Stigma Toward Patients Living With HIV Among Nurses Within Public Hospital in Bandung, Indonesia.

PURPOSE: Nurses' stigma against patients with HIV leads to lower quality of nursing care, making patients feel neglected. Various factors can influence nurses' stigma behavior toward patients with HIV. To analyze the stigma toward patients living with HIV among nurses within a public hospital.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study took place between June and August 2024 at one of the public hospitals in Bandung, West Java Province, Indonesia. The participants were 152 nurses who worked in inpatient wards and had provided care to patients with HIV and were recruited by convenience sampling. A questionnaire was distributed to assess nurses' knowledge of HIV and examine HIV-related stigma. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data, and the Spearman Rank test was used to determine the correlation of the variables in this study.

RESULT: The study found that HIV knowledge among nurses was significantly correlated with stigma toward patients with HIV. Nurses with excellent knowledge of HIV tend to have lower levels of stigma toward patients with HIV. However, this study found that nurses tended to avoid caring for HIV patients due to fear of potential HIV transmission and for self-protection.

CONCLUSION

Hospital management should focus on reducing stigma related to HIV patients by implementing targeted educational interventions that enhance healthcare professionals' knowledge. Regular workshops aimed at fostering empathy in HIV care, along with the building of supportive work environments, are crucial. Establishing clear guidelines reinforced through supervision and mentorship will also help ensure equitable and non-discriminatory patient care.