Knowledge and attitudes of professional nurses towards HIV and AIDS patients at the Libode District Health Services in the Eastern Cape Province

This study was conducted at the Libode District Health Services amongst professional nurses who render services to HIV and AIDS patients. Generally, caring for HIV positive patients, nurses need to be knowledgeable about the transmission of the HIV virus, in order to render quality care to the patients. They also need to be sensitive and to demonstrate positive attitudes towards the patients. It was unknown whether the professional nurses at the Libode District Health Services are knowledgeable or not regarding HIV and AIDS. Their attitudes towards the HIV positive patients, were also unknown. Not knowing the knowledge and attitude of professional nurses regarding HIV and AIDS has the potential to compromise the quality of nursing care rendered to the patients. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the level of knowledge of professional nurses regarding HIV and AIDS well as their attitudes towards the HIV-positive patients so as to make recommendations for quality patient care based on the results. A quantitative explorative descriptive research design was used to examine the level of knowledge about HIV and AIDS as well as the attitudes of professional nurses to HIV and AIDS patients. The target populations were the 218 professional nurses working at the Libode District Health services who had nursed HIV positive patients. A simple random sampling method was used to select a sample of 120 participants. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain data. The questionnaire consisted of a section on the demographic profile of the participants, and two other sections for responses on knowledge and attitudes. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 software for consistency of the twenty (20) items in the questionnaire. Findings showed that nurses of Libode District Health Services had an approximately fair amount of knowledge. The majority (79percent) of participants scored above the cut-off point of 24. Twenty one percent (21percent) scored below 24. On attitude, the majority (76percent) had scored below the cut-off point of 36. Recommendations were that professional nurses of Libode District Health Services, need to be exposed to ongoing training on HIV and AIDS to increase their knowledge about HIV and AIDS and to ensure that they demonstrate positive attitudes towards HIV and AIDS patients.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 201