Health care workers' anxieties and fears concerning AIDS: a literature review.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a serious illness and a public health crisis that merits the concern of everyone. Three key features make AIDS difficult to control. The first feature is that the disease is predominantly spread sexually. The second feature is that a period of infectivity may last from months to years, and the infected individual may not be aware that he or she is infected. The last feature is that AIDS also may be spread by percutaneous and perinatal transmission. Whatever success public education may have in changing sexual behavior, it will not be seen for several years, and the number of AIDS cases will continue to grow. The following literature review leads to a prediction that education will have a profound impact on the anxiety connected with providing care for AIDS patients. Education is a powerful tool that can be used by health care workers to change how AIDS is perceived. Health care workers must become aware of their misconceptions, fears, and anxieties about this disease and afflicted individuals.
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D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D006281:Health Occupations / Q000193:education; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*