mental health AIDS

Fall 2006 Newsletter / Volume 8, Issue 1

Resources

Books & Articles

Albarracín, D., Durantini, M.R., & Earl, A. (2006). Empirical and theoretical conclusions of an analysis of outcomes of HIV-prevention interventions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(2), 73-78.

Albarracín and colleagues distill meta-analytic findings on HIV prevention interventions into "five important empirical and theoretical conclusions. First, interventions are more successful at achieving immediate knowledge and motivational change than they are at achieving immediate behavioral change. Second, the immediate motivational change decays over time, whereas behavior change increases over the same period. Third, interventions that engage audiences in particular activities, such as role-playing condom use, are more effective than presentations of materials to passive audiences. Fourth, interventions consistent with the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior, with self-efficacy models, and with information-motivation and behavioral-skills models prove effective, whereas interventions designed to induce fear do not. Fifth, expert intervention facilitators are more effective than lay community members in almost all cases. When populations are unempowered, expert facilitators are particularly effective, and they are most effective if they also share the gender and ethnicity of the target audience" (p. 73).

Amico, K.R., Fisher, W.A., Cornman, D.H., Shuper, P.A., Redding, C.G., Konkle-Parker, D.J., Barta, W., & Fisher, J.D. (2006). Visual analog scale of ART adherence: Association with 3-day self-report and adherence barriers. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 42(4), 455-459.

"This research assessed the association between self-reported adherence on visual analog scales (VASs) and an existing, more complex self-reported measure of adherence ... and the degree to which each method distinguished optimally and suboptimally adherent patients in terms of reported barriers to adherence. ... Results generally support the construct validity of the VAS and its use as an easily administered assessment tool that can identify patients with barriers to adherence who might benefit from adherence support interventions" (p. 455).

Arendt, G. (2006). Affective disorders in patients with HIV infection: Impact of antiretroviral therapy. CNS Drugs, 20(6), 507-518.

"This article focuses on affective (mood) disorders ... seen in individuals with HIV infection; the impact of HAART on the frequency and clinical presentation of these disorders ... [is] discussed in detail, as ... [is] the impact of these disorders on adherence to HAART" (p. 508).

Colfax, G., & Guzman, R. (2006). Club drugs and HIV infection: A review. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 42(10), 1463-1469.

"The present article provides a general overview of the epidemiological profile and medical consequences of club drugs and also provides recommendations for clinicians treating patients who use club drugs, emphasizing the implications of club drug use among persons with HIV infection and persons at high risk for HIV infection" (p. 1463).

Collins, P.Y., Holman, A.R., Freeman, M.C., & Patel, V. (2006). What is the relevance of mental health to HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs in developing countries? A systematic review. AIDS, 20(12), 1571-1582.

"This systematic review of the literature on HIV and mental illness in developing countries examines the mental health risk factors for HIV, mental health consequences of HIV, psychosocial interventions of relevance for HIV-infected and affected populations, and highlights the relevance of these data for HIV care and treatment programs" (p. 1571).

Fisher, J.D., Fisher, W.A., Amico, K.R., & Harman, J.J. (2006). An information-motivation-behavioral skills model of adherence to antiretroviral therapy. Health Psychology, 25(4), 462-473.

"The current analysis conceptualizes social and psychological determinants of adherence to HAART among HIV-positive individuals. The authors propose an information-motivation-behavioral skills (IMB) model of HAART adherence that assumes that adherence-related information, motivation, and behavioral skills are fundamental determinants of adherence to HAART. According to the model, adherence-related information and motivation work through adherence-related behavioral skills to affect adherence to HAART. Empirical support for the IMB model of adherence is presented, and its application in adherence-promotion intervention efforts is discussed" (p. 462).

Holt, M., & Stephenson, N. (2006). Living with HIV and negotiating psychological discourse. health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness & Medicine, 10(2), 211-231.

"While there has been concern about the 'remedicalization' of HIV, there is apparently less concern about its 'psychologization'. This article considers how the expansion of psychological discourse about HIV impacts on the lives of HIV-positive people in the era of contemporary treatments. ... Our analysis suggests a need for greater scrutiny of the ways in which psychological techniques are employed as solutions to the ambiguities of living with HIV" (p. 211).

Indyk, D. (Ed.). (2006). The geometry of care: Linking resources, research, and community to reduce degrees of separation between HIV treatment and prevention. Social Work in Health Care, 42(3-4), 1-250.

"The work in this special volume rests on several related insights. First, that changing the focus of a problem means changing the locus of the expertise relevant to address it. Thus, for example, while the ultimate cure for AIDS may come from basic scientists, community-based providers – with their access to, trust commanded among, and familiarity with at-risk populations – are often the experts in designing realistic prevention interventions. Second is the corollary point that each aspect, each phase of a problem, has its own set of experts. This leads to the third, and central insight, that addressing complex sociomedical problems such as TB or AIDS requires linkage between these disparate types of providers and sites, and mechanisms by which all types of providers – and patients – can exchange their unique observations and harness their respective expertise in prevention, education, research, and service. A final major insight flowing from this work is the overwhelming importance of cultivating the proper site for each given function – prevention, education, research and service. Shifting the locus of care along the continuum of prevention and treatment requires a major shift in the 'geometry of care'" (p. 2).

Nordqvist, O., Södergård, B., Tully, M.P., Sönnerborg, A., & Lindblad, Å.K. (2006). Assessing and achieving readiness to initiate HIV medication. Patient Education & Counseling, 62(1), 21-30.

"The aim of this review is to identify theories used to explain readiness for HIV treatment and to describe factors of importance for achieving readiness ... . The aim is also to identify the instruments that have been used to assess readiness for HIV treatment and to describe interventions to increase readiness for HIV treatment" (p. 23).

Persson, A., & Newman, C. (2006). Potency and vulnerability: Troubled 'selves' in the context of antiretroviral therapy. Social Science & Medicine, 63(6),1586-1596.

"In this paper, ... we wish to explore the more problematic tensions between self and medicine that materialise when the self is vulnerabilised by prescribed drugs, an outcome that contradicts the restorative promise of biomedicine" (p. 1588). "We situate our discussion in the context of efavirenz, an antiretroviral drug prescribed and consumed for the treatment of HIV infection. This drug, commonly described as 'potent', can have a number of troubling effects on a person's everyday sense of self, including insomnia, confusion, cognitive disorders, depression, depersonalisation, psychosis, and suicidal ideation. While efavirenz may be clinically effective in its capacity to suppress the virus, these effects are at odds with the implicit aim of HIV medicine to restore and secure the self by way of immunological integrity and strength" (p. 1586).

Shernoff, M. (2006). Condomless sex: Gay men, barebacking, and harm reduction. Social Work, 51(2), 106-113.

"This article summarizes current research findings on sexual risk taking among gay men, discusses psychosocial issues that contribute to barebacking, and suggests a harm-reduction approach to clinical work with gay men who bareback as an effective method of addressing the behavior" (p. 106).

Simoni, J.M., Kurth, A.E., Pearson, C.R., Pantalone, D.W., Merrill, J.O., & Frick, P.A. (2006). Self-report measures of antiretroviral therapy adherence: A review with recommendations for HIV research and clinical management. AIDS & Behavior, 10(3), 227-245.

"A review of 77 studies employing self-report measures of antiretroviral adherence published 1/1996 through 8/2004 revealed great variety in adherence assessment item content, format, and response options. ... Clearly, the field would benefit from item standardization and a priori definitions and operationalizations of adherence. We conclude that even brief self-report measures of antiretroviral adherence can be robust, and recommend items and strategies for HIV research and clinical management" (p. 227).

Thomas, N. (2006). When it happens to your family: One social worker's response. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 5(1), 57-66.

"This article is a case study of how an African American family that includes a social worker ... responded when three members received an HIV/AIDS diagnosis; two of whom are now deceased. It provides a retrospective look at a family's response to the diagnosis and resilience in the face of terminal illness" (p. 57).

Valcour, V., & Paul, R. (2006). HIV infection and dementia in older adults. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 42(10), 1449-1454.

"This article provides an overview of HIV cognitive impairment as it relates to aging and presents some emerging issues in the field. Particular emphasis is placed on describing the changing landscape of HIV-related cognitive impairment and discussing possible concerns regarding the long-term effects of antiretroviral treatment. A brief discussion of potential adjunctive therapies to reduce cognitive symptoms associated with HIV infection in older individuals is provided" (p. 1449).

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– Compiled by Abraham Feingold, Psy.D.

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