Development and effect of the online HIV Prevention and Care Training (HPCT) program for student nurses

ABSTRACT

@#Student nurses must be competently prepared to address the rising human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in the Philippines. This article presents the development and effect of the online HIV Prevention and Care Training (HPCT) program for student nurses. The Iowa Model-Revised guided the development of the program. Literature review, student and faculty engagements, advocate participation, resources and protocol assessment, and pre-HPCT survey analysis were systematically performed to determine the contents and delivery of the program. The participants were 2nd and 3rd year level student nurses who were asked to answer the pre- and post-HPCT online surveys containing sociodemographic, HIV knowledge, attitudes, and perceived practices, and program evaluation questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS version 23. Student nurses in the post-HPCTsurvey obtained significantly higher HIV knowledge scale mean scores (mean=18.22, SD=4.138) than those in the pre-HPCT survey (mean=15.01, SD=4.069) (p=.000). Pre- to post-HPCT survey revealed significant decreases in the proportions of student nurses who agreed on the following HIV-positive patients should not be put in rooms with other patients when admitted to hospital (44.3%, 31.6%; p=.004); the need to worry about putting family and friends at risk of contracting the disease when caring for a person with HIV/AIDS (39.7%, 26.4%; p=.002); and healthcare workers are worried of getting HIV/AIDS from caring for a person with HIV/AIDS in their work environment (47.2%, 37.5%; p=.011). Significantly, more student nurses in the post-HPCT survey agreed in all the items of the HIV practice scale than those in the pre-HPCT survey. The online HPCTprogram was acceptable with beneficial effects on student nurses' HIV knowledge, attitudes, and perceived practices. There is a need to highlight basic HIV concepts and integrate HIV developments in the education of student nurses.