Evaluation of Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitude toward HIV-Infected Patients in Barbados

• Published in: Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care 2019-01, Vol.18, p.2325958219880592
• Main Authors: Huq, K. A. T. M. Ehsanul, Moriyama, Michiko, Harris, Esther E., Shirin, Habiba, Rahman, Md Moshiur
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Adult; AIDS; Attitude of Health Personnel; Attitudes; Barbados; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; HIV; HIV Infections - nursing; HIV Infections - psychology; Hospitals; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Knowledge; Male; Middle Aged; Nurses; Nurses - psychology; Nurses - statistics & numerical data; Original; Patients; Qualitative Research; Sex Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2325-9582; 2325-9574; 2325-9582
• DOI: 10.1177/2325958219880592

Background: Continued assessment of nurses’ knowledge and attitude is necessary for improving their performance at workplace. We attempted to evaluate nurses’ knowledge and attitude toward HIV-infected patients and their underlying factors. Methods: We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study participated by 218 nurses and collected relevant data. Results: Majority (57.3%) of the nurses had 1 to 5 years of experience in the nursing job, and 78.4% of them were involved in the provision of direct care to HIV-infected individuals for ≤5 years, and only 6.4% for ≥11 years. The overall knowledge and attitude of the participants were good (3.25/5 and 3.42/5 scores, respectively). The knowledge regarding appropriate care of HIV-infected patients was significantly better among the registered nurses compared to nursing assistants (NA) with limited years of formal education (odds ratio [OR] = 0.37; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.20-0.69; P