the 90-90-90 targets.

Main Methods:

• Review of emerging evidence on lay health worker-led interventions for depression.
• Analysis of the feasibility and effectiveness of non-specialist healthcare providers in mental health treatment delivery.
• Examination of the impact on HIV disease progression and treatment outcomes.

Main Results:

• Emerging evidence indicates trained lay health workers can effectively deliver evidence-based depression treatments.
• Lay health worker interventions show promise in bridging the mental health treatment gap for PLWH.
• This approach can support broader public health goals, including the 90-90-90 targets.

Conclusions:

• Trained lay health workers represent a viable solution to expand access to depression care, particularly for vulnerable populations like PLWH.
• Integrating lay health workers into mental healthcare systems can significantly reduce the treatment gap and improve health outcomes.
• This strategy is crucial for achieving global mental health equity and the ambitious 90-90-90 objectives.