Nursing Students’ Attitudes on HIV

Nurses play a vital role in (human immunodeficiency virus) HIV care through providing counseling, education, and direct patient care. Nursing students are the future of HIV care and their education and values will greatly impact PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS). In society, there is rampant misinformation and bias surrounding HIV that can translate to clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to explore nursing students' attitudes towards PLWHA. A cross-sectional study was performed with students in nursing school (n=59). Data was collected from nursing students across the United States using the Nursing Student’s Attitudes Towards AIDS (EASE) validated scale. We found that students' attitudes towards PLWHA were altered based on their previous experience with PLWHA. Statistical significance was observed in 6 items on the scale among students who did have experience caring for PLWHA as compared to those without experience.