title: Willingness to care for patients with HIV/AIDS.
abstract: This study aims to describe and compare nurses' willingness to provide care for patients with HIV/AIDS and factors associated with this in three countries. An international cross-sectional survey was conducted among nurses working in medical, surgical and gynaecology units in Finland (n =427), Estonia (n =221) and Lithuania ( n =185) in early 2006. The response rates were 75% (n = 322) in Finland, 54% (n =119) in Estonia and 86% (n = 160) in Lithuania. A modified version of a scale developed in 1994 by Dubbert et al. was applied. Our findings showed a general willingness of the nurse participants to provide care for patients with HIV/AIDS. However, this willingness varied both among and within countries and was also related to specific nursing interventions. The results underline the importance of providing education on ethical issues related to HIV/AIDS care in Europe and tailoring the content of this education to meet nurses' national educational needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku, Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland. mava@utu.fi
authors.forename: Maritta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Välimäki
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Makkonen
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blek-Vehkaluoto
authors.forename: Vida
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mockiene
authors.forename: Natalja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Istomina
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Raid
authors.forename: Maj-Lis
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Vänskä
authors.forename: Tarja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suominen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004957:Estonia; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000451:nursing*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008097:Lithuania; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016079:Refusal to Treat