HIV Stigma and Nursing - Case Study Example

Introduction Background of the study Human immunodeficiency virus, also known as HIV, is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) which is a life-threatening opportunistic infection. During the onset of this opportunistic infection, the nurses were the first to be exposed to such infection and the reported cases or diagnoses of the HIV/AIDS in United States increases each year. People having this disease were stigmatized, as societal response, since its emergence (Brimlow, Cook, & Seaton, 2003). During the epidemic spread, some researchers documented that some healthcare professionals, including nurses, were affected by the attitude of the society towards persons having HIV/AIDS. There are some recent studies now that focused on the knowledge of the nurses on HIV and their attitudes towards patients having this infection. And through this information, this paper was designed to evaluate the relationship between attitude of nurses and their willingness to care for the HIV patients using the already published studies. List of research questions or hypotheses specific to problem statement The general problem of the study is on evaluating what is the relationship between attitude of nurses and their willingness to care for the HIV patients. The specific research problems are as follows: 1.) What do nurses fear on HIV patients? 2.) What are the knowledge and beliefs of nurses on HIV? 3.) Are they willing to give care to patients with HIV? Significance to Nursing Many nurses, nowadays, took care of those patients with infectious disease such as HIV. The knowledge of taking care of a patient with HIV will make a difference on the attitude of the career to the patient, and so, this paper could help in explaining the attitude of nurses towards their patients and their willingness to take care for them. In addition, it could improve nursing in a way that it teaches the nurses on how to handle patients with serious diseases such as HIV. Also, this could give information on any curriculum changes needed and continuing education needs. Lastly, this paper could serve as bases for future researches on related topics. Review of Related Literature Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV is a virus which causes the disease known as the AIDS which is an opportunistic infectious disease and a condition in human which could be lethal. In 2005, it is estimated that about 0.6% of the population in the world is infected with HIV (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 2006). Main transmission routes for HIV have been identified by experts (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 2006). First is through unprotected sexual intercourse. It could occur through genital, oral, or rectal mucus membrane contact with the partner. Second route transmission is via blood or blood product route (Holmes, et al., 2005). It could be transferred through sharing of needles. Lastly, the third type of transmission is through mother-to-child transmission. Though HIV is now pandemic, there are drugs in the market that could prevent the infection. Studies Relating on HIV Stigma Nowadays, not all people are that well informed on what HIV really is and how are they transferred. There is this misinformation about the subject. Because of this misinformation on the subject by the society, they tend to avoid HIV+ individuals. HIV+ individuals have experienced discrimination not only from the public but also from healthcare professionals. There was a national study on HIV+ individuals and found that 36% reported an experience on discrimination by the healthcare provider, including 8% who had been refused from medical services (Collins et. al., 2005). HIV patients are a challenge to healthcare professionals, like on handling their patients. Many researches have been documented on researches on HIV with relation to the way healthcare professionals handle them and HIV stigma since the emergence of the epidemic. In 1996, there was a study dealing on the measuring the fears of nurses on AIDS in United States by Wang Paterson (1996). A study conducted, by Capitanio et. al. (2002), dealing on the prevalence of AIDS stigma and on the misinformation about HIV transmission during 1997 and 1999 in US, showed that during 1990s, there was a decline of stigma expressions which was supported by the very low levels of most extreme and coercive forms, like quarantine, by 1999. This was evident in 1999 in which one-third of the respondents in the research expressed discomfort towards the patients. In addition, in the research conducted, it was evident that stigmatizing attitude of the society is related to the misinformation on how HIV is being transmitted. A case study investigating on the perception and experiences of nurses in South Africa regarding HIV+ patients and the attitudes of nurses towards them showed that in order to inform social policies and programmes dealing with HIV, it is better to understand the perceptions of the nurses and their experiences regarding providing care (Smit, 2004). There are now many researches on understanding the nurses’ attitudes and willingness towards their HIV+ patients. One study was conducted in India. HIV+ individuals in India also experience discrimination from some healthcare providers. A study, by Holmes et. al. (2005), dealt on knowledge, attitudes and risk perception amongst nurses on HIV. Part of the objective of the study is to identify predictors of willingness of nurses towards their patients. On their study, it was found that nurses, in general, have positive attitude towards caring HIV+ patients. However, the fear of risk in infection was still there and is perceived high by most nurses. Also, they found out that the willingness of the nurses to provide care to their patients is strongly associated with having a previously cared for patients with HIV and that knowledge on HIV transmission and risk were not associated with the willingness of the nurses to provide care. In Texas, a study conducted by Watkins and Gray (2006), dealing on the same subject as that of Holmes in India found that the 236 nurses in the study have predominantly positive beliefs toward caring for the patients but with a lack of the knowledge about the disease. And, with a lack of knowledge, nurses cannot effectively educate patients and perform necessary treatments for them. Summary and Conclusion The researches that were presented above clearly shows that society, including healthcare providers, have been practicing HIV stigma and this is due to the misinformation on the subject matter. Ignorance on how HIV is really transmitted, treated, and infect are the factors that the researches have found out. The researches presented gave clues on how the attitude of the nurses and healthcare providers affects the HIV+ patients. Based on the researches, there is relationship between willingness of the nurse and the attitude of the nurses. Nurses with good attitude towards the HIV+ patients are willing to take care of them, especially those nurses who handle HIV+ patients before. On the other hand, those nurses with negative attitudes to the patients have slight willingness to take care of the patients for they fear on the disease, infecting them. This fear was brought by lack of knowledge in HIV or misinformation on how HIV is being transmitted and present knowledge and researches on it. The nursing society could extend the knowledge of the nurses by giving seminars and some basic informational-tool to understand HIV and to teach them on how to be positive towards patients with HIV. With the knowledge on HIV, the nurses could give a successful treatment to their patients. Their willingness and positive attitudes will help the patients to boost their self-confidence, thus, helping them regain their health. List of References Brimlow, D. L., Cook, J. S., & Seaton, R. (Eds.). (2003). Stigma & HIV/AIDS: A review of the literature . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, HIV/AIDS Bureau. Accessed at http://hab.hrsa.gov/publications/stigma/introduction.htm. Capitanio JP. Herek GM. Widaman KF. HIV-related stigma and knowledge in the United States: prevalence and trends, 1991-1999. [Journal Article, Research, Tables/Charts] American Journal of Public Health. 2002 Mar; 92(3): 371-7. (37 ref) AN: 2003019946 NLM Unique Identifier: 11867313. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 1999. “HIV and its Transmission.” 2007. Online. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/transmission.htm. Collins R, Cunningham WE, Schuster MA, et al. Perceived discrimination in clinical care in a nationally representative sample of HIV-infected adults receiving health care . Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2005;20:807-813. Holmes, W., M. Kermode, B. Langkham, M. S. Thomas, and S. Gifford. HIV-related knowledge, attitudes & risk perception amongst nurses, doctors & other healthcare workers in rural India. Indian J Med Res 122, September 2005, pp 258-264 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. 2006. "Overview of the global AIDS epidemic", 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic (PDF format).  Wang JF. Paterson J. Using factor analysis to explore nurses' fear of AIDS in the United States of America. [Journal Article, Research, Tables/Charts] Journal of Advanced Nursing. 1996 Aug; 24(2): 287-95. (36 ref) AN: 1996036092 NLM Unique Identifier: 8858432. Watkins S. and Gray J. Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome: a survey of the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of Texas registered nurses in the 21st century. [Journal Article, CEU, Exam Questions, Research] Journal for Nurses in Staff Development. 2006 Sep-Oct; 22(5): 232-40. (38 ref) AN: 2009305413 NLM Unique Identifier: 17019278. Smit, R. 2004. HIV/AIDS and the Workplace: A Case Study of Nurses in a Public Hospital. R. A. U. Sociology. Rand Afrikaans University, South Africa. Read More