Mental health disorders among people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The mental health of people living with HIV (PLWH) is a growing concern globally, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where there is limited access to mental healthcare, with evidence showing high levels of depression, anxiety and neurocognitive disorders among this population. While Mental Health Disorders (MHDs) can impede HIV care and promote adverse health outcomes, there is limited literature on MHDs among PLWH. This scoping review will explore the existing literature on the burden and factors associated with MHDs among adults living with HIV in SSA. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework will guide the search of this scoping review. Relevant original research articles published in English from 1 January 2000 to 31 May 2025 on MHDs among PLWH in SSA will be identified through searches in the African Index Medicus, African Journal Online, PubMed and Embase databases. Four independent reviewers, working in pairs (one reviewer and one verifier), will screen the titles, abstracts and later the full texts, adopting the population, concept and context framework. Other coauthors will serve as tiebreakers whenever there is disagreement on the eligibility. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews flowchart will be presented. We will perform a narrative synthesis to report our findings. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This scoping review protocol does not require ethical approval, as it relies solely on publicly available existing data and does not involve human participants. We will disseminate the findings from this review through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at local and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The protocol was registered in the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/8ymqu).