Authors
Godbless Henry Mfuru, Khadija I Yahya-Malima, David Osima, Emmanuel Massawe, Tumain Goodluck, Anderson Bendera, Omary Ubuguyu, Stephen Kibusi
Published in
BMJ open. Volume 16. Issue 8. Pages e111089. Aug 13, 2026. Epub Aug 13, 2026.
Abstract
To evaluate the availability of mental health services and resources across a stratified multistage sample of care and treatment clinics (CTCs) delivering HIV care from eight geographical zones of Tanzania.
Cross-sectional facility-based baseline survey.
81 CTCs representing national geographical zones and service delivery tiers.
Health facility in-charges or service providers with knowledge of HIV/non-communicable disease (NCD) services (Tier 1: n=11; Tier 2: n=13; Tier 3: n=9; Tier 4: n=48).
Availability of (1) trained mental health professionals, (2) screening/assessment tools for mental health and (3) educational materials.
Mental health services were unevenly distributed across facility tiers. Over half of Tier 1 facilities reported having trained mental health professionals (6/11; 54.5%) and screening tools (6/11; 54.5%), compared with only 35.4% (17/48) and 2.1% (1/48), respectively, in Tier 4 facilities. No Tier 2 or Tier 3 facilities reported availability of trained staff or screening tools. Educational materials were present in only 18.2% (2/11) of Tier 1 facilities and 8.3% (4/48) of Tier 4 facilities. Overall, more than two-thirds of facilities lacked any mental health resource assessed.
Mental health services remain limited across all facility levels, with nearly complete absence at lower-tier facilities. Urgent investment is required to integrate mental health into HIV and NCD care, especially at primary care settings.
PMID:
42595361
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 14 Aug 2026.
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