Mental health case management as a locus for HIV prevention: results from case-manager focus groups.
HIV infection among people with severe mental illness (SMI) is a growing concern, and interventions have been designed to address HIV prevention among these individuals. However, little is known about the preparedness of mental health providers to support these interventions. This study concentrated on mental health case management as a locus for HIV-prevention services. Focus groups of case managers were conducted to learn participants' motivation to adopt HIV-prevention services and barriers/facilitators to such adoption. Participants reported they would be motivated to offer HIV prevention if services were to be presented in the context of existing client relationships and case-management tasks. Barriers and facilitators were discussed at client, provider, and community levels, and recommendations for training were offered. Findings have implications for diffusion of HIV-prevention services in case management, and the line of questioning in focus groups provides a basis for learning about other behavioral health service contexts as loci for disease prevention.
University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA. John.A.Encandela@orcmacro.com
John A
JA
Encandela
Wynne S
WS
Korr
Kathleen
K
Hulton
Gary F
GF
Koeske
W Dean
WD
Klinkenberg
Laura L
LL
Otto-Salaj
Anthony J
AJ
Silvestre
Eric R
ER
Wright
D000328:Adult; D019090:Case Management; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017146:Models, Organizational; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation