Improving Mental Health and Resilience Among Children Living with HIV in Uganda

Children with HIV have higher rates of attempted suicide and self-harm than their peers; anxiety and depression are associated with non-adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART), substance abuse and risky sexual practices (Vreeman et al 2017). In Uganda, perinatally infected children and adolescents on ART show disorder prevalences of 17.4% (psychiatric), 9.6% (behavioral) and 11.5% (emotional) (Kinyanda et al 2015); younger children are more likely to lack coping strategies (Mutumba et al 2015).