HIV risk reduction interventions in populations with serious mental illness: a critical review of the "second generation"

There is a disparity between the HIV prevalence in the seriously mentally ill (SMI) population (8%) as compared to the general population (0.6%) in the United States. In order to identify interventions for HIV prevention for people with SMI, a literature search was conducted in PubMed and PsychInfo. For PubMed, the following Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms were used: HIV Infections, Prevention and control, and Mental Disorders. For PsychInfo the following terms were used in the search: Mental Disorders and HIV. Sixteen independent studies were found after being subjected to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The most notable finding of this study was that effective gender-specific interventions have been designed and implemented in SMI populations. Also HIV prevention interventions have demonstrated changes in attitudes and HIV related risk behaviors in this population. However analysis by some of the studies revealed that the intervention outcomes can be impacted by individual differences (i.e. race, psychiatric diagnosis, and reported substance use). The issue of exploring subpopulations among people with SMI is the next suggested step in combatting this issue. This essay is of public health significance because it explores the issue of reducing HIV related risk behaviors in people with mental illness in order to reduce their chance of contracting this deadly virus