Common mental disorders among persons seeking HIV testing
Principal Investigators: Prof. Ashraf Kagee and Dr. Jason Bantjes
The study is taking place at the Masincedane and Mfuleni HIV testing clinics in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The aims of the study are:
- To determine the prevalence of major depression, generalised anxiety, post traumatic stress, and substance abuse disorders among persons who are seeking an HIV test.
- To determine the sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, and the AUDIT and DUDIT in predicting major depression, generalised anxiety, alcohol and drug abuse, respectively among persons seeking HIV testing.
- To determine the level of psychological distress of persons who have recently received an HIV positive diagnosis and persons who receive an HIV negative diagnosis.
- To determine the extent to which scores on self-report measures of common mental health problems change over the course of one year following HIV testing.
- To obtain data on the specific resource challenges experienced by persons newly diagnosed with HIV, such as food security, housing, employment, and social and family support.