Collaborative education regarding prevention of human immunodeficiency virus transmission in healthcare settings--Ghana.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effectiveness of a collaborative and participatory approach to professional training to reduce the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission.


METHODS
Healthcare settings in Ghana.


METHODS
Two 5-day workshops were conducted for high-level nurse educators and leaders who could contribute to national policy development. A combination of didactics, skill development sessions, field experiences, and development of draft national guidelines and curriculum were used. Outcomes evaluated were pre-to-post training changes in HIV knowledge and attitudes and changes in practice within selected healthcare settings. One-month follow-up visits (times not specified to participants) were used to evaluate outcomes.


RESULTS
At post-test, significantly fewer participants thought HIV was transmitted by saliva, sweat, or tears (chi square, p less than .0001), and significantly fewer reported hesitation to care for an HIV-infected patient because of lack of understanding about mode of transmission or because of lack of supplies, such as gloves (chi square, p less than .01). In field observations, there was an overall 42% improvement in specific infection control practices.


CONCLUSIONS
A collaborative and participatory approach to training can result in significant changes in infection control practices, even in settings with limited resources.
Cronin
W
W
Johnson and Johnson Medical Inc., Arlington, Texas.
Antwi
P
P
Larson
E
E
D003479:Curriculum; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D005181:Faculty, Nursing; D005869:Ghana; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D015497:HIV-1; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000193:education; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires