Evaluation of an HIV/AIDS continuing education program

An HIV/AIDS education model was implemented for rural nurses as a demonstration project in Georgia. The overall goal of the project was to increase the quality of and access to HIV/AIDS-specific services in rural communities. Public health and community nurses were the focus of this effort due to their current roles in providing health care to rural and underserved populations and their potential for networking across health care and social services agencies to form an HIV/AIDS response network. One hundred and seventy-five nurses completed the program. Program evaluations revealed that, after completing the HIV/AIDS course, participants' professional preparedness, attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS, and knowledge had improved. Consistently, participants' scores in each of these areas increased from the pretest to the posttest. Additionally, nurses participating in the program reported in a follow-up survey that they felt better prepared to care for people with HIV/AIDS. While there is a need for further HIV/AIDS education in rural communities, results of the program support its potential use as a model for other rural communities.