The attitudes, concerns, gloving practices and knowledge of nurses in a Taiwanese hospital regarding AIDS and HIV

Abstract

Many studies have documented nurses' attitudes and concerns regarding AIDS/HIV, but little is known about Taiwanese nurses. We documented attitudes, concerns, gloving practices and practical AIDS/HIV knowledge of 1090 nurses from one metropolitan hospital in Changhua City, Taiwan. The response rate was 80.9%. Both HIV and hepatitis contraction in the workplace was nurses' main concern. Two hundred and ten nurses (19.3%) were seriously considering leaving nursing because of fear of contracting AIDS/HIV. Virtually all nurses considered it their right to be informed of the presence of HIV-positive patients in their direct work area and many believed that HIV testing of patients should be mandatory. Practical AIDS/HIV knowledge was deficient. These Taiwanese nurses have concerns and fears that might be related to deficiencies in practical AIDS/HIV knowledge. Continuous educational programmes are recommended to alleviate these nurses' attitudes and concerns regarding AIDS/HIV.

Nurses’ knowledge and attitude to the care of HIV/AIDS patients in South East, Nigeria

“…12 However, this is at variance with various studies done in Nigeria which found that there is high prevalence of negative, stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes to the care of PLWHA among health care workers in Nigeria including nurses. 10,20,21,30 The difference may be attributed to various in-service trainings on HIV/AIDS and awareness campaigns that are being carried out in Nigeria recently, which has been shown to positively change attitudes and perceptions of people towards HIV disease.…”

“…10,14,20 Though this contradicts the findings of a South African study which found poor knowledge of HIV/AIDS among Nurses. 12 This may be as result of various in-service trainings on HIV/AIDS that are being carried out in urban areas of Nigeria recently thereby increasing awareness about HIV/AIDS and the difference in location since the latter study was done in a rural area of South Africa.…”

“…18,19 Unfortunately, various studies have also identified among nurses same compromising and discriminatory attitudes towards patients with HIV and AIDS. 12,20,21 Similarly, studies from several countries identified the various factors affecting stigmatized and discriminatory attitudes toward PLWHA among Health Care Workers to include level of irrational fear of HIV transmission, level of education, gender, stage of the disease, high-risk taking behaviour, individuals related to stigmatized identities, sources of HIV infection, relationship with an infected person, type of hospital, ethnicity and urbanrural locality. 22,23 To date, with the increasing knowledge of modes of transmission and infection-control measures, guidelines have now been established to ensure that staff and patients are adequately protected within the last decade.…”

“…10,11 An important issue that has emerged is how nurses adapt to these challenges in order to care for PLWHA. 12 Similarly, the attitudes of Nurses towards these patients have long been under scrutiny since has the potential to affect the quality of care rendered and possibly quality of life of these patients. 13 Attitude can be positive or negative and can affect the behaviour of an individual.…”

A Survey Of HIV-Related Knowledge And Attitude Among Dental Nursing Students In South Western Nigeria

“…Fear of infection can make health care providers react with contempt, abuse or even refuse to care for patient with HIV infection. Worry and fear about occupational HIV contagion has been identified as a serious factor affecting decision to quit nursing career 38,39 . A reasonable number (57.3%) are worried about occupational HIV contagion.…”