“Mulomoni wa Phalaphala u Pfiwa nga Mulidzi” – Stakeholder Engagement on Meaningful Engagement of PLWHIV in Integrating Mental Health into HIV Programmes - CB-PAR
1
HIV/AIDS&STIs, National Department of Health, Pretoria, South Africa
2
Nursing Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
3
Nursing Science, KUHeS University, Blantyre, Malawi
4
South African Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV & AIDS (SANERELA+),, Johannesburg, South Africa
5
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Johannesburg, South Africa
6
Positive Women Network (PWN), Johannesburg, South Africa
7
50Plus Projects, Johannesburg, South Africa
8
National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS (NAPWA), Johannesburg, South Africa
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A1804
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT:
Literature affirms the vulnerability of PLWHIV to mental health problems, leading to negative treatment outcomes(1-8). This vulnerability warrants integrating mental health into the HIV programme. Meaningful engagement of people with lived experience promotes ownership and successful interventions. ‘Mulomomi wa phalaphala u pfiwa nga mulidzi’ (the mouthpiece of a trumpet is felt by the player), a Tshivenda proverb meaning ‘The best way to learn the truth of a matter is from the person involved’, highlights the importance and value of lived experiences(9). However, meaningful engagement of PLWHIV in integrating mental health into the HIV programme has not been explored in South Africa. We conducted stakeholder engagement sessions with PLWHIV to explore how they can be meaningfully engaged in developing strategies for integrating mental health into HIV programmes, employing Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CB-PAR). This study presents PLWHIV reflections on the proposed study. Sessions were held between June and July 2025 with fifty-six (n=56) PLWHIV to secure their buy-in and participation in CB-PAR. The sessions were conducted with each of the five (n=5) PLWHIV sector organisations (SANERELA+, NAPWA, TAC, 50Plus Projects and PWN), sampled through convenience and snowball sampling. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. Five themes derived: (1) ‘Nothing about us without us’ - Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GIPA) – promoting ownership of interventions; (2) HIV and mental health programmes verticalised "Territorialism" - missed opportunities, loss to follow-up, treatment fatigue, and suicide; (3) Psychosocial support; (4) Stigma (5) Strengthening community-based activities - including peer support and community empowerment Valuing the lived experience of PLWHIV at both the policy and implementation levels provides an opportunity to incorporate their voices in programming that concerns them. This leads to greater ownership of their health and improved treatment outcomes
Literature affirms the vulnerability of PLWHIV to mental health problems, leading to negative treatment outcomes(1-8). This vulnerability warrants integrating mental health into the HIV programme. Meaningful engagement of people with lived experience promotes ownership and successful interventions. ‘Mulomomi wa phalaphala u pfiwa nga mulidzi’ (the mouthpiece of a trumpet is felt by the player), a Tshivenda proverb meaning ‘The best way to learn the truth of a matter is from the person involved’, highlights the importance and value of lived experiences(9). However, meaningful engagement of PLWHIV in integrating mental health into the HIV programme has not been explored in South Africa. We conducted stakeholder engagement sessions with PLWHIV to explore how they can be meaningfully engaged in developing strategies for integrating mental health into HIV programmes, employing Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CB-PAR). This study presents PLWHIV reflections on the proposed study. Sessions were held between June and July 2025 with fifty-six (n=56) PLWHIV to secure their buy-in and participation in CB-PAR. The sessions were conducted with each of the five (n=5) PLWHIV sector organisations (SANERELA+, NAPWA, TAC, 50Plus Projects and PWN), sampled through convenience and snowball sampling. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. Five themes derived: (1) ‘Nothing about us without us’ - Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GIPA) – promoting ownership of interventions; (2) HIV and mental health programmes verticalised "Territorialism" - missed opportunities, loss to follow-up, treatment fatigue, and suicide; (3) Psychosocial support; (4) Stigma (5) Strengthening community-based activities - including peer support and community empowerment Valuing the lived experience of PLWHIV at both the policy and implementation levels provides an opportunity to incorporate their voices in programming that concerns them. This leads to greater ownership of their health and improved treatment outcomes
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
