Nurses knowledge, attitudes and practices towards patients with HIV and AIDS in Kumasi, Ghana

Quality of Nursing Care Perceived by People With HIV in Brazil: A Cross-Sectional Study

ABSTRACT

We evaluated the quality of care provided by the nursing team within specialized care services (SCS) from the perspective of persons with HIV (PWH). A cross-sectional study was conducted in 25 SCS selected by a single-stage cluster sampling in 21 municipalities in Brazil. Systematic sampling was performed between October 2019 and March 2020 in the reception areas of SCS locations to choose the study population ( N = 377). The adapted and validated Quality of Care Through the Patient's Eyes-HIV (QUOTE-HIV) questionnaire was used to measure the quality of perceived care, and the Mann-Whitney test to compare the scores between men and women. Of the 377 PWH, most were women (57.71%), Black or Brown (85.9%), heterosexual (67.1%), and cisgendered (96.0%); the mean age was ≥30 years (76.1%). Users' evaluation of the care provided by SCS according to scores of importance and performance of the QUOTE-HIV instrument ranged from 5.60 to 8.95 and 0.03 to 0.76, respectively. The perception of PWH about the quality of care provided by the nursing team in SCS suggests that there are opportunities to improve.

HIV/AIDS patients' knowledge, attitude, and practice toward anti-retroviral therapy medications' adverse effects and associated factors in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital

Background

Adverse effects (AEs) have been reported with all antiretroviral therapy (ART) medications, and it was among the most common cause for switching or terminating therapy and drug non-adherence. Even though AEs of ART medications are common and to be expected, little study has been conducted on the understanding of patients on the AEs. Therefore, this study aimed to assess patients' knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward ART medications' AEs and associated factors.

Methods

A cross-sectional study design was applied using an interviewer-administered questionnaire from June to September 2021 on human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients on follow-up at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia. Data was gathered, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between the independent variable and patients' knowledge and attitude about the AEs of ART medication. A p-value of 0.05 was used to determine the statistical significance.

Results

About 230 people were enrolled in this study, with 51.3% of them female. Study participants had a mean age of 36 years (standard deviation = 14.19). Of 230 participants, 67.8% had received advice on the AEs of ART medications. Poor knowledge and attitude were observed among 47.8 and 51.3% of respondents, respectively. Prior AEs experience, lack of experiencing opportunistic infection, and lack of counseling about ART medications' AEs were associated with poor knowledge, whereas female gender and a lack of counseling regarding ART medications' AEs were associated with a negative attitude (p < 0.05). Even though most patients (81.7%) report AEs of the medication to professionals, a significant number of patients involved in malpractices such as taking other drugs to treat AEs (24.3%), not prepared to do anything (27.1%), change the suspected drug (24.3%), reduce the dose (18.7%), and use local herbal medicines to treat suspected AEs (20.2%).

Conclusion

Overall, the study participants had poor knowledge, lack of positive attitudes, and non-adherence to the actual recommended practice toward AEs of ART medications. Lack of comorbidity, having prior AEs experience, and lack of counseling regarding ART medication AEs were associated with poor knowledge. Female gender and a lack of counseling on the AEs of ART medications were associated with a negative attitude.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) post-exposure prophylaxis among healthcare workers of governmental hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) among healthcare workers in government hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods

A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2022. The lottery method of a simple random sampling technique was used to select six government hospitals. Structured, self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data, which was coded into Microsoft Excel® and then exported to statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) ®Version 26 for further statistical analysis.

Results

A large proportion of respondents (51.6%) and 63.6%) reported poor knowledge and practice respectively, regarding PEP for HIV. However, more than half of respondents (54.2%) had a favorable attitude toward PEP for HIV.

Conclusion

A significant proportion of respondents had poor knowledge and practice regarding PEP for HIV, even though they had relatively favorable attitudes. Most healthcare workers (68.9%) did not receive any PEP training.

Odnos in pripravljenost zaposlenih v zdravstveni negi za oskrbo pacientov s HIV/AIDS-om

Uvod: Medicinske sestre predstavljajo rizični del prebivalstva, saj se neposredno srečujejo s telesnimi tekočinami pacientov, okuženih z virusom HIV ali obolelimi z AIDS-om. Namen raziskave je bil ugotoviti, kakšen je profesionalni in afektivni odnos zaposlenih v zdravstveni negi do pacientov, okuženih z virusom HIV ali obolelih z AIDS-om.Metode: V opisni neeksperimentalni kvantitativni raziskavi je bil uporabljen v slovenščino preveden vprašalnik Lestvica odnosa do obolelih z AIDS-om (Cronbach α = 0,732). Sodelovalo je 164 zaposlenih v zdravstveni negi iz slovenskih zdravstvenih ustanov. Zbiranje podatkov je potekalo s spletnim vprašalnikom od novembra 2020 do januarja 2021. Podatki so bili analizirani z deskriptivno statistiko, Mann-Whitneyjevim U-testom in Kruskal-Wallisovim testom. Upoštevana je bila stopnja statistične značilnosti (p < 0,05).Rezultati: Zaposleni v zdravstveni negi izražajo pozitiven profesionalni in afektivni odnos do pacientov okuženih z virusom HIV ali obolelih z AIDS-om. Pozitivnejši odnos izražajo moški, zaposleni z visokošolsko izobrazbo ali magisterijem in zaposleni z delovno dobo od pet do petnajst let. Pri omenjenih spremenljivkah razlike v odnosih niso bile statistično značilne (p > 0,05).Diskusija in zaključek: Iz rezultatov raziskav povzemamo, da medicinske sestre v Sloveniji ne izražajo izrazito pozitivnega ali negativnega odnosa do oseb, okuženih z  virusom HIV ali obolelih z AIDS-om, in so jim pripravljene nuditi holistično zdravstveno nego. V prihodnje bi si želeli raziskovanje osrediniti v merjenje splošnega znanja o HIV/AIDS-u med zaposlenimi in ugotoviti, koliko vpliva  znanje na odnos zaposlenih do obolelih.

HIV Knowledge and Stigmatizing Attitude towards People Living with HIV/AIDS among Medical Students in Jordan

The stigmatizing attitude towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) can be a major barrier to effective patient care. As future physicians, medical students represent a core group that should be targeted with focused knowledge and adequate training to provide patient care without prejudice. The aim of the current study was to examine HIV/AIDS knowledge, and the stigmatizing attitude towards PLWHA, among medical students in Jordan. The current study was based on a self-administered online questionnaire, which was distributed during March–May 2021, involving students at the six medical schools in Jordan, with items assessing demographics, HIV/AIDS knowledge, and HIV/AIDS stigmatizing attitude, which was evaluated using the validated HIV-stigma scale. The total number of respondents was 1362, with predominance of females (n = 780, 57.3%). Lack of HIV/AIDS knowledge among the study participants was notable for the following items: HIV transmission through breastfeeding (40.8% correct responses), HIV is not transmitted through saliva (42.6% correct responses), and vertical transmission of HIV can be prevented (48.8% correct responses). Approximately two-thirds of the respondents displayed a positive attitude towards PLWHA. For six out of the 14 HIV/AIDS knowledge items, lack of knowledge was significantly correlated with a more negative attitude towards PLWHA. Multinomial regression analysis showed that a significantly more negative attitude towards PLWHA was found among the pre-clinical students compared to the clinical students (odds ratio (OR): 0.65, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.43–0.97, p = 0.036); and that affiliation to medical schools that were founded before 2000 was associated with a more positive attitude towards PLWHA compared to affiliation to recently founded medical schools in the country (OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.42–2.42, p < 0.001). About one-third of medical students who participated in the study displayed a negative attitude towards PLWHA. Defects in HIV/AIDS knowledge were detected for aspects involving HIV transmission and prevention, and such defects were correlated with a more negative attitude towards PLWHA. It is recommended to revise the current medical training curricula, and to tailor improvements in the overall HIV/AIDS knowledge, which can be reflected in a more positive attitude towards PLWHA, particularly for the recently established medical schools in the country.

Perceived self-efficacy of students and its influence on attitudes and knowledge about HIV/AIDS in Ghana

Globally, human immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV) and its accompanying acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have long been a public health threat due to the high death toll and the various effects on individuals and societies. Unfortunately, in developing countries such as Ghana, persons living with HIV/AIDS are victims of discrimination and rejection and are often excluded from social activities. Consequently, there is a need for mitigation strategies aimed at reducing the spread of the disease. Indeed, in human society, beliefs are fundamental to understanding people's intentions towards a given phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to assess students' perceived self-efficacy, attitude towards and knowledge about HIV/AIDS. In this study, Bandura's self-efficacy theory was used as a framework to assess the relationship between students' perceived self-efficacy, attitude towards and knowledge about HIV/AIDS. A total of 342 students of at least 15 years old were recruited from junior and senior high schools and a public university to complete two scales: the general self-efficacy and attitude and knowledge about HIV/AIDS scales. While there was a positive correlation among self-efficacy, attitude and knowledge, attitude and knowledge combined to predict self-efficacy. The limitations of the study, recommendations for future research and policy implications are discussed herein.

The Effect of the Infectious Disease Nursing Course on Turkish Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes Towards AIDS: A Quasi-Experimental Study

There is no available treatment or vaccine for HIV/AIDS, and health education has, therefore, become a top priority in the prevention of disease. It is of great importance to have sufficient information about HIV/AIDS and how to control infection. This study was conducted to determine the effect of the Infectious Disease Nursing course on nursing students’ knowledge and attitudes towards AIDS. Materials and Methods. This quasi-experimental study was carried out between February 12 - May 28, 2019 and included 50 nursing students who were taking the Infectious Disease Nursing course for the first time and attended the pre-test and post-test. The data were collected using a Personal Information Form and the AIDS Knowledge and Attitude Scale. Descriptive statistics, the paired sample t-test and Pearson correlation analysis were used in the evaluation of the data. Results. Among the students who participated in the study, 94.0% of students were at the age of 18-21 years; 80.0% of students were females; 54.0% of students stated that they had adequate knowledge of AIDS; 78.0% of students stated that they did not want to provide care to individuals with HIV/AIDS. There was found a significant strong positive correlation between the mean pre- and post-education scores for the AIDS Knowledge and Attitude Scale (p<0.05, r=0.34; p<0.01, r=0.72). There was a significant, weak negative correlation between the mean post-education AIDS total Attitude mean score and the status of having contact with a patient with HIV/AIDS and wanting to provide care for a patient with HIV/AIDS (p<0.05, r=-0.31), and a significant weak positive correlation between the status of wanting to provide care for a patient with HIV/AIDS and seeing people with HIV/AIDS as a threat (p<0.01; r=-0.50). Conclusions. All the students benefited from the information on AIDS and became informed due to attending the Infectious Diseases Nursing course and their attitudes towards AIDS improved.

Spanish Nursing Students' Attitudes toward People Living with HIV/AIDS: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is still a public health issue. Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) creates, in society, stigmatizing attitudes, fear, and discrimination against infected people; even health professionals do not feel trained enough to adequately take care of these patients, which affects the quality of care provided to such patients. The purpose of this study was to explore nursing students’ attitudes and other related factors toward people with HIV/AIDS, as well as their evolution in subsequent academic years. A cross-sectional study was performed with students in four academic years from four Spanish health sciences institutions (n = 384). Data were collected voluntarily and on an anonymous basis, utilizing the “Nursing students’ attitudes toward AIDS” (EASE) validated scale. The students’ attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS were relatively positive, with a total mean EASE value of 85.25 ± 9.80. Statistically significant differences were observed according to the academic year (p = 0.041), in 4 out of 21 items of the scale and among students with no religious beliefs. By adjusting every variable, only the weak association with religion was maintained (p = 0.045).