ArticleBMC psychiatry2021
Correlates of self-reported history of mental health help-seeking: a cross-sectional study among individuals with symptoms of a mental or substance use disorder initiating care for HIV in Cameroon.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Hidden Majority: Dual-Factor Mental Health Profiles Among Help-Avoidant University Students.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2026Article
- Thoughts of Death or Self-injury, Non-same-day ART Initiation, and 2-year Incidence of Disengagement from Care Among People Entering HIV Care in Cameroon.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- The process and mechanism of help-seeking behavior among people living with HIV: a qualitative analysis based on grounded theory.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Are they looking for support? Mental health and trauma awareness as predictors of mental health help-seeking behaviour among young adults and adolescents in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates.BMC public health · 2025Article
- User Personas for eHealth Regarding the Self-Management of Depressive Symptoms in People Living With HIV: Mixed Methods Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Depression and the revolving door of HIV care: using multistate approaches to understand complex longitudinal exposure/outcome relationships among a cohort of people entering HIV care in Cameroon from 2019 to 2020.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Mental health-related help-seeking and the role of HIV care providers: A qualitative study with people with HIV in Cameroon.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Prevalence and co-occurrence of symptoms of mental and substance use disorders among people with HIV age 40 and older in low- and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2024Article
- Coping Strategies and Symptoms of Mental Health Disorders Among People with HIV Initiating HIV Care in Cameroon.AIDS and behavior · 2023Article
- The Correlates of Health Facility-related Stigma and Health-seeking Behaviors of People Living with HIV.Acta medica Philippina · 2023Article
- Prevalence of stressful life events and associations with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder among people entering care for HIV in Cameroon.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMental health and substance use disorders (MSDs) increase the risk of poor human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care outcomes among people living with HIV (PLWH). Receipt of mental health care may improve these adverse outcomes. We aimed to identify correlates of prior mental health help-seeking among PLWH with symptoms of an MSD in Cameroon.
methodsWe characterize prior mental health help-seeking from formal (mental health specialist/general medical provider) and informal (traditional healer/religious leader) sources among 161 people with symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scores> 9), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7 scores> 9), probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 scores> 30), or possible alcohol use disorder (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores≥16) who were newly entering HIV care at three healthcare facilities in Cameroon between June 2019 and March 2020. Help-seeking was defined as ever speaking to a formal or informal source about emotional problems, sadness, or the way they were feeling or behaving. We estimated the association between sociodemographic and psychosocial measures and lifetime mental health help-seeking from each type of source using log-binomial regression.
resultsOverall, 55.3% of 161 PLWH with MSD symptoms reported prior mental health help-seeking, with 24.2% and 46.0% seeking help from formal and informal sources, respectively. Religious leaders were the most common source of help (40.4%), followed by general medical professionals (22.4%), traditional healers (16.8%), and mental health specialists (7.4%). Individuals with higher depressive, anxiety, and trauma symptom severity scores were more likely to have sought help than those with lower scores. Individuals with possible alcohol use disorder were the least likely to have sought help. Prior help-seeking was more common among those reporting a higher number of lifetime traumatic events (prevalence ratio [PR]: 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01, 1.11) and those with a history of emotional intimate partner violence (PR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.80).
conclusionsPrior mental health help-seeking was associated with psychosocial stressors. Help-seeking from informal networks was more common than formal help-seeking. Training in the provision of evidence-based mental health support for informal networks could improve access to mental health care for PLWH with MSDs in Cameroon.
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