Psychosocial Factors Associated with Treatment Outcomes in Women with Obesity and Major Depressive Disorder who Received Behavioral Activation for Depression

Behavioral activation is an empirically supported treatment for depression, but much is unknown about factors associated with treatment response. The present study aimed to determine whether baseline levels and subsequent changes in psychosocial factors were associated with improvement in depression in women with comorbid obesity who received behavioral activation treatment for depression and a lifestyle intervention. Multilevel modeling was used to estimate the associations between psychosocial factors and change in depression scores during the first 10 weeks of treatment and associations between changes in psychosocial factors from baseline to 6-month follow-up and change in depression over the same time period. No baseline psychosocial factors were associated with depression improvement during treatment (p = 0.110-0.613). However, greater improvement in hedonic capacity (p = 0.001), environmental reward (p = 0.004), and social impairment (p = 0.012) were associated with greater reductions in depression over 6 months. Findings highlight the differential relationship specific psychosocial factors have with depression treatment outcomes

Distress Tolerance and Use of Antiretroviral Therapy Among HIV-Infected Individuals in Substance Abuse Treatment

Despite recent clinical guidelines recommending early initiation and widespread use of antiretroviral therapy (ART), many HIV-infected individuals are not receiving ART—in particular low-income, minority substance users. Few studies have examined psychological, as opposed to structural, factors related to not receiving ART in this population. Perceived capacity to tolerate physical and psychological distress, known as distress tolerance (DT), may be a particularly relevant yet understudied factor. The current study tested the relationship between self-reported physical and psychological DT and ART receipt among predominantly low-income, minority HIV-infected substance users (n=77). Psychiatric disorders, biological indicators of health status, ART use, structural barriers to health care, and self-reported physical and psychological DT were assessed. 61% of participants were receiving ART. The only factors that distinguished individuals not on ART were greater avoidance of physical discomfort, higher psychological DT, and higher CD4 count. Both DT measures remained associated with ART use after controlling for CD4 count and were associated with almost a two-fold decrease in likelihood of ART receipt. Current findings suggest higher perceived capacity to tolerate psychological distress and greater avoidance of physical discomfort are important factors associated with lower ART use among substance users and may be important intervention targets

Acceptability and feasibility of mHealth and community-based directly observed antiretroviral therapy to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in South African pregnant women under Option B+: an exploratory study

Jean B Nachega,1,2 Donald Skinner,3 Larissa Jennings,4 Jessica F Magidson,5 Frederick L Altice,6 Jessica G Burke,7 Richard T Lester,8 Olalekan A Uthman,9,10 Amy R Knowlton,11 Mark F Cotton,12 Jean R Anderson,13 Gerhard B Theron14 1Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; 2Department of Medicine, Centre for Infectious Diseases, and ACTG Clinical Trial Unit (CTU)/Family Clinical Research Unit (FAMCRU), 3Research on Health and Society, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Studies, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa; 4Social and Behavioral Interventions Program, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 5Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 6Division of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 7Department of Behavioral and Community Health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; 8Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; 9Warwick Centre for Applied Health Research and Delivery (WCAHRD), Division of Health Sciences, Warwick Medical School, The University of Warwick, Coventry, UK; 10Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa; 11Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; 12Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa; 13Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; 14Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa Objective: To examine the acceptability and feasibility of mobile health (mHealth)/short message service (SMS) and community-based directly observed antiretroviral therapy (cDOT) as interventions to improve antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence for preventing mother-to-child human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission (PMTCT). Design and methods: A mixed-method approach was used. Two qualitative focus group discussions with HIV-infected pregnant women (n=20) examined the acceptability and feasibility of two ART adherence interventions for PMTCT: 1) SMS text messaging and 2) patient-nominated cDOT supporters. Additionally, 109 HIV-infected, pregnant South African women (18–30 years old) receiving PMTCT services under single-tablet antiretroviral therapy regimen during pregnancy and breastfeeding and continuing for life (“Option B+”) were interviewed about mobile phone access, SMS use, and potential treatment supporters. Setting: A community primary care clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants: HIV-infected pregnant women. Main outcomes: Acceptability and feasibility of mHealth and cDOT interventions. Results: Among the 109 women interviewed, individual mobile phone access and SMS use were high (>90%), and 88.1% of women were interested in receiving SMS ART adherence support messages such as reminders, motivation, and medication updates. Nearly all women (95%) identified at least one person close to them to whom they had disclosed their HIV status and would nominate as a cDOT supporter. Focus group discussions revealed that cDOT supporters and adherence text messages were valued, but some concerns regarding supporter time availability and risk of unintended HIV status disclosure were expressed. Conclusion: mHealth and/or cDOT supporter as interventions to improve ART adherence are feasible in this setting. However, safe HIV status disclosure to treatment supporters and confidentiality of text messaging content about HIV and ART were deemed crucial. Keywords: HIV, AIDS, pregnancy, short messaging system, social suppor