Nurses' Experiences Working With HIV Prevention: A Qualitative Study in Tanzania

Abstract

Despite the high rates of HIV infections in Tanzania, significant gaps in the depth and comprehensiveness of HIV knowledge persist among the population in Tanzania. The aim of our study was to explore nurses' experiences of providing information about HIV prevention in Tanzania. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with eight nurses in health care centers. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis as described by Burnard. The results showed that the nurses carried out the preventive HIV work by giving information, offering counseling, and teaching precautions. The nurses faced many challenges: for example, misconceptions about condom use, people's lack of information about HIV, dealing with the stigma attached to HIV, and the lack of resources in the country. The preventive work affected the nurses emotionally, as they felt a sense of social responsibility to help prevent HIV.

Nurses' experience of caring for people living with HIV: a focused ethnography

“…Several factors contributed to this perceived risk, including the fear of self‐contamination during care provision and fear of possible consequences of being infected. Feelings of fear and worries are common among healthcare providers during care provision to patients with HIV, mainly because they are apprehensive about the risk of self‐contamination (Athley, Binder & Mangrio 2018; Smith et al 2020). This fear results in healthcare providers' hesitance to be involved in providing care to HIV ‐affected persons or may even refrain from care provision (Garus‐Pakowska & Górajski 2019).…”

“…Although HIV has been around for a long time and significant advancements have been made in its treatment in the last decade, some studies have shown that there is still a significant stigma towards people living with HIV (PLWH), and the knowledge of the society of HIV infection is low, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries (Pudpong et al 2014; Smith et al 2020). This can adversely impact the affected people's help‐seeking behaviours and the quality of care they receive (Athley et al, 2018; Duby et al, 2018). PLWH often deal with multiple health issues caused by their poor immune system; therefore, there is a potential for frequent referrals to the healthcare system and frequent healthcare team visits (Fraihn 2017).…”

“…Nurses report negative experiences, such as stress, fear, fatigue and burnout, when providing care for PLWH (Wagner, McShane, Hart, & Margolese 2016). Some studies from low‐income countries suggest that nurses feel fear and worry about becoming infected with HIV when providing care to patients (Athley, Binder & Mangrio 2018; Smith et al 2020). In this regard, Lui et al (2014) found fear of injury with infected needles and accidental exposure to a patient's blood and body fluids among nurses.…”

“…Misconceptions regarding AIDS/ HIV infection may influence nurses' attitudes and practices that are arisen from various sources, including simple ignorance and misinterpretations regarding scientific knowledge about HIV infections as well as the cause of AIDS to misinformation propagated by people and with ideological stances that deny the causative association between HIV infection and the AIDS progress (Sano et al 2016). Since there is a risk of infection during care provision, some nurses and healthcare staff may refrain from providing care or minimize their exposure to PLWH, compromising the patients' health and safety (Athley, Binder & Mangrio 2018; Levy et al 2016). It was indicated that the risk of infection following a needlestick injury is higher with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) compared to HIV, 6%–30% vs. 0.3%, respectively (Bouya et al 2020).…”

A bibliometric analysis of publication of funded studies in nursing research from Web of Science, 2008–2018

“…For HIV/AIDS‐positive patients, receiving timely care positively influences the success of long‐term treatment and improves antiretroviral compliance (Flores et al.., 2016). The role of nurses in the prevention of AIDS (Athley et al., 2018) and the improvement in drug treatment compliance (Nursing Standard, 2017) cannot be ignored.…”