Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 Medical overview
- 2 Cognitive disorders in people living with HIV disease
- 3 General principles of pharmacotherapy for the patient with HIV infection
- 4 Mood disorders and psychosis in HIV
- 5 Suicidal behavior and HIV infection
- 6 Anxiety disorders and HIV disease
- 7 General issues in hospital HIV psychiatry
- 8 HIV and people with serious and persistent mental illness
- 9 Psychotherapy
- 10 HIV and substance use disorders
- 11 Psychiatric issues in pediatric HIV/AIDS
- 12 Uninfected children of parents with HIV
- 13 Psychological issues faced by gay men
- 14 Women and HIV
- 15 Couples
- 16A HIV and cultural diversity
- 16B African Americans
- 16C Latinos and HIV disease
- 16D One heart, two spirit, and beyond: HIV and the people of the First Nations
- 17 HIV in prison populations
- 18 Legal and ethical issues
- 19 Psychiatrist as caregiver
- Appendix I HIV Counselling checklist for physicians
- Index
- References
14 - Women and HIV
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 Medical overview
- 2 Cognitive disorders in people living with HIV disease
- 3 General principles of pharmacotherapy for the patient with HIV infection
- 4 Mood disorders and psychosis in HIV
- 5 Suicidal behavior and HIV infection
- 6 Anxiety disorders and HIV disease
- 7 General issues in hospital HIV psychiatry
- 8 HIV and people with serious and persistent mental illness
- 9 Psychotherapy
- 10 HIV and substance use disorders
- 11 Psychiatric issues in pediatric HIV/AIDS
- 12 Uninfected children of parents with HIV
- 13 Psychological issues faced by gay men
- 14 Women and HIV
- 15 Couples
- 16A HIV and cultural diversity
- 16B African Americans
- 16C Latinos and HIV disease
- 16D One heart, two spirit, and beyond: HIV and the people of the First Nations
- 17 HIV in prison populations
- 18 Legal and ethical issues
- 19 Psychiatrist as caregiver
- Appendix I HIV Counselling checklist for physicians
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
At the end of 2001, UNAIDS estimated that there were 37.1 million adults living with HIV/AIDS. Of those, 18.5 million or about 50% were women. In sub-Saharan Africa, more women than men are infected. Epidemiological studies indicate that women can and do become infected with HIV through sexual transmission more easily and at higher rates than men. For biological, psychological, and/or social reasons, the course of HIV disease may differ in women (Kilian et al., 1999), and the mental health impact of infection has its own place in the study of women.
While women represent a significant and growing part of the pandemic, knowledge and services specific to women continue to lag behind those specific to other HIV-infected populations (Gorna, 1995). For many years, papers on HIV and women were the exception rather than the norm (Sherr, 1996), and women were rarely included in clinical trials. In the late 1990s, research tended to focus on the role of women in vertical (i.e., mother to child) transmission (Mofenson, 1999; Shafer et al., 1999; Wiktor et al., 1999; McIntyre and Gray, 2002) and on child outcomes, rather than addressing women's issues (Pinch, 1994) or tracking maternal outcomes.
This chapter discusses the mental health implications for women living with HIV, which are often inextricably bound with their physical health concerns. It discusses a number of factors to consider in caring for women with HIV, including relationships, sexual behavior, parenting, pregnancy, treatment and adherence, and emotional impact (such as anxiety, depression, grief, bereavement, and coping).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- HIV and PsychiatryTraining and Resource Manual, pp. 217 - 235Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005