Prevalence and correlates of depression among caregivers of children living with HIV in Ghana: findings from the Sankofa pediatric disclosure study

ABSTRACT

Prior studies show an association between caregiver depression and child health outcomes. There has been little examination of depression among caregivers of HIV-infected children in sub-Saharan countries where pediatric HIV is concentrated. Using baseline data collected in the pediatric HIV disclosure intervention trial, Sankofa, we examined the prevalence and factors associated with depression among caregivers (N = 446) of children infected with HIV in Ghana. Data were analyzed with descriptive and regression analyses. The mean age of the caregivers was 42.2 ± 10.4 years. Eighty percent of the caregivers were female and 59% were HIV-infected. Twenty-eight percent (n = 126) of the caregivers were found to have mild to severe depression. In the adjusted model, factors significantly associated with caregiver depression included: HIV-positive caregiver status (P = 0.04), low income (P = 0.02), lower social support, (P = 0.01), lower HIV knowledge, (P = 0.01), worse HIV illness perceptions (P≤0.001), and greater perceived HIV stigma (P≤0.001). Although we found a high prevalence of depression among our study participants, several of the risks factors identified are modifiable and amenable to interventions that are locally available and affordable.

Trial registration: Uniform Trial Number identifier: NCT01701635.

KEYWORDS:

• Caregiver
• depression
• pediatric HIV
• disclosure

Acknowledgements

We thank the Sankofa study caregiver and child dyads for their participation. We are grateful to the staff at Pediatric AIDS Clinics at Korle-Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals and the Ghana–Yale Partnership for Global Health for their support. The content of the paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official view of NIH.

Members of the Sankofa Study Team: Elijah Paintsil, Nancy R. Reynolds, Tassos C. Kyriakides, and Geliang Gan, Yale University, USA; Lorna Renner, Margaret Lartey, Angela Ofori-Atta, Jonas Kusah Tettey, Joyceline Assimeng, Obedia Akweley Seaneke, Dramani Yakubu, and Kevin Bonsu, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana; Sampson Antwi, Kofi Aikins Amissah, Anthony Enimil, Amina Alhassan, and Irene Pokuaa Ofori, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana; Ann Christine Catlin, Sumudinie Fernando, and Chandima Hewa Nadungodage, Purdue University, USA.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01701635.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by a grant from National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD074253).