Attitudes of Indian HIV Clinicians Toward Depression in People Living with HIV

BACKGROUND Depression is highly prevalent in people living with HIV (PLHIV) and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In India, where access to mental health specialists is limited, little is known about the attitude of HIV clinicians toward depression in PLHIV. METHODS We administered a questionnaire to HIV clinicians attending the 2015 Chennai Antiretroviral Therapy Symposium that assessed respondents' level of agreement with 29 statements regarding the etiology, importance, and management of depression and whether they felt capable and willing to manage depression in PLHIV. RESULTS The 69 respondents were from 9 Indian states. Most respondents agreed that depression in PLHIV is a serious problem (91%) and is associated with poorer HIV-related outcomes (62%-81%). Although most respondents (76%) reported feeling comfortable discussing mental health problems with PLHIV, almost half (48%) admitted that lack of knowledge and training about mental health issues hindered the diagnosis and treatment of depression in PLHIV. With few exceptions, there were no significant differences in responses by gender, urban/rural practice location, or government versus private practice. CONCLUSIONS Indian HIV clinicians believe that depression in PLHIV is important and are willing to manage depression in the HIV primary care setting. These findings suggest that HIV clinicians require further training to deliver evidence-based interventions to treat PLHIV with depression.