Experience with and attitudes towards HIV patients among Italian general practitioners

Italian general practitioners (GPs) were surveyed to assess their experience in treating HIV patients: asymptomatic HIV patients (P-HIV) and patients with AIDS (P-AIDS). The GPs' attitudes towards treating P-HIV/P-AIDS, their feelings of competence and their interest in improving their competence were also assessed. The survey was based on structured interviews conducted In November 1992 on a stratified random sample of 900 GPs. Half the sample answered questions about P-AIDS, while the other half answered questions about P-HIV. The percentage of GPs who have treated patients was 10% for P-AIDS and 34% for P-HIV. They generally judged this experience negatively due to its dramatic nature, as well as their sense of therapeutic helplessness and the difficulties they have when communicating with the patients and, to some degree, even with the hospital centres. The majority of subjects were willing to treat patients (56% P-AIDS and 65% P-HIV). This willingness leaned more towards psychological or educational assistance than medical therapy. Discriminant analysis demonstrates that the willing GPs were younger and felt more committed to their profession. Once again, the majority of the interviewees also stated they do not feel competent enough to treat patients (78% P-AIDS and 70% P-HIV) and that they were personally interested in improving their own skills in this area. This paper stresses the importance of careful evaluation of the opportunity of getting GPs more involved in dealing with P-HIV/P-AIDS.