The meaning of AIDS: African American nursing students' perceptions of providing care to AIDS patients

A qualitative study was conducted to explore the perceptions of African American nursing students as they provided care to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. This research addressed the following question: What are the lived experiences of African American nursing students when they provide care to AIDS patients? The participants in this study were a convenience sample of 12 associate degree nursing students enrolled full-time at a historically Black college and university located in Virginia. Data were collected through audio taped interviews. Five dominant themes emerged: 1) fear of exposure and transmission; 2) hopelessness about the situation; 3) self-identification with the individual; 4) empathy toward persons with AIDS (PWAs); 5) and spirituality and belief in an afterlife. Female nursing students were able to identify with their AIDS patients while male nursing students were not. Many of the nursing students felt ostracized by their peers, and a lack of knowledge hindered the nursing students' deliverance of compassionate nursing care.