Episode 2: Unpacking the Interconnections Between HIV, Oppression, and Mental Health Defining Equity

For Kip Castner, former Chief of HIV/STI Integration and Capacity at the Maryland Department of Health, HIV care and prevention interventions that consider behavioral and mental health are integral components of the HIV response. In this podcast, Kip discusses various external forces that produce health inequities including lack of behavioral and mental health clinicians, unaffordability of treatment services, stigma, and prevailing cultural norms that hinder access to care. While systems-level changes such as the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion have attempted to address these issues, oppression can also have a devastating impact on populations over time, leading to mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety and isolation. By providing clients with strategies that interrupt negative scripts about communities, they can better navigate through systems and improve health outcomes. Kip currently works at the Health Resources Administration Bureau focusing on workforce development and issues related to the opioid epidemic.