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Pamela Y Collins

Publications and source records attributed to Pamela Y Collins.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

What is the relevance of mental health to HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs in developing countries? A systematic review.

The expansion of AIDS treatment initiatives in resource-poor settings provides an opportunity for integrating mental health care into these programs. 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. We reviewed seven studies that measured the prevalence of HIV infection among clinic and hospital-based populations of people with mental illness or assessed sexual risk behavior in these populations; 30 studies that described the mental health consequences of HIV infection; and two reports of psychosocial interventions. The review demonstrates the need for methodologically sound studies of mental health throughout the course of HIV, including factors that support good mental health, and interventions that employ identified variables (e.g. coping, family support) for efficacy in reducing symptoms of mental illness. Promising intervention findings should encourage investigators to begin to study the implementation of these interventions in HIV service settings.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2006

Challenges to HIV prevention in psychiatric settings: perceptions of South African mental health care providers.

Mental health services in South Africa increasingly feel the brunt of the AIDS epidemic. Despite the high prevalence of infection in the psychiatric setting, HIV risk reduction interventions targeting South Africans with psychiatric illness remain few and far between. The attitudes of mental health care providers about sexual relations and HIV among people with mental illness continue to influence the extent to which these issues are addressed in care settings. This study examines these attitudes through the use of a semi-structured interview administered to 46 mental health care providers in four provinces of South Africa. I found that personal, contextual and political factors in the clinic and the hospital create barriers to integrating prevention activities. In particular, providers face at least three challenges to intervening in the epidemic among their patients: their own views of psychiatric illness, the transitions occurring in the mental health care system, and shifting social attitudes toward sexuality. Barriers operate at the individual level, the institutional level, and the societal level. At the individual level providers' perceptions of psychiatric symptoms shape their outlook on intervention with psychiatric patients. At the institutional level disruptive transitions in service delivery relegate HIV services to lesser importance. At the societal level, personal beliefs about sexuality and mental illness have remained slow to change despite major political changes. Minimizing barriers to implementing HIV prevention services requires institutional and health care policies that ensure adequate resources for treating people with mental illness and for staff development and support.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2006

Training South African mental health care providers to talk about sex in the era of AIDS.

OBJECTIVE: Mental health care providers in South Africa often lack the skills to conduct effective prevention activities in psychiatric settings. This article describes the development and evaluation of an HIV education program for mental health care providers at three psychiatric institutions in South Africa. METHODS: The research team worked with a core group of 16 mental health care providers to assess HIV training needs and to develop a training intervention focused on identified issues. The training intervention was administered to three groups (42 total) during three 1.5-day workshops. Providers completed pre- and post-intervention assessments that measured knowledge and attitudes about HIV and AIDS. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed a significant increase in reported levels of comfort with HIV care (d=.54), perceived knowledge of HIV (d=1.17), and factual knowledge (d=.74). CONCLUSIONS: This contextually relevant HIV education curriculum changed providers' attitudes and knowledge, demonstrated the feasibility of administering the training program, and provided a foundation for further prevention activities.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2005

Transforming the meaning of HIV/AIDS in recovery from substance use: a qualitative study of HIV-positive women in New York.

Recovery from substance use is a vital concern for many women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). This qualitative study explores the meaning of women's HIV infection for their transition from drug use to recovery. Interviews were conducted with 15 female clients of a drug treatment program and AIDS nursing home in New York City. For most participants, HIV did not constitute the main reason for starting their recovery. The dual diagnosis program, however, facilitates an important transformation of the meaning of HIV/AIDS. Previously viewed as just another reason to use drugs, women now increasingly perceive their HIV infection as an incentive to stay clean and sober.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Integrating mental health in global initiatives for HIV/AIDS.

A more prominent role is needed for mental health interventions in global HIV/AIDS initiatives -- such as the World Health Organization'3 by 5' Initiative. Significant numbers of infected people have, or develop, mental health problems, and this often adversely impacts on HIV/AIDS treatment and adherence. Integrating psychiatric and psychosocial interventions should benefit both the mental and the physical health of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Delivery of Health Care, Integrated↗
PubMed2004

Measuring mental illness stigma.

The effectiveness of efforts designed to address mental illness stigma will rest on our ability to understand stigma processes, the factors that produce and sustain such processes, and the mechanisms that lead from stigmatization to harmful consequences. Critical to such an understanding is our capacity to observe and measure the essential components of stigma processes. This article is designed to assist researchers in selecting or creating measures that can address critical research questions regarding stigma. Our conceptualization of stigma processes leads us to consider components of labeling, stereotyping, cognitive separating, emotional reactions, status loss, and discrimination. We review 123 empirical articles published between January 1995 and June 2003 that have sought to assess mental illness stigma and use these articles to provide a profile of current measurement in this area. From the articles we identify commonly used and promising measures and describe those measures in more detail so that readers can decide whether the described measures might be appropriate for their studies. We end by identifying gaps in stigma measurement in terms of concepts covered and populations assessed.

Cognition↗