Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and willingness of pre-clinical nursing students to provide nursing care for people living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Background: HIV/AIDS as a global pandemic forced the nursing student to have appropriate knowledge and attitudes toward caring for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). 
 Purpose: This study aims to explore the level of knowledge, attitudes, and willingness of pre-clinical nursing students to provide nursing care for PLWHA.
 Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study is conducted. A total of 185 pre-clinical nursing students enrolled in Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), and Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs were recruited. Data was collected from April to May 2019 using a self-reported questionnaire and analysed with descriptive statistics, a t-test, and Pearson’s correlation test with a significant level of 0.05. 
 Results: Overall pre-clinical nursing students had moderate knowledge about HIV/AIDS, but students had a negative attitude toward HIV/AIDS. The students’ mean score of willingness to care for PLWHA was 5.45. BSN students had better knowledge than ADN students, and the difference was significant. However, differences in attitudes and willingness to manage between BSN and ADN students were insignificant. In addition, the differences in knowledge, attitudes, and desire to care between males and females were insignificant. The result revealed that attitudes and willingness to care for PLWHA were significantly correlated.
 Conclusions: Based on the study results, it is essential for nursing students to have accurate knowledge about HIV/AIDS and positive attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS to ensure that they can provide high-quality and effective care for PLWHA as well as protect themselves from being infected with HIV.

Tingkat Pengetahuan Mahasiswa Keperawatan Terhadap Penyakit Hiv-Aids

“…Sebagai retrovirus, virus ini dapat menginfeksi tubuh dalam jangka waktu yang lama. Penyakit HIV/AIDS telah berkembang menjadi pandemi di berbagai negara tersebut dan memiliki dampak yang signifikan terhadap ekonomi global (Chaudhary et al, 2016) (Chanvatanak et al, 2022).…”

Student nurses’ perceptions and experiences in caring for people living with HIV/AIDS: a qualitative study

“…Internationally, studies have revealed that seminar and virtual patient simulation activity focusing on PLWHAs can positively impact nursing students' attitudes [ 13 , 14 ]. Although nursing education programs have made great efforts over the past decade, and the proportion of healthcare providers unwilling to take care of patients with AIDS has declined, nursing practitioners still feel fear and tend to keep a distance from PLWHAs [ 15 , 16 ]. The underlying reasons why HIV and AIDS care occurs in the context of unfavorable nursing attitudes deserve to be futher explored.…”