Depression, Anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among People Living with HIV in Sudan during the Armed Conflict: Protocol for a Multi-Site Cross-Sectional Study

This study combines validated Arabic psychometric instruments with structured assessment of conflict exposure, displacement, social circumstances, and HIV-care access to quantify the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and PTSD among PLHIV in Sudan during the war and to identify factors associated with each outcome. Findings are intended to inform integration of mental-health services into humanitarian HIV care in Sudan, contribute to the international evidence base on HIV and conflict, and lay the foundation for future longitudinal and intervention research. Primary objective : To estimate the prevalence of probable depression, probable anxiety, and probable PTSD among adults living with HIV receiving care at functional HIV-treatment centres in Sudan during the armed conflict. Secondary objectives • To describe the co-occurrence of the three conditions (none / one / two / all three). • To identify sociodemographic, social, HIV-related, and conflict-related factors independently associated with each outcome in multivariable analysis. • To assess the association between interruption of HIV care / ART adherence and mental-health outcomes. • To generate policy-relevant evidence to support integration of mental-health services into humanitarian HIV care in Sudan and comparable settings.