ABSTRACT
The high rate of mental health problems in HIV-infected women jeopardizes the health of this vulnerable population, and constitutes a mandate for integrating mental health services into HIV primary care. The Whole Life project-a collaboration of the departments of Psychiatry and Obstetrics/Gynecology at the University of Miami School of Medicine-successfully integrated mental health services into primary HIV care for women. This article describes the conceptual framework of the integration, implementation strategies, effects of the service integration, and lessons learned. Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a Special Program of National Significance (SPNS), Whole Life efforts have been sustained beyond the demonstration funding period as a result of the changes brought about in organizational structures, service delivery, and the providers' conceptualization of health for HIV-infected women.
Subject(s)
Delivery of Health Care, Integrated/organization & administration , HIV Infections/therapy , Mental Disorders/therapy , Mental Health Services/organization & administration , Models, Organizational , Primary Health Care/organization & administration , Women's Health Services/organization & administration , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child of Impaired Parents/psychology , Female , Florida , HIV Infections/complications , HIV Infections/psychology , Holistic Health , Humans , Interinstitutional Relations , Mental Disorders/complications , Middle Aged , Organizational Case Studies , Pilot Projects , Schools, MedicalABSTRACT
This study set out to measure the degree of social stigma experienced by discharged mental hospital patients and the extent to which these patients were viewed as a burden by family and friends. Predictors of stigma included social class and demographic factors, posthospital situation, emotional functioning, and use of aftercare facilities. However, available measures were able to account for little of the variance in stigma, and further research is suggested to establish more reliable predictors of mental patient stigmatization.
