Universal Journal of Public Health 13(4): 887-895, 2025 http://www.hrpub.org
DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2025.130412
Psychosocial Support Services for People Living with
HIV: A Scoping Review
Evicenna Naftuchah Riani
1
, Zahroh Shaluhiyah
2,*
, Dian Ratna Sawitri
3
, Muchlis AU Sofro
4
1
Doctoral Program of Public Health, Public Health Faculty, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia
2
Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia
3
Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia
4
Department of Internal Medicine, Dr Kariadi Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia
Received March 16, 2025; Revised June 13, 2025; Accepted June 24, 2025
Cite This Paper in the Following Citation Styles
(a): [1] Evicenna Naftuchah Riani, Zahroh Shaluhiyah, Dian Ratna Sawitri, Muchlis AU Sofro , "Psychosocial Support
Services for People Living with HIV: A Scoping Review," Universal Journal of Public Health, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 887 -
895, 2025. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2025.130412.
(b): Evicenna Naftuchah Riani, Zahroh Shaluhiyah, Dian Ratna Sawitri, Muchlis AU Sofro (2025). Psychosocial Support
Services for People Living with HIV: A Scoping Review. Universal Journal of Public Health, 13(4), 887 - 895. DOI:
10.13189/ujph.2025.130412.
Copyright©2025 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Abstract Psychosocial support services play a critical
role in enhancing the quality of life of people living with
HIV (PLHIV), particularly in addressing the complex
psychological and social challenges they face in everyday
life. These services encompass psychological interventions,
counseling, social support, and empowerment initiatives
aimed at helping individuals cope with stigma and
discrimination. Although widely implemented, the
effectiveness and diversity of psychosocial intervention
models have yielded inconsistent outcomes. This scoping
review aims to systematically examine the existing
literature on psychosocial support for PLHIV, identify the
most effective approaches, and elucidate the impact of such
interventions on psychological well-being, treatment
adherence, and social integration. Utilizing the PICO
framework and Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological
approach, we screened studies from Medline, CINAHL,
Scopus, EBSCO, and ScienceDirect, ultimately selecting
12 experimental studies published between 2019 and 2024.
Interventions were categorized at the intrapersonal,
interpersonal, organizational, and community levels. The
key findings reveal that psychosocial interventions not only
improve psychological outcomes for PLHIV but also
enhance antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and
strengthen social networks. Peer support programs
emerged as particularly effective, significantly improving
ART adherence, emotional well-being, and reducing
stigma. Integrated mental health services enhanced care
delivery and addressed structural barriers, while
community-based collaborations improved accessibility
but were constrained by systemic limitations. Digital tools
increased self-efficacy but encountered challenges related
to stigma. These findings underscore the necessity of
embedding psychosocial support within broader HIV care
systems. Future efforts should prioritize scalable, peer-
driven models with embedded mental health services to
ensure sustained and equitable support for PLHIV. This
review contributes to the field by offering evidence-based
insights for policy development and practical interventions,
with implications for enhancing the psychosocial and
clinical outcomes of PLHIV.
Keywords Psychosocial Support, People Living with
HIV (PLHIV), Peer Support Programs, Mental Health Care
HIV, A Scoping Review
1. Introduction
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
represents a chronic, life-threatening condition that
significantly compromises the immune system,
progressively diminishing its ability to fight opportunistic
infections and malignancies [1],[2]. The global impact of
HIV remains substantial, with approximately 39 million