# Improving HIV and Depression Outcomes by Reducing HIV-Mental Illness Stigma in Malawi: a pilot effectiveness-implementation trial

> **NIH NIH K01** · NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC · 2022 · $179,934

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Among people living with HIV (PLHIV), stigma and mental illness (MI), such as depression, bar access to
care and worsen health outcomes, particularly in countries like Malawi where 10% of adults are living with HIV
and up to a 25% of PLHIV have co-morbid depression. As depression treatment is increasingly integrated into
HIV care, interventions helping to reduce stigma for patients facing multiple and intersecting stigmas— HIV,
MI, and intersectional stigma— are crucial for engagement in care and improvement of health outcomes. Yet,
most individual-level stigma-reduction interventions address only one type of stigma. As such, there is a
missed opportunity to address multiple stigmas at once to serve patients. The overall aim of this proposal is to
consolidate an evidence-based HIV-MI stigma-reduction intervention with depression treatment for PLHIV and
conduct a hybrid effectiveness-implementation pilot to evaluate its implementation and impact on patient
outcomes in Malawi. My long-term career goal is to become a leading researcher on implementing and
evaluating intersectional interventions that address stigma and meet the mental health (MH) needs of PLHIV.
This K01 award will enable me to build upon my strong foundations in epidemiology, qualitive methods, and
implementation science to address gaps in my training and develop the necessary expertise to transition into
an independent investigator. My training goals are to obtain: 1) substantive knowledge in intersectional stigma
and individual-level stigma-reduction interventions; 2) theoretical and methodological skills to combine and
consolidate multiple evidence-based interventions using a participatory community-based research approach;
and 3) expertise in designing and executing hybrid effectiveness-implementation studies to evaluate both
implementation and clinical (e.g., HIV and MH) outcomes. These goals will be achieved through a combination
of direct mentorship, coursework, seminars, directed readings, workshops, conferences and hands-on
experience. In my proposed research, I will first combine interventions that address HIV, MI and intersectional
stigma, consolidate with depression care for PLHIV and develop plans for implementation drawing from focus
groups and interviews (Aim 1). I will then evaluate the implementation of the consolidated HIV-MI stigma-
reduction intervention and its impact on patient stigma, depression, and HIV care engagement in a two-site
pilot hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial (Aim 2). This innovative research will (a) address HIV, MI and
intersectional stigma while leveraging existing MH services, (b) prepare for multi-level stigma-reduction
intervention packages, and c) yield detailed insights into barriers and facilitators of implementing stigma-
reduction interventions in low-resource settings. Ultimately, the proposed study and training will provide me
with the skills and preliminary data for an R01 proposal to conduct a full hybrid effectiv...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10484751
- **Project number:** 1K01MH130226-01
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC
- **Principal Investigator:** Melissa Ann Stockton
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $179,934
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2022-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10484751

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10484751, Improving HIV and Depression Outcomes by Reducing HIV-Mental Illness Stigma in Malawi: a pilot effectiveness-implementation trial (1K01MH130226-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10484751. Licensed CC0.

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