1
|
Saville NM, Kharel C, Morrison J, Harris-Fry H, James P, Copas A, Giri S, Arjyal A, Beard BJ, Haghparast-Bidgoli H, Skordis J, Richter A, Baral S, Hillman S. Comprehensive Anaemia Programme and Personalized Therapies (CAPPT): protocol for a cluster-randomised controlled trial testing the effect women's groups, home counselling and iron supplementation on haemoglobin in pregnancy in southern Nepal. Trials 2022; 23:183. [PMID: 35232469 PMCID: PMC8886560 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-022-06043-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anaemia in pregnancy remains prevalent in Nepal and causes severe adverse health outcomes. METHODS This non-blinded cluster-randomised controlled trial in the plains of Nepal has two study arms: (1) Control: routine antenatal care (ANC); (2) Home visiting, iron supplementation, Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) groups, plus routine ANC. Participants, including women in 54 non-contiguous clusters (mean 2582; range 1299-4865 population) in Southern Kapilbastu district, are eligible if they consent to menstrual monitoring, are resident, married, aged 13-49 years and able to respond to questions. After 1-2 missed menses and a positive pregnancy test, consenting women < 20 weeks' gestation, who plan to reside locally for most of the pregnancy, enrol into trial follow-up. Interventions comprise two home-counselling visits (at 12-21 and 22-26 weeks' gestation) with iron folic acid (IFA) supplement dosage tailored to women's haemoglobin concentration, plus monthly PLA women's group meetings using a dialogical problem-solving approach to engage pregnant women and their families. Home visits and PLA meetings will be facilitated by auxiliary nurse midwives. The hypothesis is as follows: Haemoglobin of women at 30 ± 2 weeks' gestation is ≥ 0.4 g/dL higher in the intervention arm than in the control. A sample of 842 women (421 per arm, average 15.6 per cluster) will provide 88% power, assuming SD 1.2, ICC 0.09 and CV of cluster size 0.27. Outcomes are captured at 30 ± 2 weeks gestation. Primary outcome is haemoglobin concentration (g/dL). Secondary outcomes are as follows: anaemia prevalence (%), mid-upper arm circumference (cm), mean probability of micronutrient adequacy (MPA) and number of ANC visits at a health facility. Indicators to assess pathways to impact include number of IFA tablets consumed during pregnancy, intake of energy (kcal/day) and dietary iron (mg/day), a score of bioavailability-enhancing behaviours and recall of one nutrition knowledge indicator. Costs and cost-effectiveness of the intervention will be estimated from a provider perspective. Using constrained randomisation, we allocated clusters to study arms, ensuring similarity with respect to cluster size, ethnicity, religion and distance to a health facility. Analysis is by intention-to-treat at the individual level, using mixed-effects regression. DISCUSSION Findings will inform Nepal government policy on approaches to increase adherence to IFA, improve diets and reduce anaemia in pregnancy. TRIAL REGISTRATION ISRCTN 12272130 .
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Naomi M Saville
- Institute for Global Health, University College London (UCL), London, UK.
| | | | - Joanna Morrison
- Institute for Global Health, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - Helen Harris-Fry
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London, UK
| | - Philip James
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London, UK
| | - Andrew Copas
- Institute for Global Health, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - Santosh Giri
- HERD International, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | | | | | | | - Jolene Skordis
- Institute for Global Health, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - Adam Richter
- Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sushil Baral
- HERD International, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal.,Health Research and Social Development Forum (HERD), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Sara Hillman
- Institute for Women's Health, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Style S, Beard BJ, Harris-Fry H, Sengupta A, Jha S, Shrestha BP, Rai A, Paudel V, Thondoo M, Pulkki-Brannstrom AM, Skordis-Worrall J, Manandhar DS, Costello A, Saville NM. Experiences in running a complex electronic data capture system using mobile phones in a large-scale population trial in southern Nepal. Glob Health Action 2018; 10:1330858. [PMID: 28613121 PMCID: PMC5496067 DOI: 10.1080/16549716.2017.1330858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The increasing availability and capabilities of mobile phones make them a feasible means of data collection. Electronic Data Capture (EDC) systems have been used widely for public health monitoring and surveillance activities, but documentation of their use in complicated research studies requiring multiple systems is limited. This paper shares our experiences of designing and implementing a complex multi-component EDC system for a community-based four-armed cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial in the rural plains of Nepal, to help other researchers planning to use EDC for complex studies in low-income settings. We designed and implemented three interrelated mobile phone data collection systems to enrol and follow-up pregnant women (trial participants), and to support the implementation of trial interventions (women's groups, food and cash transfers). 720 field staff used basic phones to send simple coded text messages, 539 women's group facilitators used Android smartphones with Open Data Kit Collect, and 112 Interviewers, Coordinators and Supervisors used smartphones with CommCare. Barcoded photo ID cards encoded with participant information were generated for each enrolled woman. Automated systems were developed to download, recode and merge data for nearly real-time access by researchers. The systems were successfully rolled out and used by 1371 staff. A total of 25,089 pregnant women were enrolled, and 17,839 follow-up forms completed. Women's group facilitators recorded 5717 women's groups and the distribution of 14,647 food and 13,482 cash transfers. Using EDC sped up data collection and processing, although time needed for programming and set-up delayed the study inception. EDC using three interlinked mobile data management systems (FrontlineSMS, ODK and CommCare) was a feasible and effective method of data capture in a complex large-scale trial in the plains of Nepal. Despite challenges including prolonged set-up times, the systems met multiple data collection needs for users with varying levels of literacy and experience.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Style
- a Institute for Global Health , University College London , London , UK
| | - B James Beard
- a Institute for Global Health , University College London , London , UK
| | - Helen Harris-Fry
- a Institute for Global Health , University College London , London , UK
| | - Aman Sengupta
- b Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA) , Kathmandu , Nepal
| | - Sonali Jha
- b Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA) , Kathmandu , Nepal
| | - Bhim P Shrestha
- b Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA) , Kathmandu , Nepal
| | - Anjana Rai
- b Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA) , Kathmandu , Nepal
| | - Vikas Paudel
- b Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA) , Kathmandu , Nepal
| | - Meelan Thondoo
- a Institute for Global Health , University College London , London , UK
| | | | | | | | - Anthony Costello
- a Institute for Global Health , University College London , London , UK
| | - Naomi M Saville
- a Institute for Global Health , University College London , London , UK
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Harris-Fry HA, Paudel P, Harrisson T, Shrestha N, Jha S, Beard BJ, Copas A, Shrestha BP, Manandhar DS, Costello AMDL, Cortina-Borja M, Saville NM. Participatory Women's Groups with Cash Transfers Can Increase Dietary Diversity and Micronutrient Adequacy during Pregnancy, whereas Women's Groups with Food Transfers Can Increase Equity in Intrahousehold Energy Allocation. J Nutr 2018; 148:1472-1483. [PMID: 30053188 PMCID: PMC6118166 DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxy109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Revised: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background There is scarce evidence on the impacts of food transfers, cash transfers, or women's groups on food sharing, dietary intakes, or nutrition during pregnancy, when nutritional needs are elevated. Objective This study measured the effects of 3 pregnancy-focused nutrition interventions on intrahousehold food allocation, dietary adequacy, and maternal nutritional status in Nepal. Methods Interventions tested in a cluster-randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN 75964374) were "Participatory Learning and Action" (PLA) monthly women's groups, PLA with transfers of 10 kg fortified flour ("Super Cereal"), and PLA plus transfers of 750 Nepalese rupees (∼US$7.5) to pregnant women. Control clusters received usual government services. Primary outcomes were Relative Dietary Energy Adequacy Ratios (RDEARs) between pregnant women and male household heads and pregnant women and their mothers-in-law. Diets were measured by repeated 24-h dietary recalls. Results Relative to control, RDEARs between pregnant women and their mothers-in-law were 12% higher in the PLA plus food arm (log-RDEAR coefficient = 0.12; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.21; P = 0.014), but 10% lower in the PLA-only arm between pregnant women and male household heads (-0.11; 95% CI: -0.19, -0.02; P = 0.020). In all interventions, pregnant women's energy intakes did not improve, but odds of pregnant women consuming iron-folate supplements were 2.5-4.6 times higher, odds of pregnant women consuming more animal-source foods than the household head were 1.7-2.4 times higher, and midupper arm circumference was higher relative to control. Dietary diversity was 0.4 food groups higher in the PLA plus cash arm than in the control arm. Conclusions All interventions improved maternal diets and nutritional status in pregnancy. PLA women's groups with food transfers increased equity in energy allocation, whereas PLA with cash improved dietary diversity. PLA alone improved diets, but effects were mixed. Scale-up of these interventions in marginalized populations is a policy option, but researchers should find ways to increase adherence to interventions. This trial was registered at www.controlled-trials.com as ISRCTN 75964374.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Puskar Paudel
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | | | - Niva Shrestha
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sonali Jha
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - B James Beard
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Copas
- Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Bhim P Shrestha
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | | | | | - Mario Cortina-Borja
- Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Saville NM, Shrestha BP, Style S, Harris-Fry H, Beard BJ, Sen A, Jha S, Rai A, Paudel V, Sah R, Paudel P, Copas A, Bhandari B, Neupane R, Morrison J, Gram L, Pulkki-Brännström AM, Skordis-Worrall J, Basnet M, de Pee S, Hall A, Harthan J, Thondoo M, Klingberg S, Messick J, Manandhar DS, Osrin D, Costello A. Impact on birth weight and child growth of Participatory Learning and Action women's groups with and without transfers of food or cash during pregnancy: Findings of the low birth weight South Asia cluster-randomised controlled trial (LBWSAT) in Nepal. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0194064. [PMID: 29742136 PMCID: PMC5942768 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Undernutrition during pregnancy leads to low birthweight, poor growth and inter-generational undernutrition. We did a non-blinded cluster-randomised controlled trial in the plains districts of Dhanusha and Mahottari, Nepal to assess the impact on birthweight and weight-for-age z-scores among children aged 0-16 months of community-based participatory learning and action (PLA) women's groups, with and without food or cash transfers to pregnant women. METHODS We randomly allocated 20 clusters per arm to four arms (average population/cluster = 6150). All consenting married women aged 10-49 years, who had not had tubal ligation and whose husbands had not had vasectomy, were monitored for missed menses. Between 29 Dec 2013 and 28 Feb 2015 we recruited 25,092 pregnant women to surveillance and interventions: PLA alone (n = 5626); PLA plus food (10 kg/month of fortified wheat-soya 'Super Cereal', n = 6884); PLA plus cash (NPR750≈US$7.5/month, n = 7272); control (existing government programmes, n = 5310). 539 PLA groups discussed and implemented strategies to improve low birthweight, nutrition in pregnancy and hand washing. Primary outcomes were birthweight within 72 hours of delivery and weight-for-age z-scores at endline (age 0-16 months). Only children born to permanent residents between 4 June 2014 and 20 June 2015 were eligible for intention to treat analyses (n = 10936), while in-migrating women and children born before interventions had been running for 16 weeks were excluded. Trial status: completed. RESULTS In PLA plus food/cash arms, 94-97% of pregnant women attended groups and received a mean of four transfers over their pregnancies. In the PLA only arm, 49% of pregnant women attended groups. Due to unrest, the response rate for birthweight was low at 22% (n = 2087), but response rate for endline nutritional and dietary measures exceeded 83% (n = 9242). Compared to the control arm (n = 464), mean birthweight was significantly higher in the PLA plus food arm by 78·0 g (95% CI 13·9, 142·0; n = 626) and not significantly higher in PLA only and PLA plus cash arms by 28·9 g (95% CI -37·7, 95·4; n = 488) and 50·5 g (95% CI -15·0, 116·1; n = 509) respectively. Mean weight-for-age z-scores of children aged 0-16 months (average age 9 months) sampled cross-sectionally at endpoint, were not significantly different from those in the control arm (n = 2091). Differences in weight for-age z-score were as follows: PLA only -0·026 (95% CI -0·117, 0·065; n = 2095); PLA plus cash -0·045 (95% CI -0·133, 0·044; n = 2545); PLA plus food -0·033 (95% CI -0·121, 0·056; n = 2507). Amongst many secondary outcomes tested, compared with control, more institutional deliveries (OR: 1.46 95% CI 1.03, 2.06; n = 2651) and less colostrum discarding (OR:0.71 95% CI 0.54, 0.93; n = 2548) were found in the PLA plus food arm but not in PLA alone or in PLA plus cash arms. INTERPRETATION Food supplements in pregnancy with PLA women's groups increased birthweight more than PLA plus cash or PLA alone but differences were not sustained. Nutrition interventions throughout the thousand-day period are recommended. TRIAL REGISTRATION ISRCTN75964374.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Naomi M. Saville
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Sarah Style
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Helen Harris-Fry
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - B. James Beard
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Aman Sen
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Sonali Jha
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Anjana Rai
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Vikas Paudel
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Raghbendra Sah
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Puskar Paudel
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Andrew Copas
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- MRC Clinical Trials Unit, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Bishnu Bhandari
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Rishi Neupane
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Joanna Morrison
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lu Gram
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | | | - Andrew Hall
- Save the Children UK, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jayne Harthan
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Meelan Thondoo
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sonja Klingberg
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Janice Messick
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - David Osrin
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony Costello
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Saville NM, Shrestha BP, Style S, Harris-Fry H, Beard BJ, Sengupta A, Jha S, Rai A, Paudel V, Pulkki-Brannstrom AM, Copas A, Skordis-Worrall J, Bhandari B, Neupane R, Morrison J, Gram L, Sah R, Basnet M, Harthan J, Manandhar DS, Osrin D, Costello A. Protocol of the Low Birth Weight South Asia Trial (LBWSAT), a cluster-randomised controlled trial testing impact on birth weight and infant nutrition of Participatory Learning and Action through women's groups, with and without unconditional transfers of fortified food or cash during pregnancy in Nepal. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2016; 16:320. [PMID: 27769191 PMCID: PMC5073870 DOI: 10.1186/s12884-016-1102-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2015] [Accepted: 10/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Low birth weight (LBW, < 2500 g) affects one third of newborn infants in rural south Asia and compromises child survival, infant growth, educational performance and economic prospects. We aimed to assess the impact on birth weight and weight-for-age Z-score in children aged 0–16 months of a nutrition Participatory Learning and Action behaviour change strategy (PLA) for pregnant women through women’s groups, with or without unconditional transfers of food or cash to pregnant women in two districts of southern Nepal. Methods The study is a cluster randomised controlled trial (non-blinded). PLA comprises women’s groups that discuss, and form strategies about, nutrition in pregnancy, low birth weight and hygiene. Women receive up to 7 monthly transfers per pregnancy: cash is NPR 750 (~US$7) and food is 10 kg of fortified sweetened wheat-soya Super Cereal per month. The unit of randomisation is a rural village development committee (VDC) cluster (population 4000–9200, mean 6150) in southern Dhanusha or Mahottari districts. 80 VDCs are randomised to four arms using a participatory ‘tombola’ method. Twenty clusters each receive: PLA; PLA plus food; PLA plus cash; and standard care (control). Participants are (mostly Maithili-speaking) pregnant women identified from 8 weeks’ gestation onwards, and their infants (target sample size 8880 birth weights). After pregnancy verification, mothers may be followed up in early and late pregnancy, within 72 h, after 42 days and within 22 months of birth. Outcomes pertain to the individual level. Primary outcomes include birth weight within 72 h of birth and infant weight-for-age Z-score measured cross-sectionally on children born of the study. Secondary outcomes include prevalence of LBW, eating behaviour and weight during pregnancy, maternal and newborn illness, preterm delivery, miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal mortality, infant Z-scores for length-for-age and weight-for-length, head circumference, and postnatal maternal BMI and mid-upper arm circumference. Exposure to women’s groups, food or cash transfers, home visits, and group interventions are measured. Discussion Determining the relative importance to birth weight and early childhood nutrition of adding food or cash transfers to PLA women’s groups will inform design of nutrition interventions in pregnancy. Trial registration ISRCTN75964374, 12 Jul 2013 Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12884-016-1102-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Naomi M Saville
- University College London, Institute for Global Health, London, UK.
| | - Bhim P Shrestha
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Sarah Style
- University College London, Institute for Global Health, London, UK
| | - Helen Harris-Fry
- University College London, Institute for Global Health, London, UK
| | - B James Beard
- University College London, Institute for Global Health, London, UK
| | - Aman Sengupta
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Sonali Jha
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Anjana Rai
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Vikas Paudel
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | | | - Andrew Copas
- University College London, Institute for Global Health, London, UK
| | | | - Bishnu Bhandari
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Rishi Neupane
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Joanna Morrison
- University College London, Institute for Global Health, London, UK
| | - Lu Gram
- University College London, Institute for Global Health, London, UK
| | - Raghbendra Sah
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Machhindra Basnet
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Jayne Harthan
- University College London, Institute for Global Health, London, UK
| | - Dharma S Manandhar
- Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - David Osrin
- University College London, Institute for Global Health, London, UK
| | - Anthony Costello
- University College London, Institute for Global Health, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Abstract
This study explored the attitudes, knowledge, and fears of occupational therapists and certified occupational therapy assistants regarding AIDS and HIV. The 119 respondents' scores related to knowledge and fear revealed that many had significant fears about AIDS, which in turn may inhibit their willingness to care for persons with AIDS. The respondents also indicated a need for specific information about the condition, including current research data and information on infection control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- B J Atchison
- Department of Associated Health Professions, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Abstract
A survey of adolescents and adults was conducted to assess the causes of the teen pregnancy problem in one rural community. Thirty teens and 34 adults were interviewed and asked to respond to questions related to teen sexuality/pregnancy. The goal of the analysis was to determine differences between and similarities among adults' and teens' perceptions of teen sexuality. Results showed few significant differences between the two groups. Nonsignificance, therefore, was significant.
Collapse
|
8
|
Abstract
Perinatal nurses were surveyed to determine their knowledge, attitudes, and fears concerning AIDS. Nurses' knowledge correlated positively with attendance at conferences and in-service programs. More than 85% of the respondents reported moderate to high fear of AIDS. No correlation was found between knowledge and self-reported fear scores. A discrepancy occurred between the nurses' beliefs that persons with AIDS deserve the same care as any other patient and the nurses' willingness to volunteer to care for these patients. Further research to test and evaluate coping strategies to help perinatal nurses care for mothers and newborns with AIDS must be conducted.
Collapse
|
9
|
Abstract
A study of 177 baccalaureate nursing students was conducted to explore their knowledge, fears, beliefs and other attitudes regarding AIDS. Lazarus' theory related to coping with threatening events provided the theoretical framework. Students with a high fear score were less willing to care for AIDS patients, had higher knowledge scores, and were more homophobic. While 96.6% of the students felt that AIDS patients are entitled to the same care as any other patient, 49% preferred not to care for AIDS patients. Thirty-six percent thought nursing students should not be assigned to care for AIDS patients. Most of the students (70.6%) got their information about AIDS from the media. Nursing faculty must respond by including current, correct information when instructing students about AIDS. Faculty also need to provide opportunities for students to ask questions and share their fears regarding AIDS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L B Lester
- Nursing Education, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti
| | | |
Collapse
|