Nurses' Challenges to Stigma: Desired Attitudes of Nurses Toward People Living with HIV/AIDS

Kondo, Mari

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Mari Kondo, PhD
School of Nursing, Toho University, Tokyo, Japan

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to know about stigma of HIV/AIDS.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to know about nurses' attitude for HIV/AIDS.

Purpose: The nurses in the world have been experiencing many challenges to stigma caused by various infection diseases. For example, they include tuberculosis, Hansen's disease, SARS, avian influenza and HIV/AIDS. Patients with these diseases have been forced to fight against prejudice and discrimination in the society before fighting against diseases.We try to reveal, in the nurses who have conducted long term HIV/AIDS cares in northern Thailand, how the nurses have addressed stigma, what they think are desired attitudes as a nurse, what kind of anxiety they feel.

Methods: We performed content analysis on "desired attitudes as a nurse" obtained from the interview of 10 nurses working at a community hospital in northern Thailand in 2004.

Results: The results show the following three points for "treating the patients in the same manner as patients with other diseases": 1) following the nursing ethics and equally practicing nursing cares; 2) providing kind cares; 3) providing specialized care of HIV/AIDS. In addition, the results show the following two points for "preventing PLHA from additional pains", 1) preventing the patients and their families from additional pains; 2) protecting their privacy. Furthermore, as a result of content analysis on "fear of infection", are included four points: fear that felt by families of nurses; 2) fear from nurses' experience; 3) fear from others' experience; 4) fear to possible errors.

Conclusion: The nurses appear to think that following the nursing ethics as well as not-expressing personal feelings are important for equal care. They think that "desired attitudes" are represented by "equality" and "not giving pains", and that observing the nursing ethics, improving knowledge and skills, and kind care are important for practicing nursing care. At the same time, they feel fear to infection, and that accidents most likely can happen if not careful.

See more of: Accepted WANS Posters
See more of: World Academy of Nursing Science: Oral Paper & Posters