New HIV Mental Health Standards

posted: 08/04/2011

The first standards for mental health services for adults living with HIV are now out for public comments, until the end of May.

The new Standards for psychological support for adults living with HIV  were written by a team of experts, with the help of patients’ representatives and the HIV community sector, including George House Trust, Terrence Higgins Trust and NAT (National AIDS Trust).

The new standards describe the care that adults living with HIV should expect to receive from all the services providing mental health and psychological support, from any time after HIV diagnosis. These are not designed for children and teenagers with HIV, but it is hoped that standards for younger people will soon follow.

Psychological support means ‘any form of support which is aimed at helping people living with HIV to enhance their mental health and their cognitive and emotional wellbeing’. Mental health support comes in lots of different ways and not just from experts.

Many people with receive really valuable support from other people living with HIV – at services such as spaces, groups, weekends, which is known as 'peer support'. Experts like psychologists and other professionals (counsellors, nurses, psychiatrists and others) working in HIV clinics, at doctors surgeries and other clinics, as well as in HIV and other community services, provide more specialist support, treatment and help.

Stepped Care and 9 Standards

The standards follow a four-stage 'Stepped Care' model, to match people's growing psychological support needs, as these get more serious and complex. 

• Standard 1: promotion of mental health and wellbeing
• Standard 2: support at the time of diagnosis
• Standard 3: screening
• Standard 4: competence to provide psychological support
• Standard 5: comprehensive psychological support services
• Standard 6: co-ordination of psychological support
• Standard 7: evidence-based practice
• Standard 8: evaluation and audit
• Standard 9: engagement of people living with HIV
   

Say what you think

Comments on the draft standards are very welcome from anyone with experience (good or bad) of using or providing mental health support for people living with HIV. They’d like people to use their special form for your response. This helps by asking questions, and gives you space for any general comments on the whole standards, and on each of the 9 standards.

The standards should be used by the people deciding what mental health support services for people with HIV are provided in each district and by the people providing those services for checking their services are up to the standards.

The Standards

Please use this consultation response form and send your comments to MedFash by 5.00pm on Tuesday 31st May 2011.

These standards are a joint initiative of the Faculty for HIV & Sexual Health of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the British Psychological Society (BPS), the British HIV Association (BHIVA) and the Medical Foundation for AIDS & Sexual Health (MedFASH).

New Government Mental Health Strategy - No Health Without Mental Health

Fresh Gay Men’s HIV Prevention

posted: 16/03/2011

HIV prevention work for gay and bi men in England has been freshened up in the latest edition of Making it Count. Making it Count is the HIV prevention framework used in England by gay men’s and other HIV prevention organisations.
 

Making it Count first appeared in 1998 and the new edition describes how to do HIV prevention and education with gay and bisexual men. It’s been totally rewritten and is available here. It's produced by the CHAPS gay men's HIV prevention and sexual health partnership.

George House Trust is not part of CHAPS but we play a lively and active role. At the CHAPS conference last week we made two conference presentations based on our experience of the sexual health and HIV support needs of HIV+ gay and bi men.

George House Trust also made detailed comments and suggestions for improving the latest Making It Count.

Risky Choices

The new edition of Making It Count considers the various choices facing men who have sex with men that make a difference to HIV transmission, and puts more emphasis on what motivates and drives men in making these critical decisions on sexual risks.

Making It Count brings education and empowerment together in HIV prevention, in a way that values and respects gay and bi men, including men with HIV. It includes using social norms to influence men’s sexual behaviour.

Best Sex with Least Harm
Making It Count aims to promote the best sex with the least harm among gay men and bisexual men.

Making It Count Briefing Sheets

Making It Count Briefing Sheets are also available. These are handy summaries of the evidence on important HIV prevention and sexual health issues.

Making It Count Briefing Sheets already available are 

• Using fear in HIV prevention
• Herpes
• LGV
• Gonorrhoea, chlamydia and non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU)
• Hepatitis C
• Social marketing.

Future Briefings will soon be added for

• Poppers
• Microbicides
• PEP
• Undiagnosed HIV infection.

Making It Count Briefing Sheets

Making It Count from Sigma Research

Where's Our HIV Strategy?

posted: 02/11/2010

NAT has just launched a petition for a national strategy on HIV - its campaign for 2010 World AIDS Day.

There will be more than 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK in one years time, but the national strategy for HIV and sexual health in England runs out this December. There are no plans yet for a new one.
 

However the UK made a promise to the UN to have a HIV strategy which:

• demonstrates political leadership
• is properly financed
• is genuinely multi-sectoral and cross-departmental
• promotes human rights
• confronts stigma and discrimination
• effectively meets the need for high quality HIV prevention, testing, treatment, care and support.

This World AIDS Day, NAT is calling on the Prime Minister to keep this promise and create a new national strategy to combat HIV and link this to those agreed in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Petition to keep the HIV promise
Please add your voice to the HIV promise campaign here

And for other action ideas visit the World AIDS Day site 
 

Thanks and please Share

We and NAT are grateful for your support for UK-wide leadership and action on HIV. Please spread the word about the e-petition.

National HIV strategy for England

HIV, Equalities Impact Assessment

posted: 22/06/2010

The Department of Health has produced a report about the current inequalities in sexual health, the national policies to reduce and eliminate these inequalities, and an action plan to improve national sexual health policy by continuing to narrow them.
 

It includes a chapter about HIV and the equalities aspects of this in England. This includes the impact of HIV on gay and bisexual men, and Africans, and women in England.
 

This Equalities Impact Assessment will be one of the key documents influencing the next national Sexual Health Strategy, when the current sexual health strategy ends next year in 2011.
The document is available to download here on the DH website.
 

Making It Count - Gay HIV Consultation

posted: 19/04/2010

The latest version of the gay / bi men’s HIV prevention and sexual health strategy for England, Making It Count, is now open for your comments. Making it Count, is rewritten and fully updated from the third version, which appeared in 2003.

Making it Count is the planning framework for CHAPS, the multi-agency partnership for HIV prevention and education of gay and bisexual men in England.

The latest edition picks out the key choices facing men who have sex with men that affect HIV transmission rates, and pays attention to what helps motivate men.

It’s designed to bring together education and empowerment, with the values and social norms that will promote the best sex with the least harm among gay men and bisexual men.

This draft doesn’t have the final stamp of approval from the CHAPS partners, but there is broad agreement. They want your views first.

Some of the questions to think about are :

• How well does it meet the sexual health and onward HIV transmission needs of gay / bi men diagnosed with HIV?
• Is positive prevention given enough priority?
• Are men diagnosed with HIV involved enough in positive prevention?

Making It Count 2010 – draft     pdf 840KB

or by direct download from Sigma Research

Deadline for comments      09.00am, Monday 14 June 2010.

Making comments

• phone 020-7820 8022 and speak to Ford Hickson
• email Ford, either with comments made on the pdf or in an email message
• post to Sigma Research, 77a Tradescant Road, London, SW8 1XJ, writing your comments on a paper copy.