Health care workers and HIV/AIDS: A critical review of the literature

The first case of HIV infection was reported in Nigeria in1986. Since then, the prevalence has risen from less than 0.1% in 1987 to 5.8% in 2002, and an estimated 3.6 million Nigerians now live with HIV/AIDS. More than 40 oral manifestations of HIV infection have been recorded and between 70% and 90% of persons with HIV infection will have at least one oral manifestation at sometime during the course of their disease. Oral health-care workers (OHCWS) are expected to play active roles in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. In this study, a one-day workshop was organized for 64 oral health workers in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, focusing on the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, the oral manifestations, control and prevention of HIV in a dental environment, oral care of the infected patient and the ethical, legal and social aspects of HIV/AIDS. Participants' knowledge and practices of infection control were assessed with an infection control checklist administered pre- and post-workshop. Sixty (90.8%) respondents believed that HIV/AIDS was not yet a problem in Nigeria, and 58 (90.6%) believed that drugs have been developed which can cure HIV infection and AIDS. The men complied more with waste disposal regulations than women ( P=0.010). Twenty-nine of 58 (50.0%) did not discard gloves which were torn, cut or punctured. Seven (12.1%) did not change gloves between patients' treatment. Conscious efforts should be made to train OHCWS on all aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention and care. It must never be assumed that adequate information will be acquired through tangential sources.

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HIV/AIDS and health care workers: Contact with patients and attitudes towards them

Psychology and Health ◽

10.1080/08870449908407334 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 367-378 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Christina Knussen ◽

Catherine A. Niven

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Care Workers ◽

Hiv Aids

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HIV/AIDS occupational exposure and integrative care; knowledge, attitude, and skills of healthcare workers in Gansu Province, China

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20174211 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (10) ◽

pp. 3501

Author(s):

Leela S. Mundra ◽

Sadaf Aslam ◽

Juxia Zhang ◽

Han Lin ◽

Peng Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Occupational Exposure ◽

Infection Control ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Gansu Province ◽

Composite Score ◽

Care Workers ◽

Level Of Knowledge ◽

Hiv Aids

Background: For HIV infected patients, distinct infectious disease hospitals currently exist in China, therefore, attitudes promoting separation within health care settings persist both in healthcare workers and community. The misinformation and fear of infection negatively affect Health Care Workers, (HCWs) attitudes towards caring for patients with HIV. However, the level of knowledge, attitudes, and skills (KAS) towards occupational exposure to HIV and post-exposure standards of care are unknown in Gansu, China. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of health care workers regarding HIV occupational exposure and treatment. We analyzed findings in a total of 324 HCWs through a self-reported questionnaire. Results: HCWs with a higher than average KAS composite score compared to HCWs with a lower KAS score were more likely to be working clinically (p=0.0023), and had completed a university degree or above (p=0.0370). The univariate analysis model also showed additional factors that HCWs having a higher KAS composite score were significantly associated with being a physician (OR 9.22; p=0.045) and receiving formal infection control training (OR 4.20; p<0.0001). Conclusions: Our study provides considerable information on occupational exposure regarding HIV/AIDS in Gansu Province of China. A continuous education is necessary to increase the level of knowledge, attitude and skills of HCWs about the risk of infection at the workplace. With the adoption of standardized occupational exposure protocols and infection control programs, we should be able to reduce barriers of HIV care into general hospital facilities which in turn can modify their attitudes.

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Challenges confronting health care workers in government's ARV rollout: rights and responsibilities

Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad ◽

10.17159/1727-3781/2012/v15i2a2497 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 486

Author(s):

Yousuf A Vawda ◽

Farhana Variawa

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Successful Outcome ◽

Health Crisis ◽

The Public ◽

Care Workers ◽

Hiv Aids

South Africa is renowned for having a progressive Constitution with strong protection of human rights, including protection for persons using the public health system. While significant recent discourse and jurisprudence have focused on the rights of patients, the situation and rights of providers of health care services have not been adequately ventilated. This paper attempts to foreground the position of the human resources personnel located at the centre of the roll-out of the government's ambitious programme of anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy. The HIV/AIDS epidemic represents a major public health crisis in our country and, inasmuch as various critical policies and programmes have been devised in response, the key to a successful outcome lies in the hands of the health care professionals tasked with implementing such strategies. Often pilloried by the public, our health care workers (HCWs) face an almost Herculean task of turning the tide on the epidemic. Unless the rights of HCWs are recognised and their needs adequately addressed, the best laid plans of government will be at risk. This contribution attempts to identify and analyse the critical challenges confronting HCWs at the coalface of the HIV/AIDS treatment programme, in particular the extent to which their own rights are under threat, and offers recommendations to remedy the situation in order to ensure the successful realisation of the ARV rollout.

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Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and risk factors in health care workers

Przeglad Epidemiologiczny ◽

10.32394/pe.74.52 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 606-619

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Medical Doctors ◽

Review Of The Literature ◽

The People ◽

Reliable Assessment ◽

Care Workers ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Gender Knowledge ◽

Reporting Method

The COVID-19 pandemic verifies the preparation of medical care in individual countries in terms of the fluent of guaranteed medical services provided to the people in need. Due to the easy spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus when in direct contact with the patients, health care workers are at an increased risk of infection. Nurses and auxiliary staff, as well as medical doctors, were most frequently infected. The prevalence of infection depends on the adopted reporting method, including the diagnostic test used to recognize the infection, the nature of the work performed, but also on the gender, knowledge, and individual behavior of employees while performing their professional duties. It ranges from 5-30% depending on the country and the occupational group, and the highest rates were recorded in the initial phase of the pandemic. A review of the literature shows the lack of a uniform, transparent system of reporting infections in health care workers, which makes a reliable assessment of the epidemiological situation in this area difficult.

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