Assessment of Mental Health Literacy Among HIV/AIDS Patients and Caregivers in Cape Town, South Africa

HIV/AIDS patients in Cape Town, South Africa often face significant mental health challenges due to stigma, discrimination, and lack of access to support services. Participants were recruited from community centers in Cape Town. Mental health literacy was assessed through a validated tool with reliability and validity established. A thematic analysis revealed three key themes: stigma, support needs, and knowledge gaps among patients and caregivers. Mental health literacy interventions are essential to improve understanding and coping strategies for HIV/AIDS patients and their caregivers in Cape Town. Implement culturally sensitive mental health education programmes targeting both patients and caregivers to enhance awareness and reduce stigma. Treatment effect was estimated with logit(pᵢ)=β₀+β^ Xᵢ, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.