Yyü evaluation of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of health workers at Dursun Odabaşı Medical Center about HIV/AIDS disease.

YYÜ Evaluation of the Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors of Health Workers at Dursun OdabaĢı Medical Center About HIV/AIDS Disease. Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology. Master thesis. Van 2024. Introduction and Purpose: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic infectious disease that increases in all age groups, especially in young people, throughout the world, for which there is no vaccine, and which negatively affects the quality of life of patients. AIDS patients are not only excluded by society, but also exposed to discriminatory and stigmatizing attitudes of healthcare professionals. In improving the quality of health care services provided to individuals with HIV/AIDS, the training received during the vocational training process will ensure that patients receive quality, prejudice-free and equal health care services. In our study, it was aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of healthcare professionals at Van YYÜ Dursun OdabaĢı Medical Center about HIV/AIDS disease and to analyze the factors related to these, to determine the units according to their knowledge level and to provide training accordingly. Materials and methods: After receiving approval from the ethics committee of Yüzüncü Yıl University Dursun OdabaĢ Medical Center, a cross-sectional survey was conducted including 500 healthcare professionals working at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Dursun OdabaĢı Medical Center. The study was conducted between April 2023 and May 2023. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic Information Form, AIDS Knowledge Scale (ABÖ) and AIDS Attitude Scale (ATÖ). Permission to use the scales was obtained from the scale owners via e mail. The data was collected with the Data Collection Form, which included a total of 57 questions, including sociodemographic characteristics with 8 questions, a questionnaire indicating the status of healthcare workers before and after HIV/AIDS contact with 11 questions, the AIDS Knowledge Scale with 21 questions, and the AIDS Attitude Scale with 17 questions. The scores to be obtained from the AIDS Knowledge Scale range from 0 to 21, and the scores from the AIDS Attitude Scale vary from 17 to 85, with higher scores meaning higher knowledge and more positive attitudes, respectively. SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) program version 21 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were made by calculating percentage distribution, mean, standard deviation, median, minimum and maximum according to variable type. In analytical statistics, Student's T, Mann-Whitney U, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-Square, Fisher's Exact, Spearman Correlation Tests were used depending on the variable type, number of categories and distribution characteristics. Results: The average AIDS Knowledge Scale score of the healthcare professionals included in the study is 12.8 ± 4.9, and the AIDS Attitude Scale average score is 48.7 ± 11.3. In our study, it was observed that the knowledge of health workers about HIV/AIDS was low and the positive attitudes of health workers towards the disease and sick individuals were also low. When the correlation between the AIDS Knowledge Scale score and the AIDS Attitude Scale score of healthcare professionals was examined, a weak but significant and positive relationship was detected, showing that as the level of AIDS knowledge of healthcare professionals increases, their attitudes towards AIDS become more positive. As the level of knowledge of healthcare professionals about HIV/AIDS increased, it was observed that they viewed this disease as a more shameful and stigmatizing disease, but they exhibited more positive attitudes and behaviors towards these patients. It was observed that the knowledge level of health workers between the ages of 18-35 and their positive attitudes towards HIV/AIDS were higher than the health workers between the ages of 36-65. It was observed that the gender and marital status of healthcare professionals did not significantly affect the level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, but women had more positive attitudes and behaviors towards HIV/AIDS patients than men and single people had more positive attitudes and behaviors than married people. In our study, although it was observed that the level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS disease of healthcare professionals with a university degree or higher was significantly higher than that of healthcare professionals with a high school education or lower, no significant difference was observed between their attitudes towards these patients. In our study, it was seen that the level of knowledge of doctors about HIV/AIDS was higher than nurses, and nurses were significantly higher than other healthcare professionals. In our study, it was seen that doctors' knowledge about HIV/AIDS was at a good level, nurses were at a low level, and other healthcare professionals were at a very low level. It was observed that doctors and nurses had higher positive attitudes and behaviors towards individuals with AIDS than other healthcare professionals. However, as a result, it was seen that doctors and nurses did not have good attitudes towards this disease on a scale basis. In our study, it was observed that the level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and positive attitudes towards patients with AIDS were higher among those who had worked in the profession for 1-10 years than the healthcare workers with ≥11 years of experience in the profession. It was observed that the knowledge vii level of healthcare professionals who received training about AIDS was higher. In our study, doctors asked nurses about HIV/AIDS; It was observed that nurses received more training than other healthcare professionals. In our study, it was observed that the level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS among healthcare workers who reported having experienced stab wounds was higher than those who had not experienced stab wounds. The rate of healthcare workers who suffered stab wounds and were exposed to patient body secretions during their work not reporting these contacts was high (66.8%), and the most common reason for not reporting was "I don't care". Discussion and Conclusion: As a result, it was seen that the knowledge level of healthcare professionals about HIV/AIDS was not at the desired level. Therefore, working in the hospital; All healthcare professionals, including doctors, need to be trained on HIV/AIDS disease, ways to prevent the disease, and improving attitudes and behaviors towards HIV/AIDS patients. For this purpose, establishing certain committees and informing healthcare professionals with updated information at frequent intervals will be extremely useful in ensuring that HIV/AIDS patients receive treatment under equal conditions and without being exposed to negative attitudes. Since there are healthcare professionals working in the hospital who have high school education or lower, sexual health education structured according to age, covering all students starting from primary school, should be added to the basic education curriculum, and mass media should provide accurate and quality information proven by scientific research on sexual health issues, including HIV/AIDS. Using it as a presentation tool will be beneficial in raising a society that is conscious and free of prejudice against HIV/AIDS.