Psychosocial factors associated with flourishing among Australian HIV-positive gay men

The positive side of living with tinnitus: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the current study was to examine the presence of positive experiences reported by individuals with tinnitus in the United States.

DESIGN

The study used a cross-sectional survey design. The data were analysed using qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative (t-test or Chi-square test) analyses.

STUDY SAMPLE

Study participants were individuals participating in clinical trials involving Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) for tinnitus. A total of 439 respondents, 211 (48.1%) male and 228 (51.9%) female responded, and data were collected via an online questionnaire.

RESULTS

Of the 439 participants, 164 (i.e. 37.4%) reported at least one positive experience. Younger participants and those with lower hearing disability were more likely to report positive experiences. The responses were categorised into six categories: Outlook (n = 139), Personal development (n = 42), Treatment-related (n = 42), Coping (n = 29), Support (n = 19), and Disease-specific (n = 19).

CONCLUSIONS

The ability of individuals with chronic tinnitus to identify positive experiences may give insights regarding acceptance and coping with tinnitus as well as the temperament of individuals reporting positive experiences. Considering these variables may help when planning individualised rehabilitation programs.

Counselling experiences among men having sex with men and living with HIV in Malaysia

Purpose

In Malaysia, the trend of HIV transmission has shifted from intravenous drug use to sexual intercourse, and men who have sex with men (MSM) have become the main driver due to high-risk sexual behaviour. Thus, treatment and care, which also involves counselling, for men who have sex with men and who are living with HIV (MSM living with HIV) are crucial. This study aims to explore the experiences of MSM living with HIV and participating in counselling session during treatment and care at two public hospitals.

Method

This qualitative study with a grounded-theory approach was conducted at two public hospitals in Malaysia. Five participants who were MSM living with HIV were selected through purposive sampling. They participated in semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations, and diary entries, each of which was conducted three times. The data were analysed using grounded theory with N-Vivo 8 to determine themes.

Result

The participants were found to experience feelings of emptiness and hopelessness because of their unreadiness to accept their HIV status. These feelings made their participation in counselling sessions challenging. Consequently, the participants found counselling sessions unhelpful due to their unwillingness to participate in the counselling relationship.

Conclusion

The findings of the study highlight the need for counselling sessions to focus more on feelings related to unreadiness to improve the self-esteem and ability to create positive relationships with others of MSM living with HIV. It is also important to strengthen the training and skills among HIV counsellors to enhance counselling services for these men.

Posttraumatic growth and well-being among people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis in recognition of 40 years of HIV/AIDS

OBJECTIVES

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize, analyze, and critically review existing studies on the relationship between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and psychological well-being (operationalized either via positive or negative well-being indicators) among people living with HIV (PLWH). We also investigated whether this association varies as a function of socio-demographic, clinical characteristics, and study publication year.

METHOD

We conducted a structured literature search on Web of Science, Scopus, MedLine, PsyARTICLES, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. The most important inclusion criteria encompassed quantitative and peer-reviewed articles published in English.

RESULTS

After selection, we accepted 27 articles for further analysis (N = 6333 participants). Eight studies used positive indicators of well-being. The other 19 studies focused on negative indicators of well-being. Meta-analysis revealed that there was a negative weak-size association between PTG and negative well-being indicators (r = - 0.18, 95% CI [- 0.23; - 0.11]) and a positive medium-size association between PTG and positive well-being measures (r = 0.35, 95% CI [0.21; 0.47]). We detected no moderators.

CONCLUSIONS

The present meta-analysis and systematic review revealed expected negative and positive associations between PTG and negative versus positive well-being indicators among PLWH. Specifically, the relationship between PTG and positive well-being indicators was more substantial than the link between PTG and negative well-being measures in these patients. Finally, observed high heterogeneity between studies and several measurement problems call for significant modification and improvement of PTG research among PLWH.

Biopsychosocial approach to understanding determinants of depression among men who have sex with men living with HIV: A systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Men who have sex with men (MSM) living with HIV are more likely to be depressed than MSM without HIV. The AIDS epidemic will not end if the needs of people living with HIV and the determinants of health are not being addressed. Compared to HIV individuals without depression, depressed HIV individuals have worse clinical outcomes and higher mortality risk. Depression is caused by a complex combination of social, psychological, and biological variables. This systematic review, thereby motivated by the need to address this gap in the literature, aims to articulate determinants of depression among MSM living with HIV according to the biopsychosocial approach.

METHODOLOGY

We systematically searched four databases from 2011 to 2021. We searched for observational studies on determinants of depression among MSM living with HIV. The outcome is depression based on the categorical or numerical outcome. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study risks of bias. Any disagreements are consulted with the third reviewer.

RESULTS

We identified 533 articles, of which only eight studies are included. A total of 3,172 MSMs are included in the studies. We found the determinants of depression and categorized them according to biological, psychological, and social approaches.

CONCLUSION

The determinants of depression with the strongest evidence across studies were enacted HIV-related stigma, unemployment, sleep disturbance, current smoker, black ethnicity, born overseas, ART initiation, and access to mental health care. Despite weaker evidence, the other relevant determinants to be included were older age, internalized stigma, self-efficacy, and social support. Efforts to improve or prevent depression among MSM living with HIV could benefit from addressing the determinants of depression based on the biopsychosocial approach immediately after HIV diagnosis. Integrating mental health screening and care into HIV treatment settings would strengthen HIV prevention and care outcomes and improve access to mental healthcare.

Forging Resilience to HIV/AIDS: Personal Strengths of Middle-aged and Older Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV/AIDS

HIV-positive gay, bisexual, two-spirit, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) have exhibited significant resilience to HIV/AIDS in Canada since the start of the epidemic. Since 2012, most of the research that has been conducted on resilience to HIV/AIDS has utilized quantitative methods and deficits-based approaches, with a preferential focus on the plight of young MSM. In order to address apparent gaps in research on HIV/AIDS resilience, we conducted a community-based participatory research qualitative study that utilized a strengths-based approach to examine the perspectives and lived experiences of HIV-positive, middle-aged and older MSM on their individual attributes that helped forge their HIV/AIDS resilience. We conducted 41 semistructured interviews with diverse, HIV-positive, middle-aged and older MSM from Central and Southwestern Ontario, Canada. From our thematic analysis of our interviews, we identified four themes, which represented personal strengths that fostered resilience to HIV/AIDS: (a) proactiveness, (b) perseverance, (c) having the right mindset, and (d) self-awareness with self-control. This article discusses the importance of these personal strengths to fostering HIV/AIDS resilience, and how community-based resources could potentially lessen the need to muster such personal strengths, or alternatively, cultivate them.

Mapping evidence of depression in HIV-seropositive MSM in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol

BACKGROUND

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders among an estimated 25.6 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The depression rate is higher in HIV-seropositive men who have sex with men (MSM) regardless of their sexual orientation, identity or romantic attraction. This is due to various types of stigma including HIV-related stigma, social stigma, self-stigma and mental health stigma. Opportunistic infections, unemployment, poverty and food insecurity also predispose HIV-seropositive MSM to depression. Moreover, depression in heterosexual and sexual minority groups challenges and additionally burdens SSA health care systems due to inadequate economic developments, lack of mental health professionals who specialise in the treatment of depression, few MSM-centred facilities, inadequate mental health infrastructure (hospitals and clinics) and complimentary resources. Although studies have highlighted links between mental health disorder, an HIV diagnosis and sexual minority groups, there is limited research that focusses on depression and its causal factors in MSM living with HIV in SSA. Hence, the relevance of conducting this scoping review.

METHODS

A scoping review guided by Arksey and O'Malley's framework, the enhancements and recommendations of Levac, Colquhoun and O'Brien, Daudt and associates and the 2015 Johanna Briggs Institute's guidelines will be conducted. Systematic electronic searches of databases and search engines such as Google, Google Scholar, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), MEDLINE (Ovid), and PsycInfo (Ovid) will be conducted to attain published peer-reviewed articles of all study designs. Grey literature will be sourced from media and conference abstracts and reports, governmental reports and unpublished dissertations and theses. Additionally, websites of humanitarian organisations and other relevant departmental websites will also be searched. Literature published between 2010 and 2020 that meets the review's inclusion criteria, research question and sub-question will be included in this review. All the retrieved literature will be exported to an Endnote X9.2 library after duplicates have been removed.

DISCUSSION

We anticipate mapping relevant literature on depression and the causal factors in HIV-seropositive MSM living in SSA. Once analysed and summarised, the data will be useful in identifying literature gaps, informing systematic reviews and future research. The findings could also assist in depression and sexuality dialogues, and awareness campaigns that address mental health issues, stigma and discrimination among this key population living in SSA.