An adapted white-coat and warm-heart intervention on nurses' knowledge, general stigmatizing attitudes, and work avoidance behaviors towards HIV: a quasi-experimental study.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of an adapted white-coat and warm-heart intervention (AWWI) among nurses. BACKGROUND: HIV discrimination among medical staff hinders progress in HIV prevention. METHODS: A total of 779 nurses were randomized into intervention and control groups. The intervention group was provided with AWWI training. The control group did not receive AWWI training. HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of participants were assessed. RESULTS: Participants in the intervention group had better HIV-related knowledge and less stigmatizing attitudes and work avoidance behavior levels than participants in the control group after the 1-, 3-, and 6-month interventions (P < .05). The main effects of group and time factors were highly significant in the intervention group. There were significant interaction effects in group and time factors. CONCLUSIONS: AWWI effectively improved the level of HIV-related knowledge and reduced general stigmatizing attitudes and work avoidance behaviors among nurses based on self-reported data in a tertiary hospital in China during a 6-month period.