Impact of AIDS on Clinical Laboratorians

We developed a survey to assess the effects of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) on clinical laboratory professionals with regard to the following: knowledge of AIDS, laboratory safety practices, and attitudes toward working with AIDS specimens and patients. In December 1987,580 surveys were distributed to laboratorians employed in eight hospitals in central and northern New York State. There were 307 usable responses for an overall return rate of 53%. Our findings indicate that most laboratorians are knowledgeable about the modes of transmission of AIDS, but that a significant number are uncertain about transmission, some of the CDC's recommendations for laboratory safety, the type of HIV screening test used, and HIV-associated abnormalities of the immune system. While the majority of laboratorians were knowledgeable about the recommendations for universal precautions and the use of gloves in the laboratory, many indicated that they are not following the recommended precautions. Laboratorians were more likely to follow the precautions if they attended two or more inservice programs on AIDS. This finding suggests the need for more aggressive inservice education programs with emphasis on laboratory safety with regard to AIDS. Finally, most laboratorians believe that AIDS has increased their on-the-job stress to some degree but not enough to change their career.