Knowledge and attitudes to HIV/AIDS in Chinese registered nurses / 中南大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the current knowledge and attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PWHAs) in Chinese registered nurses (RNs) and describe the relationships between the nurses' HIV/AIDS related knowledge and attitudes towards PWHAs. Methods A cohort of 1350 RNs from 51 comprehensive hospitals in Hunan, China were studied over a 4-month period. A 3-stage random sampling method was used. Results The total correct rate in AIDS Knowledge Scale was 63.2%. Most nurses were good at conceptions of routes of AIDS infection and some basic characteristics, with more than 80% of the correct responses rate of relevant items. Their weakness was in the knowledge of some activities which would not transfer AIDS, such as "eating in a restaurant where the cook has AIDS may infect HIV", with less than 50% of the correct response rate of relevant items. As for attitudes, 94% of the nurses sympathized with HIV patients. About 82.7% of the nurses showed little sympathy to patients getting HIV by sexual promiscuity. Among all the AIDS related knowledge, nurses' conception of non-infectious activities was significantly related to their attitudes to HIV/AIDS.Conclusion Chinese nurses waster well about HIV/AIDS basic characteristics and the routes of infection, and most nurses sympathize with PWHAs. Their weakness is in the knowledge of non-HIV-infectious activities and they hold different attitudes to those patients getting HIV/AIDS in different ways. There are some barriers for Chinese nurses to take care of all patients equally. Professional development programs are urgently needed to remedy this situation including clarifying the nurses' misconceptions on AIDS related knowledge, developing non-judgmental professional attitudes, and using universal prevention measures when they take care of all patients.