Background
Significant gaps remain along the HIV care continuum. Mental illness influences every step of HIV prevention and care continuum. In fact, people living with HIV (PLHIV) have significantly higher rates of mental health symptoms and disorders. The estimated incidence of HIV in people with serious mental illness in the United States is 6% compared to the overall incidence of 0.6%. If we do not address behavioral health, it is unlikely to achieve the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 95-95-95 and other targets aimed at ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.
Program
Prioritizing Mental Health in Trauma Settings is focused on current evidence-based strategies to mitigate the effects of mental health conditions during trauma situations. Initially launched in 2021 with a target audience of clinicians affiliated to health departments, the curriculum was updated in 2023 and the activity re-designed to meet the educational needs of clinicians and other healthcare professionals providing HIV care and treatment, including physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
Planning Committee
This educational activity was developed by a course director, an activity manager, and an activity coordinator:
Course Director: Robert Remien, PhD (Columbia University, New York, NY, USA)
Activity Manager: Jonathon Hess, LLM (International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Washington, DC, USA)
Activity Coordinator: John Charles (International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Tampa, FL, USA)
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this activity, learners should be able to:
- Understand mental health conditions exacerbated by trauma situations among PLHIV
- Select interventions to mitigate the effects of mental health conditions during trauma situations
- Communicate with PLHIV using language that recognizes the emotional impact of trauma situations
Disclosure
This activity was originally supported through an educational grant from Gilead Sciences. The content for this activity was developed by and reflects the views of the activity’s planners, not those of the commercial entity that provided the educational grant.
Course Content
This activity’s three modules are covered in the video link below, which should be fully reviewed prior to completing the knowledge assessment. If you encounter any issues, please contact Jonathon Hess, IAPAC Senior Director of Education, at jhess@iapac.org.
