Psychological distress and engagement in HIV-related services among individuals seeking mental health care

In the US, HIV-related mental health care has been funded for its ability to help engage and retain individuals living with HIV into other components of HIV-related care and treatment. However, little is known empirically about the types of HIV prevention and care with which they are, or need to be, connected. To explore this, data were collected from 617 individuals upon their self-enrollment in HIV-related mental health care in a large US city with high rates of HIV infection. Nearly a third of the participants (n=195) were "minimally engaged" in care services, 53% were "moderately engaged" and 15.6% were "highly engaged". There were significant differences between level of care engagement according to one's ethnicity, X(2)(4, n=617)=38.05; p<.001; Cramer's V=.18, with African-Americans and Latinos more likely to be highly engaged in care services compared to their Caucasian counterparts. Furthermore, individuals who were highly engaged in services had significantly lower levels of depression than their less engaged peers, F(2, 614)=8.18; p<.001; eta(2)=.03. Results suggest that while ethnic minorities were engaged in a higher number of care services, they were enrolling in mental health care following enrollment in other care services. Given the numerous benefits of engaging in HIV-related mental health early in the course of infection, it is important that case managers and primary care physicians educate African-Americans and Latinos on the benefits of mental health care in order to facilitate earlier engagement in HIV-related mental health services.