Predictors of rural critical care nurses’ willingness to care for people with AIDS

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between rural critical care nurses’ attitudes about acquired immunedeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and people with AIDS (PWAs), and their willingness to provide care to AIDS patients. Sixty-one critical care nurses in nine rural counties in the northeastern USA completed a mailed questionnaire as part of a larger study of 957 rural nurses. A bivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a relationship between willingness to provide care and positive attitudes about homosexuality, nursing care concerns, and professional–societal concerns. However, a multivariate logistic regression indicated that the most significant factors influencing rural critical care nurses’ willingness to care were their feelings of not being prepared to care for people with AIDS, and their anxiety and fears about contracting the disease from their patients. These findings add insight into the care of critically ill AIDS patients and support the need for continuing educational efforts in rural areas of the USA to address critical care nurses’ concerns.