NURSES' COMFORT AND WILLINGNESS TO DELIVER CARE TO PATIENTS WITH AIDS (IMMUNE DEFICIENCY).
Contributors: California School of Professional Psychology (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Published: 1990
Number of pages: 144
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Social.; Psychology, Industrial.
Description: As the cases of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) increase, nurses are required to provide care for patients with a deadly disease for which, as yet, there is no cure. Assessing nurses' anticipated comfort level with and willingness to perform nursing care tasks for patients with AIDS, in the face of increasing case loads and nursing shortages, is critical to nursing and hospital management concerns.

This study assesses these variables in response either to a homosexual or a heterosexual patient with AIDS scenario. It also addresses relationships between these responses and the level of proximity and contagion risk of the task as well as the degree of nurses' tolerance toward homosexuals.

It was hypothesized that nurses' comfort levels and willingness to perform nursing tasks for patients with AIDS were a function of: (1) the physical proximity to the patient and the associated contagion risk inherent in performance of the nursing task; (2) the degree of tolerance in their attitude toward homosexuals; and (3) the sexual orientation of the patient requiring care.

Eighty-nine registered or licensed vocational nurses, employed in hospital settings, recruited through word of mouth and networking, participated in this study.

The findings suggest that proximity and associated contagion risk were significantly related to nurses' comfort and willingness to deliver care to patients with AIDS. Specifically, as proximity increased, comfort and willingness to perform nursing care tasks decreased. Nurses having more tolerant attitudes toward homosexuals reported significantly greater comfort and willingness as they anticipated delivering care to a patient with AIDS.

Nurses anticipating giving care to a homosexual patient did not report significantly different comfort levels than nurses anticipating dealing with a heterosexual patient. In contrast, nurses anticipated willingness to deliver care to a heterosexual patient with AIDS was significantly greater than that of nurses anticipating delivering care to a homosexual patient with AIDS. These findings suggest that nurses may anticipate being able to overcome their discomfort in performing nursing care tasks for heterosexual patients, but anticipate not doing so for homosexual patients. Implications for screening, staffing, and training to minimize refusal to provide care are discussed.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: B, page: 1358.

Thesis (PH.D.)--CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY - LOS ANGELES, 1990.

School code: 0068.