Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40299259›Full record

Trial reportAIDS and behavior2025

A Booklet Self-Help Intervention for People Living with HIV and Depressive Symptoms in Botswana: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Boitumelo Vavani, Nadia Garnefski, Sanne van Luenen, Elise Dusseldorp, Kennedy Amone-P'Olak, Philip Spinhoven, Vivian Kraaij

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in AIDS and behavior, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Boitumelo VavaniUniversity of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana. vavanib@UB.AC.BW.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7097-8686
Nadia GarnefskiClinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1198-0502
Sanne van LuenenClinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7871-5888
Elise DusseldorpMethodology & Statistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6305-4060
Kennedy Amone-P'OlakFaculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4493-0659
Philip SpinhovenClinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4117-335X
Vivian KraaijClinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1146-177X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), there is a scarcity of psychological treatment options for people living with HIV (PLWH) with depressive symptoms. Self-help programs for depressive symptoms, in particular, are cost-effective and scalable, and therefore a promising tool in the treatment of depressive symptoms for people in low-resourced countries. This paper presents the results of a study that examined the effectiveness of a guided self-help program in reducing depressive symptoms in PLWH in Botswana. A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) was conducted on a sample of PLWH who were screened at HIV treatment centers in Botswana. The RCT had two conditions: an intervention group that received the self-help program with coaching and an attention-only control group. In both groups, a pre-test, post-test, and 3-month follow-up measurement were administered. Patients in the intervention group followed a booklet Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-based self-help program. Seventy-two participants were included in the study. The results indicated significantly larger decreases in depressive symptoms in the intervention group than in the attention-only control group, both in the short and longer term, with large effect sizes. In addition, there were significant reductions in anxiety symptoms in the intervention group compared to the control group. The user satisfaction was high. Implementing this low-cost and scalable self-help program in a LMIC such as Botswana is critical in bridging the existing mental health treatment gap. This clinical Trial was registered with the Netherlands Trial registry, number NTR5407on August 23, 2018.

Indexed as

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyDepressionHIV InfectionsPamphletsSelf CareAdultBotswanaFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeDepressive symptomsHIVLow-and-middle incomecountriesRandomized clinical trialSelf-help

Identifiers

PMID40299259
PMCPMC12432033

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.