title: Rehabilitation professionals and human immunodeficiency virus care: results of a national Canadian survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe rehabilitation professionals' practices, knowledge and training, professional views, and service delivery issues for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (PHAs) in Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nationwide cross-sectional postal survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Random sample (N=2105) of occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, and physiatrists who had practiced in the past year.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey items on current practices, HIV knowledge and training, professional views on rehabilitation and HIV, and HIV rehabilitation service delivery issues.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-four percent (1492/2006) of the traceable sample responded, 53% (n=1058) of whom yielded completed surveys. Sixty-one percent of survey respondents never knowingly had served an HIV-positive patient. Of this group, 27% indicated these were patients they would like to work with, 27% indicated they were unwilling, and 46% were unsure. The 39% who knowingly had served PHAs had served an average of 4 PHAs in the last year, and less than 25% of their HIV patients' rehabilitation issues were HIV-related.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the role rehabilitation professionals have to play in the care of PHAs, only a minority serves PHAs. Results of this survey show a potential gap between the documented rehabilitative needs of PHAs and services provided by the rehabilitation professional community.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada. cworth@ucalgary.ca
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Worthington
authors.forename: Ted
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nixon
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cockerill
authors.forename: Tarik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bereket
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016390:Allied Health Occupations; D002170:Canada; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012046:Rehabilitation