Hiv/Aids Awareness Among Hospital Employees

Abstract

Research Problem: What is the extent of knowledge and attitude of class III & IV hospital employees regarding HIV/AIDS ?. Objectives: 1) To assess the basic knowledge and attitude of class III and class IV hospital employees re­garding HIV/AIDS. 2) To elicit the need for systematic education of hospital employees in HIV/AIDS. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Government Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur. Participants: Class III & IV employees. Sample Size: 250 employees - 176 class III & 74 class IV employees. Study Variables: Source of information, knowledge about causative agents , modes of transmission, pre­vention and treatment. Statistical Analysis: By simple proportions. Result: Of the 250 study subjects, 232 (92.8%) had heard or read about AIDS. Chief sources of informa­tion were television, newspapers and doctors. Though the study subjects had some factual knowledge about HIV/AIDS, there wen: certain misconceptions; and myths still persist . TJ ey were also found to have a biased and negative attitude towards people with AIDS. 223 (96.1%) study subjects said that they would like to learn more about HIV/AIDS. Conclusion and Recommendations: The results of this study indicate that action is needed to .increase the level of knowledge of hospital employees so that they reject biased information and myths relating to AIDS, and thus carry out their duties effectively and help in forming an enlightened opinion against AIDS.