Nurses' knowledge about and attitudes toward patients with AIDS

With the increasing incidence of AIDS, it is probably inevitable that most nurses working in acute care settings will at some time come in contact with a patient who has AIDS. Nurses must be prepared to give safe, competent, and compassionate care to patients with AIDS. This article reports the results of a survey of registered nurses' knowledge and attitudes related to AIDS and AIDS patients. The respondents displayed moderate scores on the knowledge questions, high scores on transmission and treatment, but low scores on epidemiology and pathophysiology. On the attitude subscales, scores were above three on a five-point scale, indicating a lack of negative attitudes. Recommendations for educational programming are included.