Article
Poverty indicators and mental health functioning among adults living with HIV in Delhi, India
AIDS Care
(2015)
Abstract
Poor mental health functioning among persons living with HIV (PLHIV) has gained considerable
attention particularly in low-income countries that disproportionately carry the global HIV/AIDS
burden. Fewer studies, however, have examined the relationship between poverty indicators and
mental health among PHLIV in India. Based on this cross-sectional study of 196 HIV-seropositive
adults who received medical services at Shalom AIDS Project in Delhi, India, structural equation
modeling and mediation analysis were employed to estimate the associations between poverty
indices (household asset index, food security, unemployment, water treatment, sanitation), HIVhealth
factors (illness in the past 3 months, co-morbid medical conditions), and psychological
distress. In the final model, ownership of fewer household assets was associated with higher
levels of food insecurity, which in turn was associated with higher psychological distress. Also,
the household asset index, food insecurity, and unemployment had a larger effect on
psychological distress than new opportunistic infections. These findings build on increasing
evidence that support concerted efforts to design, evaluate, and refine HIV mental health
interventions that are mainstreamed with livelihood programming in high poverty regions in India.
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall October 15, 2015
Citation Information
Ezer Kang. "Poverty indicators and mental health functioning among adults living with HIV in Delhi, India" AIDS Care (2015) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ezer-kang/2/