Zailatul Hani Mohamad Yadzir and Mazliza Ramly, Anita Suleiman
Background: Caring for human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) requires healthcare workers (HCW) to have good knowledge of the issues. Cultural differences in HCW, combined with professional ethics and personal beliefs, could also result in conflicting attitudes, leading to challenges related to caring for people living with HIV (PLHIV).
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess HIV-related knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of healthcare workers (HCW) in nine selected governmental healthcare facilities in Malaysia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken in four government hospitals and five government clinics in Malaysia. A validated selfadministered questionnaire encompassing socio-demographic (6 items), knowledge (14 items), attitude (13 items) and practice (9 items) about HIV was used to assess the KAP of HCW. This survey was conducted via webbased platform. The overall KAP was analysed using the sum score of each outcome based on Bloom’s cut-off point.
Results: Majority of HCW had a high level of HIV-related knowledge (55%). In spite of the high knowledge on HIV, HCW still displayed neutral to negative attitudes (70.8%) and fair to poor practices (82.8%) probably due to fear of contracting HIV.
Conclusion: The study found a high level of HIV-related knowledge, neutral attitude and fair practice among HCW towards PLHIV with significant differences among professions. These findings highlight the need of continuous training and educational opportunities to equip HCW with the right information needed to provide effective and appropriate care to PLHIV and at the same protect themselves against infection.