Nursing students´knowledge and attitudes towards people with HIV/AIDS : a quantitative study at MIOT College of Nursing, India

Sammanfattning: Background:It is today estimated that the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in India is 2.5 million. Recent research has shown that stigmatizing attitudes against people living with HIV/AIDS is still present among health care personnel and nursing students. Nurses have a central role in preventing HIV/AIDS transmission and therefore education about the disease is a key factor for improving health care among the population (Durkin, 2004). Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate and describe nursing students‟ level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and their attitudes towards people with the disease. Method: It is a descriptive quantitative study using a modified Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) questionnaire. The questionnaire contains questions about from which sources the person gains information, the level of knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS. The respondents (n=45) are nursing students attending the final year of Bachelor Science Degree of Nursing at MIOT College of Nursing in Chennai, India. Results: There are gaps in the knowledge of the students regarding HIV/AIDS. None of the students answered correctly to all 20 questions and statements on the HIV/AIDS knowledge scale. More than 10% of the students (n=5) answered incorrectly to 45% of the statements/questions. In regards to attitudes, the students tend to have high levels of empathy, but also high levels of refraining attitudes. The result indicates that most students are willing to care for people with HIV/AIDS (89%) even though refraining attitudes are present. Levels of empathic attitudes among the students tend to increase when higher level of knowledge is present. Conversely, the level of refraining attitudes tends to decrease as the level of knowledge increases. Conclusions: There are gaps in the knowledge about HIV/AIDS. The level of empathic attitudes is high, but at the same time the level of refraining attitudes is high