Factors associated with hospital workers' reactions to the treatment of persons with AIDS

This article reports on how the increasing number of AIDS patients is having a significant impact on the delivery of healthcare services. Healthcare workers need to learn how to provide medical care for persons with AIDS as well as how to interact with and relate to them. Workers who have accurate information regarding the transmission of AIDS report more positive responses. In addition to didactic educational efforts hospital workers need explicit education on the psychosocial issues related to AIDS including such issues as fears of contagion, homosexuality, and death anxiety. Ethnic and cultural differences of both the AIDS population and healthcare workers must be addressed to relieve feelings of risk, stress, and discomfort. Each healthcare setting must determine the most effective means to educate all levels of staff on a continual basis.