A cross-cultural comparison of psychological distress among individuals living with HIV in Atlanta, Georgia, and Eldoret, Kenya

Abstract

Elevated psychological distress during HIV infection has been consistently correlated with negative HIV-related health outcomes in studies conducted in various regions of the world. This study was conducted to compare the nature and range of psychological distress among HIV-infected individuals who had sought mental health care as part of their HIV care in Kenya and the United States. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) was completed by 234 individuals with HIV in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and 284 in Eldoret, Kenya. The US-based sample expressed markedly higher levels of psychological distress symptoms on the anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, obsessive-compulsive, and psychoticism dimensions, as well as the overall global severity index. Substantial proportions of both the US and Kenya cohorts expressed higher levels of somatization and paranoid ideation that suggested further psychological evaluation. This study revealed psychological distress expression varied drastically among individuals who self-enrolled into HIV-related mental health care within two different care infrastructures.