Physical activity counselling in women with HIV/AIDS and suicidal ideation: a secondary analysis of a real-world intervention in Ugandan HIV counselling centres

INTRODUCTION: people with HIV/AIDS have higher rates of suicidal ideation than the general population. Consequently, HIV counselling settings should implement suicide risk reduction initiatives. Physical activity (PA) counselling could be a relevant add-on intervention. The aim of this secondary analysis from a single-arm pre- and post-study exploring the efficacy of PA counselling for HIV/AIDS patients with mental health problems was to investigate the efficacy of PA counselling on reducing suicidal ideation. METHODS: out of 41 participants in an 8-week PA counselling intervention, 15 participants reported suicidal ideation. These 15 (15♀, median age=42 years, interquartile range=24 years) participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test -10 (AUDIT-10), and the Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire (SIMPAQ) pre- and immediately post-intervention. RESULTS: the prevalence of suicidal ideation (PHQ-9 item 9≥1) dropped to 20% post-intervention, i.e. only three patients with HIV still reported suicidal ideation. Also, following the intervention significant (P<0.05) increases in walking and incidental PA (SIMPAQ) levels, and reductions in depressive and alcohol abuse symptoms were observed. CONCLUSION: our data demonstrate that PA counselling might be promising in reducing suicidal ideation in most HIV patients in low-resourced settings. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm these beneficial findings.