HIV KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, NURSING PRACTICE AND WORK INTENTIONS OF PUBLIC HEALTH NURSES IN HIGH AND LOW AIDS PREVALENCE AREAS IN NORTH CAROLINA (IMMUNE DEFICIENCY).

Description

Studies have examined the association between attitudes about HIV and the willingness or intentions of health care providers to work with HIV clients. The influence of significant others or factors of professional commitment or experience on these intentions has not been investigated. This study describes the nature and extent of nurses' knowledge, attitudes and nursing practice experiences related to HIV, and evaluates factors associated with behavioral intentions to work with HIV clients in a sample of 311 public health nurses in high and low AIDS prevalence areas in North Carolina. The major findings of this study are: (1) most nurses had received some type of HIV education, showed high levels of knowledge about HIV, and had some type of HIV-related nursing practice experience, (2) nurses were more likely to intend to work with HIV clients if they had more favorable attitudes about HIV, perceived significant others (subjective norms) more supportive about HIV work, had stronger professional ties to public health, and worked fewer years in public health, (3) personal associations with persons with HIV or those at high risk for HIV were indirectly related to intentions through attitudes, and (4) nurses from the low AIDS prevalence areas were more likely to intend to work with HIV clients if they had prior professional nursing care experience with HIV clients. The findings of this study are consistent with Fishbein and Ajzen's Theory of Reasoned Action, but also identify professional nursing practice experience as independently associated with behavioral intentions. This suggests that attitudinal, normative and professional experiences are all important in examining nurses' behavioral intentions to work with HIV clients. These findings have implications for behavior change strategies in health education and for developing educational interventions for public health nurses.

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