Willingness of health-professions students to treat patients with AIDS

Abstract

This 1988-89 survey of 319 students in the medical, dental, nursing, and allied health-care professions revealed that over one-third had some reservations about treating acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. Most were unwilling to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on patients with AIDS, and most also believed that health-care workers had the right to refuse care to AIDS patients. Unwillingness to treat AIDS patients was strongly associated with homophobic attitudes and concerns that patients with AIDS posed a risk to health professionals. AIDS education for health professionals should emphasize methods for the prevention of HIV infection among health workers, and include teaching strategies designed to deal with the irrational feelings that AIDS often engenders.