COMPARISON OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND PREVENTATIVE PRACTICES TOWARD ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME IN URBAN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT NURSES AND PARAMEDICS (HEALTH CARE).
Contributors: University of Texas at Austin.
Published: 1994
Number of pages: 241
Subjects: Education, Health.; Health Sciences, Occupational Health and Safety.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this investigation was to answer the broad question: Do urban emergency department nurses and paramedics differ in their knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices toward acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)? A descriptive correlational design was employed to answer this research question and several subquestions. Complete data sets were collected from a self-selected convenience sample of emergency department nurses and paramedics (N = 282) in the eight largest urban areas of Texas. Three pilot-tested instruments were used to collect the data: a 50-item knowledge survey, a 23-item attitude survey, and a 26-item occupational behavior survey. The theoretical framework for the study was social learning theory.

The data were analyzed through the use of a computer statistical application program. The analysis yielded frequency distributions and summary statistics. Differences between the two groups on the research variables were analyzed through the use of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and each factor was also examined for significant effects through the use of analysis of variance (ANOVA). Pearson product moment correlations were used to determine the relationships between the variables.

The significant findings were that emergency department nurses had greater HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and had more positive HIV/AIDS-related attitudes than did paramedics. Emergency department nurses and paramedics did not significantly differ in preventive practices (self-reported voluntary compliance with Universal Precautions).

A significant relationship exists between higher professional training levels and greater HIV/AIDS-related knowledge scores. A significant relationship exists between higher HIV/AIDS patient care experience levels and greater HIV/AIDS-related clinical knowledge scores.

Significant correlation was found between coworker expectation, coworker support, and employer support of preventive practices and actual compliance with Universal Precautions in paramedics, but was not significantly correlated in the emergency nurses. A significant correlation was found between the ready availability of personal protective equipment and compliance with Universal Precautions in paramedics, but not in nurses. A significant correlation was found between self-reported behavior and peer-reported behavior in both nurses and paramedics. This measure evaluated the social learning construct of modeling.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-02, Section: A, page: 0467.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, 1994.

School code: 0227.