Integrating Mental Health Services into Primary HIV Care for Women: The Whole Life Project

Abstract

The high rate of mental health problems in HIV-infected women jeopardizes the health of this vulnerable population, and constitutes a mandate for integrating mental health services into HIV primary care. The Whole Life project—a collaboration of the departments of Psychiatry and Obstetrics/Gynecology at the University of Miami School of Medicine—successfully integrated mental health services into primary HIV care for women. This article describes the conceptual framework of the integration, implementation strategies, effects of the service integration, and lessons learned. Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a Special Program of National Significance (SPNS), Whole Life efforts have been sustained beyond the demonstration funding period as a result of the changes brought about in organizational structures, service delivery, and the providers' conceptualization of health for HIV-infected women.