Sampson Opoku Agyemang

Depression among people living with HIV/AIDS in higher-income countries is associated with suboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy and though counterintuitive. Yet, less is known regarding how depression, social support, and other sociodemographic factors influence outcomes among people living with HIV, particularly in resource-limited settings like Ghana. In view of this gap, this study investigated factors associated with depressive symptoms among people living with HIV in the Volta region of Ghana. A total of 181 people living with HIV from a local antiretroviral clinic was purposively sampled for the study. The questionnaire included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Internalized Stigma of HIV/AIDS Tool, and the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List-12. An independent student t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and chi-square test were conducted to ascertain the associations among the variables of interest. The magnitude of association was evaluated with multiple linear regression. The average depression score among the participants was 9.1±8.8 and 20.4% reported signs of depression. Majority (78%) of participants who were depressed were male compared to females (p = 0.031). In the multiple linear regression, every one-year increase in age was significantly associated with an estimated 0.012 standard deviation increase in depression scores (95% CI: 0.002–0.021) after adjusting for all other variables in the model. Every unit standard deviation increase in social support was significantly associated with an estimated 0.659 standard deviation increase in depression scores (95% CI:0.187–1.132), after adjusting for all other variables in the model. We found a high prevalence of depressive symptoms among people living with HIV especially among males. An increase in age and social support was associated with an increase in depressive symptoms among people living with HIV in this study. We recommend further study using longitudinal approach to understand this unexpected association between depression and social support among people living with HIV in Ghana.

Background and Aims: An important but much less researched burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Sub‐Saharan Africa includes the associated mental health outcomes of living with the virus. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress, and describe some of the socio‐demographic associations among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Ghana.Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Simple random sampling was used to recruit 395 PLHIV who access HIV‐related services at the antiretroviral therapy clinic. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale‐21 was used to assess prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress. Frequencies and percentages were used to estimate the prevalence and multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate sociodemographic factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress.Results: The prevalence estimates of depression, anxiety, and stress among PLHIV were 28.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 24.4–33.3), 40.8% (95% CI = 36.0–45.8), and 10.6% (95% CI = 7.9–14.1), respectively. Females reported higher prevalence of depression (32.2%; 95% CI = 27.2–37.7), anxiety (44.0%; 95% CI = 38.4–49.6), and stress (12.6%; 95% CI = 9.4–17.0) compared to depression (17.5%; 95% CI = 11.1–26.4), anxiety (30.9%; 95% CI = 22.5–40.7), and stress (4.1%; 95% CI = 1.2–10.4) among males. PLHIV without a regular partner were about 0.63 increased odds of experiencing anxiety compared to those with a regular partner (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.40–1.00: p = 0.049). PLHIV without formal education were about 0.49 and 0.44 increased odds to experience anxiety and stress, respectively compared to those with tertiary education.Conclusions: Generally, the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression are high among PLHIV, but disproportionately higher among females. Mental health assessment and management should be integrated into the HIV care services. There should be capacity building for health care workers to offer differentiated service delivery based on mental health care needs of PLHIV.

Background: The job demand and stress associated with the nursing profession expose nurses to an increased risk of psychiatric morbidities such as anxiety and depression. This study assessed the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among psychiatric nurses in Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in three psychiatric hospitals in Ghana between March 2020 and May 2021. Simple random sampling technique were used to select 311 psychiatric nurses. Beck’s Depression Inventory, Beck’s Anxiety Inventory and Perceived Stress Scale were used to assess depression, anxiety and stress, respectively. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23.0. Results: The results showed that 19.6% of psychiatric nurses experienced mild to severe depression, 27% mild to severe anxiety and 42% mild to high stress. Regression analysis showed that participants with a diploma qualification had higher odds of having moderate depression compared to those with a master’s degree. In terms of stress, participants with a diploma qualification were 29.6% less likely to have moderate stress compared to those with a master’s degree. Those with a bachelor’s degree were 7.1% less likely to have moderate stress compared to those with a master’s degree. Conclusion: Psychiatric nurses experience depression, anxiety and stress to varying degrees. Education level was identified as a determinant of depression, anxiety and stress. Therefore, preventive strategies should be designed to reduce the risk of these conditions.

Background: The job demands and stress associated with the nursing profession put nurses on an escalating risk to exhibit psychiatric morbidity such as anxiety and depression. This study assessed the prevalence and risk factors of depression, anxiety and stress among nurses working in public psychiatric hospitals in Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used for this study. Proportionate and simple random sampling method were used to select 311 respondents for the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire which comprised Beck’s Depression Inventory, Beck’s Anxiety Inventory and Perceived Stress Scale. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and a multinomial logistic regression. Results: The results showed that 92% and 96.5% of mental health nurses experienced minimal depression and low anxiety respectively. In addition, 56.6% and 42.8% experienced low and moderate stress respectively. There was a positive association between educational level and depression whereas, a negative association existed between educational level and anxiety and stress. Also, mental health nurses who work at the OPD and Administration were more likely to experience anxiety and stress. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that, higher level of educational opportunities for mental health nurses leads to decreases anxiety among nurses. Also, the work environment needs to be made conducive to promote the psychological wellbeing of nurses. Additionally, interventions on the management of depression, anxiety and stress by nurses in mental health hospitals need to be instituted, thereby, improving the health of nurses working in mental health hospitals.

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is of public health importance due to its high prevalence and infectivity. A positive test for HBV has psychological, emotional, and socio-economic implications that may affect the quality of life of the clients. The media is a major source of information and awareness creation on many health related issues including HBV. This study explored how media messaging on HBV influenced coping among persons infected with HBV. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted among clients who reported at the STI clinic for routine care at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Descriptive content analysis involving deductive and inductive approaches were applied. The findings show that radio was the main source of HBV related information. Misinformation on the transmission, chronicity and prognoses of HBV infection was mostly conveyed by traditional medicine practitioners on the media. These resulted in adverse emotional, social, and physical reactions such as fear and panic, isolation and loneliness, sleeplessness and unsafe health seeking behaviours. However, access to scientific information from health professionals resulted in empowerment and positive coping. More need to be done to regulate the content of HBV-related messages aired so as to avoid misinformation and its consequent negative impact on coping.