Impacto da mhealth sobre os níveis de ansiedade e depressão de homens vivendo com hiv/aids que fazem sexo com homens

Abstract

Information technologies are tools for expanding access to health care. Among them, Mobile Health (mHealth) stands out for contributing to individualized and personalized care, espe-cially in hidden populations such as men with HIV/AIDS who have sex with men. These interventions can improve their health, especially regarding mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of mHealth on the levels anxiety and depression of men living with HIV/AIDS who have sex with men. It is an open clinical trial developed in Fortaleza-CE, at Carlos Ribeiro Health Center, between August 2016 and November 2017, with a four months follow-up. The final sample included 103 (57 controls and 46 cases) men with HIV/AIDS who have sex with men. The intervention was implemented through eight telephone messages, via Whatsapp®, sent every 15 days. A form was used with sociodemographic and clinical questions, life habits, anxiety and depression scale and the individual lifestyle scale. The majority of subjects were <29 years old (53.4%), were single (80.6%), had a family income ≤ two minimum wages (72.8%), active occupa-tional situation (63.1%) and schooling ≤ 12 years (61.2%). Those with less than three years of diagnosis (63.1%), with undetectable viral load (57.4%) and CD4 + T lymphocyte levels ≥ 350cells/mm3 (85.3%) prevailed. About 43.7% of the participants were classified as anx-ious and 17.5% as anxious and depressed. The levels of anxiety and depression were lower in the second evaluation for both groups and it was significantly associated to the variable time (p = 0.001). In conclusion, there was a reduction in anxiety and depression scores for all subjects; however, there was no statistically significant association between the interven-tion and outcome.