What is stopping people living with HIV and depression from accessing health services?

🧪 What was the study about?

One in three people with HIV in England are now over the age of 50 and the number of people with additional healthcare conditions in this population is increasing. People with HIV appear to be more likely to develop depression than people without HIV. Though we do not know why this happens, people with HIV who do have depression may find it hard to talk about this and this can affect how they take their HIV medication. As a result, this can mean that their HIV may cause additional health problems. Currently, there is no standard way for people with HIV to get help for their depressive symptoms. If we know what barriers are stopping people living with HIV and depression from accessing health services, we can find ways to improve this.

❓ Why is this important?

It is important that people with HIV and depression can access the best health services for their needs. Also, there should be a clear and consistent approach to managing depression. This will lead to improved overall health for people living with HIV and depression.

🔍 What did we do?

This study measured the need of mental healthcare in people ageing with HIV. We did this by looking at data from a study that follows older and younger people with HIV to see how many people with HIV and depression are accessing health services. We then interviewed people with HIV and the professionals caring for them, to get a deeper understanding of why older people with HIV might not be able to get the care they need when they need it.

📊 Key findings

So far, this study has found older people with HIV are less likely to access mental healthcare compared to younger people with HIV. This study is still in progress trying to understand why this might be.

💡 What do these findings mean?

These findings will be used to support the development of guidelines and standards for the diagnosis and management of mental health problems and depression among people living with HIV in the UK.