Nursing care plans for people with HIV/AIDS: confusion or consensus?

Examination of four standardized nursing care plans for people with AIDS (PWAs) from four agencies with extensive experience with caring for PWAs revealed that there is little agreement about the nursing care problems of PWAs. Differences in language, conceptual clarity, and level of complexity related to problem identification have implications for nursing practice, quality assurance and research. Without consensus about patient problems, it is impossible to communicate effectively about nursing care problems for PWAs. Research is needed to validate patient problems that can serve as the basis for standards of care and provide guidance for nurses inexperienced in caring for PWAs.