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Volume 59, Issue 330, June 2023

Knowledge, attitude and willingness of nursing students towards HIV/AIDS patient care: A descriptive study

Tulsa Sunar

Registered Nurse of Nepal Nursing Council/Assistant Professor, Tribhuvan University, Nepalgunj Nursing Campus, (IOM), Nepal

ABSTRACT

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by exposure to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which progressively deteriorates and dysfunctions the cell-mediated immunity. The stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS can hinder patients' access to treatment and other rights, discouraging infected individuals from seeking health and social services. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and willingness of PCL nursing students regarding HIV/AIDS patient care. A descriptive study was conducted among female PCL nursing students at Nepalgunj Nursing Campus TU IOM, Banke. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 54 respondents out of 136 students. Data was collected through a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics like frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The study found that 63% of the respondents had good knowledge, while only 18.5% had poor knowledge about HIV/AIDS patient care. Moreover, 85.2% of the respondents had a positive attitude towards caring for HIV/AIDS patients, while only 14.8% had a negative attitude. Most of the respondents (88.9%) were willing to take care of patients with HIV/AIDS. Similarly, 96.3% of the participants were willing to accept the responsibility of HIV/AIDS patient care and 63% of the respondents were still willing to provide care even after exposure to HIV-infected body fluids. The study reveals that PCL nursing students have a good level of knowledge, positive attitude and willingness towards HIV/AIDS patient care. This finding is encouraging for improving patient care and reducing stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. However, more efforts are required to increase knowledge and awareness about HIV/AIDS among nursing students to provide quality care for patients.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Patient Care, Nursing students, Knowledge, Attitude