An update on nursing research and HIV infection

Evolution in the body of HIV nursing knowledge

The role nurses occupy in the care of the HIV/AIDS affected has evolved over time. This evolution is exhibited in the body of nursing knowledge and is recorded in the published literature. The purpose of this study was to describe landmarks in the evolution of nursing's involvement in the provision of care to HIV/AIDS patients and to examine the body of nursing knowledge relative to HIV/AIDS, employing bibliometric analytic techniques. It was expected that the literature would grow in both breadth and depth concurrent with nursing's increased role in caring for those infected, or at risk for infection, with HIV.

Nursing practice for HIV/AIDS fever care: a descriptive study

Nurses often perceive fever in relation to the impact it has on specific patient populations. Fever in HIV/AIDS patients is a common symptom. This descriptive study explored how nurses in AIDS care defined and described fever in HIV/AIDS patients and used nursing interventions for fever management. Seventy-five registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and LPNs employed in AIDS care throughout Florida were surveyed concerning interventions for AIDS-related fever. The study revealed that nurses in AIDS care treat fever by providing patient comfort, initiating nursing interventions for low-grade to moderate fever, and notifying the primary care provider if nursing interventions do not keep the temperature below 100.9 degrees F. The sample provided a variety of nursing interventions to make the patient more comfortable. In addition, the study also revealed a unique perspective for fever care, which influences the practice of nurses in AIDS care and might differentiate nursing practice in AIDS care from other nursing specialties. However, some interventions differed from fever nursing management strategies published by the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. Further research needs to explore the efficacy of these interventions.

Nurse caring behaviors for persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome/human immunodeficiency virus

The purpose of this study was to identify nurse caring behaviors desired by patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive. Forty-six adults with either a diagnosis of AIDS or HIV-seropositive participated in the study. Subjects indicated "treat me as an individual" as the highest scoring item. Themes derived from the data included acceptance, respect, treatment of the person as an individual, and nonjudgmental attitudes of the nurse toward the person with AIDS/HIV.

Health care needs of persons with HIV/AIDS in various settings

This study describes the psychosocial and physiological health care needs of persons with HIV/AIDS in hospital, outpatient, home care, and long-term care settings. A cross-sectional descriptive design with 386 patients selected from the four settings was used to test between-setting differences on Healthcare Needs Scales. Univariate analyses of variance of scale and subscale scores and Kruskal-Wallis analyses of variance by ranks on item scores were computed. There was neither a relationship between psychosocial and physiological health care needs nor a distinctive pattern of needs across settings by HIV classification. The patients' needs varied between settings on health behaviors/social support, health management, and elimination/physical/sensory functions but were quite similar in psychosocial/financial support and neurological/digestive functions. These results question assumptions about the relationships among stage of HIV infection, level and type of health care need, and type of setting and suggest that health system resources and nursing care focus on both the psychosocial and physiological needs of persons with HIV/AIDS using individualized protocols.

Nursing Students' Knowledge and Anxiety About AIDS: An Experiential Workshop

The purpose of this quasiexperimental study was to examine the effectiveness of an experiential workshop on nursing students' anxiety and knowledge about AIDS. This study was based on Peplau's interpersonal theory in nursing practice. The sample included 67 senior nursing students and was designed as a three-group pre/post quasiexperiment. All groups received a pretest, posttest, and 6-week follow-up posttest. The experimental intervention was a 6-hour workshop that included anxiety awareness exercises in an experiential format and information about AIDS. Knowledge and anxiety scores were significantly higher for the group that attended the didactic portion of the workshop before the experiential portion. The control group showed no change in knowledge or anxiety. Results indicated that recognition of anxiety through experiential exercises contributed to learning about AIDS.

An assessment of Arab American knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about AIDS

An important component of an effective AIDS prevention program is the dissemination of relevant information concerning AIDS risk behaviors. The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of 411 randomly selected Arab Americans. The results indicate a low level of self-assessed knowledge about AIDS, a high number of misconceptions about the transmission of HIV, and a high level of anxiety about HIV infection.

Psychosocial responses among individuals with human immunodeficiency virus infection

The purpose of this research was to identify and describe psychosocial responses to being infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Ten adults infected with HIV were interviewed and audiotaped as they described their feelings and experiences as HIV-infected people. The interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory methodology. The core category that emerged from the data was Fighting to Survive with HIV Infection. Supporting concepts were Taking Care and Restructuring One's Life. The concept of Taking Care included processes of everyday work and illness work. The processes involved in Restructuring One's Life were living with uncertainty, accepting homosexuality, experiencing changing feelings, protecting confidentiality, dealing with the medical profession, handling multiple losses, and living with a terminal illness.

Overcoming stigmatization: social and personal implications of the human immunodeficiency virus diagnosis

All diseases have attached metaphors. Social and personal reactions to people with human immunodeficiency virus are influenced by the metaphor, "fear of polluting people," and have in common with sexually transmitted diseases, the irrational fear of easy contagion. These issues negatively affect clients' response to their diagnosis and their treatment and care. Many clients have suffered as a result of receiving care from professionals who are condemning of the person with the disease. Others, though have found supportive care givers and have experienced positive reactions to the diagnosis through achieving emotional and spiritual development. The response of nursing to this stigmatized disease is explicated.

Development of a measure of attitudes toward persons with AIDS

This paper describes the development of a brief scale to measure attitudes toward persons with AIDS. Results from content validation, factor analysis, classical reliability estimation and generalizability analysis show the measure to have strong psychometric properties.