INTRODUCTION: HIV-infected individuals face a tremendous burden of psychiatric comorbidity. This study evaluates a community health care system's effort to screen for psychiatric disorders among patients at an HIV clinic and evaluate adherence to psychiatric service utilization. METHODS: Standardized screening measures were used to identify participants who met diagnostic symptom criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder (ASD) and depression. All participants who screened positive were referred for psychiatric follow-up. Rates of utilization were measured and barriers to adherence were investigated. RESULTS: Of the 210 participants, 118 patients met screening criteria for PTSD, ASD, and/or depression, and 116 of these had medical records available for review. Of the 116 patients with psychiatric comorbidity, 46.6% saw a psychiatrist and/or were prescribed a psychiatric medication. Thirty-two percent of Latinos, 40.5% of African Americans, and 38.5% of heterosexuals utilized referred psychiatric services, and these rates were significantly less than their counterparts. One hundred patients were seen by a social worker. DISCUSSION: While a large burden of psychiatric comorbidity exists among this population of HIV-positive patients, only half adhered to recommended psychiatric services referrals. Further research is warranted to examine cost-effective interventions to maximize psychiatric screening, referral, and follow-up with mental health services in this vulnerable population.
INTRODUCTION:HIV-infected individuals face a tremendous burden of psychiatric comorbidity. This study evaluates a community health care system's effort to screen for psychiatric disorders among patients at an HIV clinic and evaluate adherence to psychiatric service utilization. METHODS: Standardized screening measures were used to identify participants who met diagnostic symptom criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder (ASD) and depression. All participants who screened positive were referred for psychiatric follow-up. Rates of utilization were measured and barriers to adherence were investigated. RESULTS: Of the 210 participants, 118 patients met screening criteria for PTSD, ASD, and/or depression, and 116 of these had medical records available for review. Of the 116 patients with psychiatric comorbidity, 46.6% saw a psychiatrist and/or were prescribed a psychiatric medication. Thirty-two percent of Latinos, 40.5% of African Americans, and 38.5% of heterosexuals utilized referred psychiatric services, and these rates were significantly less than their counterparts. One hundred patients were seen by a social worker. DISCUSSION: While a large burden of psychiatric comorbidity exists among this population of HIV-positivepatients, only half adhered to recommended psychiatric services referrals. Further research is warranted to examine cost-effective interventions to maximize psychiatric screening, referral, and follow-up with mental health services in this vulnerable population.
Authors: Jane M Simoni; John S Wiebe; John A Sauceda; David Huh; Giselle Sanchez; Virginia Longoria; C Andres Bedoya; Steven A Safren Journal: AIDS Behav Date: 2013-10
Authors: Joseph E Schumacher; Cheryl McCullumsmith; Michael J Mugavero; Paige E Ingle-Pang; James L Raper; James H Willig; Zhiying You; D Scott Batey; Heidi Crane; Sarah T Lawrence; Charles Wright; Glenn Treisman; Michael S Saag Journal: AIDS Behav Date: 2013-10
Authors: Stephanie K Y Choi; Eleanor Boyle; John Cairney; Evan J Collins; Sandra Gardner; Jean Bacon; Sean B Rourke Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-11-01 Impact factor: 3.240