The attitudes, concerns, gloving practices and knowledge of nurses in a Taiwanese hospital regarding AIDS and HIV.
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.
Juan
Chi-Wen
CW
Department of Emergency Medicine, Changhua Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua City, Taiwan.
Siebers
Robert
R
Wu
Francis Fu-Sheng
FF
Wu
Chia-Ju
CJ
Chang
Yu-Jun
YJ
Chao
Cindy
C
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000821:virology; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D017575:Gloves, Protective / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional / Q000517:prevention & control; D007318:Inservice Training; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D016272:Occupational Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D017132:Workplace