An adapted white-coat and warm-heart intervention on nurses’ knowledge, general stigmatizing attitudes, and work avoidance behaviors towards HIV: a quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Objective To determine the effect of an adapted white-coat and warm-heart intervention (AWWI) among nurses. Background HIV discrimination among the medical staff hinders the progress in HIV prevention. Methods Seven hundred seventy-nine nurses were randomized into intervention and control groups. The intervention group was provided AWWI training. The control group did not receive AWWI training. HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of participants were assessed. Results Participants in the intervention group had better HIV-related knowledge and less stigmatizing attitudes and work avoidance behavior levels than participants in the control group after the 1-, 3-, and 6-month interventions (P<0.05). The main effects of group and time factors were highly significant in the intervention group. There were significant interaction effects in group and time factors. Conclusions AWWI effectively improved the level of HIV-related knowledge and reduced general stigmatizing attitudes and work avoidance behaviors among nurses based on self-reported data in a tertiary hospital of China during a 6-month period.