ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS AMONG MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS NURSES AND THE GENERAL POPULATION TOWARDS PERSONS AFFECTED WITH HIV/AIDS

Dr. Cummings, R. Gobin, V. Narine, A. Ramlall, S. Parsram, S. Glasglow, D. Reddy & S. Sue-Chee

Objective of Study
To investigate perceptions of HIV/AIDS among Medical Practitioners, nurses and the
general population in Georgetown and to determine the attitudes of these study groups towards persons living with AIDS

Design and Methods
A total of 524 persons, including members of the general population living in Georgetown, nurses at Georgetown Public Hospital and Medical Practitioners who practice in Georgetown participated in the study in which data was collected using an appropriately designed questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions on the demographic background of each subject, their general knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and their attitudes towards the condition and people affected by it. For Medical Doctors, number of years of practice, and whether practice is private or public sector and their knowledge on management and counseling skills when dealing with persons affected with HIV/AIDS.

Conclusion
The study revealed that generally there is still a lot of stigma and discrimination towards persons affected with HIV/AIDS. There is still a perception that HIV/AIDS can be cured by having sex with a virgin, using bush medicine (alternative medicine), that the disease is more common among certain ethnic groups. It is heartening to see that most of the groups that took part in the study felt comfortable associating with HIV/AIDS infected persons and disagree that HIV testing should be done before the issuing of visas etc. It is also heartening to see that a large majority of members of the public would have an HIV test done.