Nursing Care for Secondary Prevention of HIV/AIDS Outpatients in Japan

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the current practices on secondary prevention care among HIV/AIDS outpatient nurses.
Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed through nursing departments to HIV/AIDS outpatient nurses of 83 HIV/AIDS hospitals. The questionnaires, which were returned by mail on completion, consisted of 35 items related to nursing care (21 items), characteristics of nurses (7 items), and environmental factors (7 items).
Results: With regard to the nurses who recognized a responsibility for each individual care, the proportion of nurses who practiced a frequency of care greater than 60% ranged from 43–69%. Notably, the proportions related to care practice, such as confirming a patient's type of sexual activity, were lower than those of other types of cares. Full-time HIV/AIDS nurses more provided secondary prevention cares than nurses who treated both HIV/AIDS and other patients, also primary nurses more provided care than all other classes of nurses.
Conclusions: The result from this study indicates that the assignment of full-time HIV/AIDS nurses or the introduction of a primary nursing system may be useful for improving the provision of secondary prevention care among HIV/AIDS outpatient nurses.