Depression and coping strategies among Vietnamese women living with HIV: A qualitative study

ABSTRACT

Women living with HIV (WLWH) are more likely to suffer from depression than seronegative women and are also more likely to suffer from depression than men living with HIV. There is limited depression research with WLWH in Vietnam. Twenty in-depth interviews with WLWH were conducted to identify pathways leading to depression and coping strategies for depression. Participants were recruited from an antiretroviral treatment clinic in northern Vietnam. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed, translated, and analysed to identify key themes. All participants reported sudden loss of social support, debilitating depression, and suicidal ideation in the first six months after HIV diagnosis. While some were able to cope with their status after several months, others continued to struggle due to HIV-related stigma that was perceived as more isolating for WLWH than for men. Women who were able to effectively cope with depression found ways to re-establish connections to family and community. Interventions to improve mental wellbeing should link WLWH to mental health services immediately after diagnosis and address loss of support and stigma, as they contributed to the onset and persistence of depression after HIV diagnosis. Community-level HIV stigma reduction interventions may also help repair broken social bonds and foster new ones.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV/AIDS
• women’s health
• depression
• qualitative research
• Vietnam

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the Thai Nguyen Center for Preventative Medicine for their support, Wendy Davis for her assistance in editing, and the brave and resilient women who participated in the study. Nia M. Bhadra was a Doris Duke International Clinical Research Fellow.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through a grant supporting the Doris Duke International Clinical Research Fellows Program at the University of North Carolina.