AEGiS-15IAC: Patients HIV testing in opinion of nurses from surgical wards.

15th International AIDS Conference

Bangkok, Thailand - July 11-16, 2004

Patients HIV testing in opinion of nurses from surgical wards.

Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. MoOrD1020)

Ganczak MJ
Department of Higiene and Epidemiology Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland

OBJECTIVE: To determine nurses` attitudes toward patients' HIV testing.

METHODS: 601 members of nursing staff from 18 hospitals: 7 located in the city of Szczecin, Poland (2 teaching hospitals, 5 municipal) and 11 located in the rural areas took part. The hospitals were selected by using a table of random digits. At each hospital, all wards representing surgical sub-specialities participated. An anononymous questionnaire prepared by A. Lowenfels from NY Medical College adapted for the Polish conditions by the authors was used.

RESULTS: Responding nurses ranged in age from 20 to 58 (median 38 years), most of them (99%) were women. Almost half of nurses (257; 42%) practised in municipal hospitals, over one third (229; 38%) in hospitals situated in the country. Over one-fourth of the respondents (162; 27%) had one or more occupational contacts with HIV infected patients during their work, 450 (74%) participated in a special HIV/AIDS training. About one half of nurses (276; 45%) sustained at least one percutaneous injury in the preceding year, 501 (83%) did not always use gloves during their work. More nurses (556; 92%) favoured preoperative HIV testing, than opted for the testing of all patients admitted to hospitals (416; 69%); p<0.001. Over one third of respondents (235; 39%) thought such tests should be obligatory. Age, number of HIV infected patients cured, HIV/AIDS special training attendance, the number of injuries sustained per annum, the use of protective barriers did not influence (p>0.05) nurses' opinion on preoperative HIV testing.

CONCLUSIONS: 1. The higher percentage of nurses favouring preoperative HIV testing than nurses opting for testing of all patients admitted to hospitals may illuminate the fact that opinions are more radical, more personally involved the nurses are.2. As even trained nurses have not changed nurses' attitudes towards preoperative HIV testing, the educational system with the regards to this matter should be modified.

Keywords: AEGIS, Nurses, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Nursing Staff, HIV Infections, HIV Seropositivity, Questionnaires, HIV Seroprevalence, Gloves, Protective, Hospitals, Teaching, Poland, Humans, Female, surgery

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MoOrD1020