Mumbai: MDACS’ Samvad for mental health to help all HIV patients

Through Samvad, MDACS tried to identify the earliest sign of mental health issues in PLHIV. Representation pic

Besides treatment for HIV, as a pilot project for its initiative Samvad, the Mumbai AIDS District Control Society (MDACS) had been treating People living with HIV (PLHIV) for mental illness. The pilot survey revealed that 10.8 per cent of PLHIV participants had symptoms suggestive of mental health comorbidity. Now MDACS will reach out through Samvad to the around 36,000 PLHIV across Mumbai.

In today's competitive world people have work and career tensions, physical issues, financial and relationship issues, and all these impact their mental health, resulting in stress, anxiety, and sometimes depression. In view of rising mental illnesses, MDACS started the mental health sessions ‘Samvad' in the year 2021.

Identifying the issues

Speaking to mid-day, Additional Project Director of MDACS, Dr Vijay Karanjkar said, "If a person has mental health issues, they will have an impact on her/his treatment. Many times we see people with HIV leaving treatment midway, or becoming irregular in taking medicines, which eventually affects their health. Through Samvad, we tried to identify the earliest sign of mental health issues in PLHIV, who come to our 20 ART centres for treatment."

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"In the pilot project our counselors screened 9,497 PLHIV, out of whom 1,033 (10.8%) had symptoms suggestive of mental health comorbidity. We found most common mental health issues were anxiety, stress, and mood disorders. Our counselors at ART centers started counseling people to overcome mental illness, and if needed, referred them for psychiatric care," he added.

Now MDACS aims to reach out through Samvad to around 36,000 PLHIV across Mumbai. Dr Karanjkar said, "Our aim is to ensure that mental health issues don't become hindrances to HIV treatment. We want them to be fit mentally and physically."

‘A welcome move'

HIV and TB activist Ganesh Acharya said, "It is a welcome move by MDACS. Mental health issues are common in society, and identifying them at the earliest is very important. A decade back PLHIV faced stigma about the disease. They still are worried if they haven't told the family and the work place about the disease. But now people manage and the stigma has also gone down. But some might need help to overcome mental illness. I am glad that such initiatives are taken up for PLHIV."