title: A review of the literature on HIV infection and schizophrenia: implications for research, policy and clinical practice.
abstract: AIDS represents one of the major public health problems of the 21st century. Men having sex with men, injecting drug use and having multiple sexual partners are well-established risk behaviours for transmitting the HIV virus. People with schizophrenia are more likely to engage in these behaviours than the general population and as a result there is an increased prevalence of HIV infection in this group. However, many contemporary mental health policy reports fail to discuss the risk of HIV/AIDS in people with schizophrenia, and there are few specific references to sexual health promotion in these documents. People with schizophrenia should be considered an at-risk population for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. Psychiatric research, policy and clinical practice need to develop rapidly to address this important aspect of a major public health problem.
authors.affiliation: Health Services Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK. R.Gray@iop.kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brewin
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Noak
authors.forename: Janelle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wyke-Joseph
authors.forename: Babita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sonik
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012106:Research; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology