Nursing students’ attitudes on Caring for People Living with HIV

Nursing students’ attitudes on Caring for People Living with HIV

Nursing students’ attitudes on Caring for People Living with HIV

The nursing Code of Ethics gives a guideline that practicing nurses must provide their nursing care to people living with HIV with great respect (AL‐Jabri & Al‐Abri, 2004). This code acknowledges any patient as a person, seeks justice for all people and equity in access to health care, and is based on mutual relationships of respect, trust, and the dignity of all members of society. The International Code of Ethics for Midwives states that a nurse must above all put compassion and respect for the patient’s life, must be constantly ready to provide competent care to patients regardless of their age or sex, nature of the disease or other differences (Ellis &Hartley, 2001). Arrogance, neglect or degrading treatment of a patient is not allowed. A nurse is not entitled to impose their moral patient, religious and political beliefs. Failure to comply with this statement of the Code of Ethics substantially hampers the realization of the inalienable right of every individual on the confidentiality, obtaining quality health care and social support. To maximize patient care the nurse should be somewhat away from the meticulous execution of his/her direct responsibilities under the internal regulations of the hospital or other medical institution, and strive to establish long-term professional relationship with the patient and his or her milieu. Though this clarity has been made to nurses, some of the nurses still believed that they had the right to refuse to care for patients with HIV (UNAIDS/ WHO, 2004). In an older study by UNAIDS, students recognized that though patients with HIV were deserving of care, 49% of the students would rather not provide care to HIV/AIDS patients. Of these students, only approximately 24% would be willing to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if there were no protective devices (UNAIDS/ WHO, 2004).

In a separate research conducted the same year, (Roupa et al, 2004) noted that 54% of the students suggested that nurses should be allowed to reject providing care to AIDS patients while 36% would out rightly be unwilling to provide health care to AIDS patients. In a study conducted in three large teaching Australian hospitals by UNAIDS & WHO (2004), nurses were refusing to provide care due to the underlying perceived risks and lifestyles of HIV/AIDS patients. The results of the surveys show that prejudice against HIV patients among nursing students is sufficiently high, though their awareness about HIV transmission. Infected are often denied treatment based on their HIV status, violate privacy, unreasonably impose quarantine, compulsory internment and / or segregation. Stigma and discrimination are major obstacles to effective treatment and care of HIV / AIDS patients. Stigma is a social stereotype that reflects the bias of medical officers as well as other people to HIV-positive. It leads to feelings of shame, guilt and isolation among people living with HIV infection, and negative attitudes of others (discrimination) are pushing these people to inaction or action that may cause harm to others. But the negative attitude of nurses to such patients can and should be changed by examining the needs and motives of fears. The determination of the causes and motives of fear of contamination among nurses makes possible to eliminate them in individual work with each individual or a group. This kind of work is to be carried out by professional psychologists and co-operation of HIV-infected persons.