Table 1.
Content and details of the group sessions.
| Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 | Session 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topic | Mental distress and coping strategies | Interpretation for HIV disease knowledge and laboratory test report | Self-management experience sharing | How to use the medical resources provided by the hospital |
| Reporter | A psychologist with a PhD degree | A physician | A peer volunteer | A head nurse |
| Procedure | Lecture, Q&A, discussion | Lecture, Q&A, discussion, knowledge test | Lecture, Q&A, discussion | Lecture, Q&A, discussion |
| Target module | Self-assessment | Health tracking | Coping strategies | Obtaining support |
| Content | 1. Introduce the current state of mental health problems. 2. Take the mental symptom tests as an example to introduce the function of the self-assessment module. Explain the physical, mental, and social challenges that PLWH may face in their daily life. 3. Watch the videos on how to cope with depressive symptoms in the app. Participants share their experiences and coping strategies. 4. Explain and demonstrate the coping strategies for mental symptoms introduced in the app, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation training. |
1. Briefly introduce HIV and AIDS. Explain why PLWH should take laboratory tests regularly and what laboratory tests are necessary for PLWH. Explain the clinical implications and outliers for common indicators (blood routine test, urine routine test, liver function, kidney function, blood lipids, CD4+ T-cell count, viral load, medication resistance test). 2. Introduce and explain the function of the health tracking module. 3. A short quiz about the knowledge in the lecture is provided for participants on site. |
1. Share personal HIV diagnosis and disease treatment experience. 2. Introduce the function of the coping strategies module. 3. Discuss how to apply the coping strategies introduced in the app to daily self-management. |
1. Introduce the available medical resources and functions of each department in Shanghai Public Health Center affiliated with Fudan University for PLWH. Introduce the procedures of clinical visits and emergency visits, contact information, and how to deal with emergencies. Explain referral and consultation between different departments and different hospitals. 2. Introduce the function of the coping strategies module. 3. Discuss participants' needs for clinical visits and other ways to get support. |
Note: PLWH = persons living with HIV.