[AIDS and health personnel in Ivory Coast]

During the second half of 1993, a survey to assess awareness, attitudes, habits, and behavior with regard to HIV and AIDS was performed among health care workers in the Cote d'Ivoire. A total of 90 health care workers, 42 in Abidjan and 48 in Daloa, were surveyed. The majority (87%) were women. Understanding of the terms "AIDS" and "seropositivity" was good as was knowledge of AIDS-related symptoms. Awareness was better among newly recruited workers and nurses than among orderlies. Appreciation of risk was strongly linked with the notion of high-risk population. The occupational nature of the risk was clearly understood and anxiety in this regard was increased by uncertainty as to modes of secondary transmission and lack of preventive measures. On the individual and personal level protection consisted mainly in reducing the number of partners and outside activities. There was a great demand for training and information. As a result of the uncertainties revealed in this survey there appears to be a reluctance or refusal to perform certain procedures or treat certain patients and even a tendency to abandon the health care profession.