2010 Volume 14 Issue 2 Pages 22-29
The number of cases of HIV infection is increasing in Japan, so strategies to prevent new cases are crucial. Learning self-care behaviors for maintaining medication adherence and preventing secondary HIV transmission is important for individuals with HIV/AIDS. Nurses can play an important role in helping patients maximize self-care skills through educational practices. An additional medical fee for management of HIV infection was established in 2006, and one of the requirements was to allocate nurses specifically focused on HIV/AIDS patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the allocation of nurses and educational practices for self-care behaviors of patients at outpatient departments and to clarify whether practices differ according to allocation patterns of nurses. Self-reported questionnaires were sent to 369 AIDS regional hospitals in Japan by mail. Background of the hospital, allocation of nurses to HIV/AIDS clinics, and frequency of educational practices in terms of 16 items specialized for HIV/AIDS care by nurses were investigated. A total of 176 hospitals responded (47.7%), and 130 hospitals had experience of seeing HIV/AIDS patients. Of these, nurses were assigned at 113 hospitals, and about 60% had nurses engaged only for HIV/AIDS patients (pattern A) or in caring for patients with HIV/AIDS when they consulted a doctor at a general outpatient department (pattern B). Nurses assigned for either pattern A or pattern B performed educational practices more frequently than generalduty nurses. Furthermore, in pattern B, nurses in institutions with an HIV/AIDS clinic every day or on scheduled days during the week performed educational practices more frequently than nurses at institutions with less frequent clinics. This study revealed providing HIV/AIDS specialized nurses is important for providing adequate education for patients.
