This NGT exercise with key stakeholders in HIV services in Nigeria and the subsequent analysis identified seven key sub-themes regarding challenges to and opportunities for integrating mental health treatment into existing HIV services for PLHIV in Nigeria. Themes identified can readily be organized in accordance with the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment (EPIS) framework(34, 35). There were three themes that emerged for opportunities (Building on research and health care facilities for HIV services, Utilizing existing workforce and leveraging social and cultural structures). Building on existing service infrastructure and service workforce such as primary health care centers, community youth organizations and faith-based institutions, invokes the EPIS construct of inner organizational context while social and cultural structures are represented in outer context at the country or region level. This finding is important not only for the potential for integrating mental health into HIV programs, but also highlights the feasibility of scale-up and sustainability. Some of these structures are already connected to HIV services infrastructure, and are very widely spread across Nigeria both in rural and urban settings(36, 37). Four themes were identified relating to challenges and barriers to such integration (The double burden of HIV and mental health stigma and the problems of early detection, existing health policy gaps and structural challenges, poor human resources for mental health care in Nigeria and dearth of research for data and action). Issues of stigma and health policy fall within the EPIS outer context domain while early detection and human resources are typically in the inner context domain. These themes reflect cultural and structural barriers that generally affect health care in Nigeria. They also highlight the need to focus on community engagement, public education, and advocacy as part of any intervention geared towards integration of mental health treatments into community HIV programs(38). These opportunities and challenges may be better understood in the context of the overall healthcare environment in Nigeria (underfunded, under-resourced and poorly developed), the nature of public-private partnerships that promote health research, sustainability of donor-driven program implementation, and the structure of research frameworks established by existing legislation (39). Utilizing implementation science frameworks such as EPIS can help organize and consider implementation barriers, facilitators, determinants, mechanisms, and outcomes in outer and inner contexts and the mechanisms that bridge these contexts such as leadership, policies, collaborations, community-academic partnerships and funding(35, 40).
This study involved multi-disciplinary groups of frontline staff, administrators, researchers, and clinicians with at least five years’ experience working in HIV programs and services in Nigeria. Thus, their perceptions and experiences are relevant to understanding these potential opportunities and barriers to integrating mental health treatments into HIV programs. Further, the varied perspectives and NGT process allowed for representation of EPIS implementation factors including outer context, inner context, bridging factors, interorganizational relationships, and innovation characteristics. Based on self-reported roles, most participants had direct knowledge and experience about the context of HIV care, services and program implementation in Nigeria. They also understood the role of government and funding agencies, the policy framework supporting the programs and the funding streams available in Nigeria for healthcare research. In addition, utilizing the multi-disciplinary group of professionals facilitated meaningful brainstorming from multiple perspectives and the generation of practical ideas.
Integrating mental health into primary health care and other non-specialty health settings is the bedrock of Nigeria’s policy on mental health access(41). Unfortunately, due to inadequate funding, limited mental health specialists and lack of legislative framework, this stated policy has not translated into state or federal laws or clinical practice(42). This may explain the perception by participants of lack of policy frameworks for integrating interventions for mental disorders into HIV services. However, there are existing, established tools and frameworks for integrating mental health into non-psychiatric settings using evidence-based task-sharing approaches such as the World Health Organization (WHO)’s mental health gap action plan (mhGAP)(43). The mhGAP has already been contextualized and tested in Nigeria(44, 45). Given the potential for integration of mental health treatments within HIV programs identified in this study and the availability of standardized, validated tools for such integration, efforts should be geared towards pilot implementation studies to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of mental health treatments integrated into HIV programs and services. NISA’s collaborating organizations and partner government agencies (the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS) can play a pioneering role in leveraging their relationships, academic partnerships, and funding agencies towards this goal(26, 28).
As identified by participants in this study, stigmatizing beliefs and negative attitudes towards HIV and mental disorders are a major barrier to accessing both mental health and HIV treatments(46, 47). There is evidence that collaboration between relevant government agencies in Nigeria and local and international non-governmental organizations to develop and implement strategic communication programs helped reduce HIV-related stigma. Exposure to HIV-related communication in the media increased knowledge about HIV and reduced negative attitudes towards people living with HIV(48). Lessons from such strategy around HIV and HIV-related services can be adapted and included in the design of interventions to integrate mental health treatments into HIV services.
There are limitations of this study that are worth noting. Firstly, the conference was open to staff from all HIV programs in Nigeria but participation was limited to those who were able to pay the required registration fees and available to attend at the conference dates and times. Secondly, the design and format of the NGT exercise, unlike a free-flowing focus group, is rigid and time-limited. To address this limitation, participants were grouped to include a mix of experiences, roles, and educational levels thereby ensuring that the perspectives, ideas and emergent consensus were as representative as possible. Thirdly, as in other group participation-based research, participants’ opinions and ideas may have been influenced by others in the group. To reduce the impact of this group factor, we utilized many small groups instead of few larger groups and identified moderators for each group who ensured that each individual member contributed adequately to the group discussions(49). Finally, data collection, collation, and analyses were conducted by the authors. This may inadvertently lead to the infusion of the authors’ perspectives in interpreting the data. To address this, we have included authors with varying backgrounds and experiences to ensure balanced perspectives in the analysis and interpretation of the results(50)