Evaluation of HIV knowledge level and attitude of surgical branch physicians

HIV infection continues to be a major health problem all over the world. HIV infection has become a chronic disease as a result of the similar life expectancy of individuals living with HIV with antiretroviral therapy as well as the general population. In our country, the number of individuals living with HIV has been increasing in recent years. With the increase in the HIV-positive population, the possibility of encountering HIV-positive patients increases for healthcare professionals, including surgical branch physicians. In order to assist in the early diagnosis and treatment of the disease, to take appropriate precautions after occupational exposure, and to reduce concerns during the intervention of HIV-positive patients, physicians of other branches should also have information about HIV infection. Healthcare professionals have been shown to exhibit discriminatory behaviors against HIV-positive patients, such as inappropriate comments, privacy violations, delayed treatment, or refusal of treatment. In our study, it was aimed to determine the level of knowledge and attitude of surgical branch physicians working in Aydın province about HIV infection. Thus, our secondary goal is to be a guide in terms of increasing their awareness about HIV infection and revealing the need for education on this subject. A questionnaire form created by the researcher was used to collect the data. All 478 surgical branch physicians working in Aydın province were tried to be reached, and 364 participants who agreed to participate in the study were included in the study. In the first part of the questionnaire, sociodemographic questions were asked, in the second part, questions were asked to measure the level of knowledge about HIV infection, in the third part, questions evaluating attitudes and behaviors about HIV-positive patients, and in the last part, questions specific to the surgical branch were asked. A quarter of the physicians participating in the study were female and the mean age was 39.18±10.7 years. 51.9% of the participants were specialist physicians, 39.8% were research assistants, and 8.2% were lecturers. It was observed that only 11.5% of the participants received training on HIV infection in the institution they worked for, and colleagues who are experts in the field were mostly preferred as a source of information. It was determined that the general level of knowledge about HIV infection of the physicians participating in the study was low, and the HIV knowledge score decreased as the year in the profession increased. It was observed that the participants had a stigmatizing attitude towards individuals living with HIV, women had a more positive attitude than men, and research assistants had a more negative attitude than specialist physicians. A statistically significant correlation was found between the branches and HIV knowledge and attitude scores. It was observed that physicians with high HIV knowledge scores had a more positive attitude. As a result, it was thought that our study increased the awareness of the participating physicians about HIV infection and was a guide in terms of revealing the need for training on this subject. In addition , it is thought that our study will contribute to the literature in terms of revealing the issues that surgical branch physicians lack more knowledge about HIV, and the factors related to HIV knowledge levels and attitudes. Keywords: HIV/AIDS, HIV knowledge level, surgical branch, attitude, stigma