A computer-based AIDS education program for nursing students

A multidisciplinary team has developed a computer-based software program for educating nursing students and other college students about six sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The program for educating about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the first of the six "Smartbooks" to be completed, using the Hypercard Expert System shell on the Macintosh computer. Information is organized within a framework known as a concept map, and the student user progresses through the program in a self-directed way by "clicking" on the portion of the concept map that is of interest. Thus, the knowledge base can be accessed in many different ways, and is not restricted to a linear format. Comparative quantitative analysis using a control program shows consistently better student retention of information presented within the program that features concept maps. Qualitative results indicate that students find the conceptually-arranged knowledge base implicitly easy to understand, "fun" to use, and interesting to explore. Educational theory suggests that the success of such a format may be related to the schematic nature of memory.

[Attitude of french speaking nurses towards AIDS]

This study describes the beliefs, the attitudes and the intentions to act toward persons infected with AIDS, of a group of nurses of the greater Montreal area (n = 427). A questionnaire (71 items) was mailed to 1000 randomly selected Montreal nurses and was completed by 427 of them. The majority of these nurses were female (82.5%) and did not possess a university diploma (64.8%). Most of them had at least 15 years of experience and more than half of them had already taken care of a patient with AIDS. It was found that the nurses' knowledge of AIDS was limited: they do not understand the signification of seropositivity and they had little knowledge of the epidemiological dimensions of the illness. The younger nurses tend to adopt the prejudices and beliefs already endorsed by society: isolation, obligatory testing and homophobia. A factor analysis of the beliefs, attitudes and intent to act sub-scales permits the identification of nine factors (fears, prejudices, emotional support, mistrust, avoidance, quality of care, false security, AIDS equals sex and more experience equals less fear). These factors tend to be associated with certain sociodemographic characteristics. The nurses who are less knowledgeable, who are most prejudiced, and who least intend to care for the client with AIDS are: 1) the younger nurses (21-34 years old); 2) those who see the media as their primary source of information and 3) those who have never cared for seropositive clients. This study allows us to render judgement on the values of a specific group of francophone nurses within a fixed time-place framework.

A needs analysis for computer-based telephone triage in a community AIDS clinic

This study describes the complexity of the telephone-triage task in a community-based AIDS clinic. We identify deficiencies related to the data management for and documentation of the telephone-triage encounter, including inaccessibility of the medical record and failure to document required data elements. Our needs analysis suggests five design criteria for a computer-based system that assists nurses with the telephone-triage task: (1) online accessibility of the medical record, (2) ability to move among modules of the medical record and the triage-encounter module, (3) ease of data entry, (4) compliance with standards for documentation, and (5) notification of the primary-care physician in an appropriate and timely manner.

Care for AIDS patients in developing countries: a review

As an ever increasing number of HIV-infected persons develop AIDS, treating the manifestations associated with HIV infection has become a new challenge to health sectors in developing countries. Given resource constraints of health systems before the AIDS epidemic, there is an urgent need to start examining ways in which health care can be delivered to the large number of AIDS patients, without infringing on other primary health care activities. This paper reviews current experience with AIDS patient care management in developing countries and determines some of the areas where further research is crucial. The main issues identified are: (1) that reliable data on standardized treatment schemes for AIDS patients are scarce; (2) that there is an urgent need for research on low-cost supportive treatment of AIDS patients, comparing costs and outcomes; (3) that outpatient and home-based care can be a valuable alternative to hospital-based care, but that cost-efficiency of these alternative treatment strategies should be examined more closely; and finally, that (4) the potential benefit of using HIV/AIDS patients to promote prevention of HIV transmission should be acknowledged.

Nursing care management

Patient satisfaction, patient-perceived quality of life, and nurse satisfaction were compared before and after the implementation of nursing case management in a southeastern acute care hospital. Immune-compromised oncology patients were sampled as proxy for patients with AIDS. Clinical nurse specialists as case managers planned, coordinated, and facilitated patient care on the 36-bed study unit. Patient satisfaction showed a statistically significant increase 6 months after implementation of nursing case management.

Where there's life ... Intensive care for patients with AIDS and HIV

The most common cause of Aids-related death is respiratory failure. Although the mortality rates are high, drug therapy can lead to successful outcomes. By keeping up-to-date with current developments, nurses working in ICUs can help adapt practice to suit individual needs and requirements.