Desire to treat HIV-infected patients: similarities and differences across health-care professions.
OBJECTIVE
To determine attitudinal predictors of health-care providers' willingness to treat HIV-infected patients. We also tested the hypothesis that differences between dental and medical students in their expressed desire to treat HIV-infected patients result from differences in their clinical exposure to bloodborne pathogens and their clinical training.


METHODS
A cross-sectional design was used to administer a self-report questionnaire format to preserve subject anonymity.


METHODS
A questionnaire was used to assess attitudes, knowledge, and behavior associated with the care of HIV-infected patients. Both bivariate statistics and logistic regression techniques were used to determine factors related to the desire to treat HIV-infected patients.


RESULTS
Compared with dental students, medical students expressed a greater desire to treat HIV-infected patients. However, the attitudinal predictors of a desire to treat were similar across both groups. The two most important predictors were the degree to which respondents perceived a personal risk of HIV exposure and their sense of professional obligation to treat all patients. Furthermore, knowledge levels were unrelated to desire to treat.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that educational interventions aimed simply at increasing a provider's knowledge of HIV may not be effective in changing behavior.
University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Dentistry, PA 15261.
R J
RJ
Weyant
M E
ME
Bennett
M
M
Simon
J
J
Palaisa
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires