A man could never do what women can do: Mental health care and the significance of gender

A Mixed-Methods Process Evaluation: Integrating Depression Treatment Into HIV Care in Malawi

BACKGROUND

Depression is highly prevalent among people living with HIV in Malawi. Depression can undermine engagement in HIV care and worsen HIV morbidity and mortality. The Ministry of Health integrated a pilot depression management program into HIV care at 2 clinics. This program included a measurement-based care protocol for prescribing antidepressants and an adapted Friendship Bench psychotherapy protocol for providing problem solving. Early evaluations indicated successful integration of the initial stages of training and depression screening, diagnosis, and treatment initiation. This follow-up mixed-method investigation contextualizes our previous findings and shares insights from the implementation experience.

METHODS

We conducted a mixed-methods process evaluation drawing on both patient clinical data and qualitative interviews with patients and clinic staff. We focus on the following implementation outcomes: fidelity, acceptability, and sustainability.

RESULTS

Although fidelity to depression screening and treatment initiation was high, fidelity to the follow-up treatment protocol was poor. Antidepressants and problem-solving therapy were acceptable to patients, but clinic staff found delivering treatment challenging given constrained human resources and infrastructure. The program was not sustained after the project. Key identified needs included substantial support to supervise the implementation of the program, continue to build and maintain the capacity of providers, integrate the program into the electronic medical records system, and ensure the availability of Friendship Bench counselors.

CONCLUSIONS

Although initial steps were successful, sustained integration of this depression treatment program into HIV care in this setting met greater challenges. Implementation science studies that support both implementation and evaluation should recognize the potential for clinical implementers to rely on evaluation staff for clinical support and consider distancing evaluation staff from the actual program implementation. Further research is needed to test enhanced implementation strategies for integrating evidence-based mental health interventions into existing health care systems in a sustainable fashion, particularly in low-resource settings.

Complications Associated with Enteral Nutrition: CAFANE Study

Objectives: To determine the association between home enteral nutrition (HEN) administration modality and its complications in patients. Methods: This is a prospective multicenter longitudinal study including 15 Spanish hospitals, from April 2015 to March 2017. A 4-month follow-up period was conducted for each patient by home visit. The study subjects were adult patients who began their nutrient intake by tube feeding, known as HEN, during the recruitment period. The variables studied included the type and modality of HEN administration and its related complications, such as vomiting, regurgitation, constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal distention. Mechanical complications and bronchoaspiration were also evaluated. Descriptive variables were used for fitting. Results: The study consisted of 306 patients; 4 were lost due to death. Specific HEN modalities protected against constipation (odds ratio (OR) = 0.4) and regurgitation (OR = 0.4). The use of a nasogastric tube (NGT) resulted in a lower risk of diarrhea compared to percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) (OR = 0.4) but resulted in a higher risk of tube obstruction (OR = 7.4). The use of intermittent gravity versus bolus feeding was a protection factor against vomiting (OR = 0.4), regurgitation (OR = 0.3), constipation (OR = 0.3), diarrhea (OR = 0.4) and abdominal distension (OR = 0.4). The increase in the number of doses was a risk factor for the incidence of regurgitation (OR = 1.3). Conclusions: Gastrointestinal complications were the most frequent problems, but an adequate choice of the formula, route, feeding modality, number of doses, administration time, and dose volume can reduce the risk of these complications.