The objective of the research was to understand prevalence and pattern of common mental disorders (CMD) among HIV uninfected women caregivers living in HIV serodiscordant setting in Pune, Maharashtra and to validate CBMSQ - a brief screening tool for CMD among the same population.

The study found that prevalence of at least one CMD was 35.5% for current CMD, 49.3% for past, 62.5% for lifetime. The commonly reported CMDs were, mixed anxiety depressive disorder, major depressive disorder and posttraumatic disorder. High to moderate suicidality was seen among 12 women. The screening tool showed good diagnostic accuracy with AUC 0.791. At the best suited cut off of 3, the tool yielded 85% sensitivity and 64% specificity. Internal consistency as measured KR20 was 0.81. Burden of HIV caregiving, perceived severity of the illness, negative life events in recent past, perceived reduction in satisfaction of social support after the disclosure of husband’s HIV status, low perceived self-efficacy, perceived level of stress and irritability were found to have significant association with current presence of CMDs among the women. Significantly higher prevalence and different pattern of CMD among the women caregivers living in HIV serodiscordant setting in India highlights their vulnerabilities and calls for immediate attention and need for strategic shift of focus from mere prevention of HIV transmission among serodiscordant couples to comprehensive mental health care for both infected and affected.