Abstract
BackgroundDepression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders among an estimated 25.6 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The depression rate is higher in HIV-seropositive men who have sex with men (MSM) regardless of their sexual orientation, identity or romantic attraction. This is due to various types of stigma including HIV-related stigma, social stigma, self-stigma and mental health stigma. Opportunistic infections, unemployment, poverty and food insecurity also predispose HIV-seropositive MSM to depression. Moreover, depression in heterosexual and sexual minority groups challenges and additionally burdens SSA health care systems due to inadequate economic developments, lack of mental health professionals who specialise in the treatment of depression, few MSM-centred facilities, inadequate mental health infrastructure (hospitals and clinics) and complimentary resources. Although studies have highlighted links between mental health disorder, an HIV diagnosis and sexual minority groups, there is limited research that focusses on depression and its causal factors in MSM living with HIV in SSA. Hence, the relevance of conducting this scoping review.MethodsA scoping review guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, the enhancements and recommendations of Levac, Colquhoun and O’Brien, Daudt and associates and the 2015 Johanna Briggs Institute’s guidelines will be conducted. Systematic electronic searches of databases and search engines such as Google, Google Scholar, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), MEDLINE (Ovid), and PsycInfo (Ovid) will be conducted to attain published peer-reviewed articles of all study designs. Grey literature will be sourced from media and conference abstracts and reports, governmental reports and unpublished dissertations and theses. Additionally, websites of humanitarian organisations and other relevant departmental websites will also be searched. Literature published between 2010 and 2020 that meets the review’s inclusion criteria, research question and sub-question will be included in this review. All the retrieved literature will be exported to an Endnote X9.2 library after duplicates have been removed.DiscussionWe anticipate mapping relevant literature on depression and the causal factors in HIV-seropositive MSM living in SSA. Once analysed and summarised, the data will be useful in identifying literature gaps, informing systematic reviews and future research. The findings could also assist in depression and sexuality dialogues, and awareness campaigns that address mental health issues, stigma and discrimination among this key population living in SSA.
Highlights
Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders among an estimated 25.6 million people living with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
We anticipate mapping relevant literature on depression and the causal factors in HIV-seropositive men who have sex with men (MSM) living in SSA
To the best of our knowledge, a scoping review on depression and the causal factors thereof among HIV-seropositive MSM living in SSA regardless of their sexual orientation, romantic attraction or identity has not been conducted within the last decade [2, 33]
Summary
After considering the various information synthesis methods, the team decided a scoping review would be best suited to achieving the study objective of mapping available evidence on depression among HIVseropositive MSM living in SSA [34] As this is a broad topic, this approach was appropriate to scope studies that used qualitative, quantitative and mixed method research designs including those with descriptive data and to identify key concepts and gaps in knowledge for further research [35]. Grey and empirical literature containing evidence of depression and its causal factors in HIV-seropositive MSM living in sub-Saharan Africa. Collating, summarising and reporting the results As this scoping review will map quantitative, qualitative and mixed method literature relating to depression among HIV-seropositive MSM in SSA, a three-pronged approach will be used by all three screeners during this stage. This process will incorporate the minority stress theory
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