Nurses' Willingness to Perform AIDS Patient Care

We evaluated nurses from hospitals with different prevalences of AIDS patients and with different levels of nursing education to measure their willingness to provide care to AIDS patients. Nurses who were most experienced in AIDS patient care, employed in high-prevalence hospitals, and who considered themselves most knowledgeable about infectious disease consistently were less willing to provide nursing care for AIDS patients. Nurses with BSN or MSN education employed in hospitals with low and moderate prevalence of AIDS were the most willing to provide AIDS patient care. The results are discussed in light of recent research on universal precautions adherence and factors that may contribute to increasingly negative attitudes for nurses who provide sustained AIDS patient care.