Publications by authors named "N V Zotova"
People living with HIV (PLWH) are disproportionately affected by depression, which often remains underdiagnosed and untreated, negatively impacting quality of life and treatment outcomes. Low resource settings often lack clinical professionals to identify depression, therefore screening tools such as the PHQ-9 allow for broader depression screening. This qualitative study among PLWH in Yaoundé Cameroon aimed to a) explore local understandings of depression and mental distress and b) assess comprehension and interpretation of the PHQ-9 items and response categories.
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- The study focused on PrEP retention rates among key populations at high HIV risk in Rwanda, specifically female sex workers (FSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM), highlighting disparities in retention at 1 and 12 months after starting PrEP treatment.* -
- Results showed that 92% of participants were retained at 1 month and 77% at 12 months, with retention influenced by factors such as living situations and perceived HIV risk, particularly among FSWs, while MSM retention was affected by education and employment status.* -
- The findings underline the need for targeted interventions to improve PrEP retention, particularly among groups with lower education levels or different employment statuses, to ensure ongoing HIV prevention support.*
Background: Screening for depression remains a priority for people living with HIV (PLWH) accessing care. The 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a widely used depression screening tool, but has limited accuracy when applied across various cultural contexts. We aimed to evaluate the performance of alternative PHQ-9 scoring algorithms in sub-Saharan African PLWH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSW) are increasingly and disproportionately impacted by HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, yet current PrEP care models in this region are not optimized for these communities. Limited data exist describing experiences and preferences of MSM and FSW with respect to accessing and using PrEP.
Methods: We conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with MSM and FSW recruited from three health centers and seven community organizations in Kigali, Rwanda.
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the performance of the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) against psychiatrist diagnosis in people with HIV (PWH).
Design: Cross-sectional analysis of data collected between January 2018 and July 2022 across five sites in Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Senegal, and the Republic of Congo. Participants were ≥18 years and receiving HIV care at the participating site.