Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Zimbabwe faces one of the most pronounced HIV epidemics in the world. Despite some recent HIV treatment-related successes across the country, Zimbabwean youth who are living with HIV continue to lag far behind their HIV+ adult counterparts with respect to key HIV treatment-related metrics; particularly the attainment of HIV viral suppression. Alcohol, substance use, and mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety may be hindering HIV treatment-related outcomes among Zimbabwean youth living with HIV. While this indicates the need to develop and integrate addictions and mental health interventions into the youth-focused HIV care continuum, the marked economic challenges currently faced by Zimbabwe suggest that such interventions will only be successful if they are designed to be delivered with minimal resources and with sustainability in mind. Recognizing this situation, consultation with stakeholders relevant to the HIV epidemic among Zimbabwean youth, including community members, HIV care providers, and health policy makers, will be imperative for guiding the development of these interventions. This planning grant therefore entails a series of stakeholder meetings to achieve the following objectives: 1) to discuss potentially acceptable and feasible interventions to address alcohol, substance use, and mental health concerns among HIV+ youth in three high HIV prevalence regions of Zimbabwe; 2) to discuss means through which addictions and mental health interventions could be integrated into youth-focused HIV care; and 3) to disseminate a report of key findings to stakeholders, and to develop a grant application involving an alcohol-, substance use-, and/or mental health-focused intervention tailored for HIV+ Zimbabwean youth. This work will bring to the forefront addictions and mental health concerns in relation to the HIV care cascade among Zimbabwean youth, and it will catalyze a collaboration aimed at improving HIV treatment outcomes among this group.