Desire to treat HIV-infected patients: similarities and differences across health-care professions.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To determine attitudinal predictors of health-care providers' willingness to treat HIV-infected patients. We also tested the hypothesis that differences between dental and medical students in their expressed desire to treat HIV-infected patients result from differences in their clinical exposure to bloodborne pathogens and their clinical training. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was used to administer a self-report questionnaire format to preserve subject anonymity. METHODS: A questionnaire was used to assess attitudes, knowledge, and behavior associated with the care of HIV-infected patients. Both bivariate statistics and logistic regression techniques were used to determine factors related to the desire to treat HIV-infected patients. RESULTS: Compared with dental students, medical students expressed a greater desire to treat HIV-infected patients. However, the attitudinal predictors of a desire to treat were similar across both groups. The two most important predictors were the degree to which respondents perceived a personal risk of HIV exposure and their sense of professional obligation to treat all patients. Furthermore, knowledge levels were unrelated to desire to treat. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that educational interventions aimed simply at increasing a provider's knowledge of HIV may not be effective in changing behavior.