HIV-related concerns and educational needs of public health nurses in a rural state.

An anonymous questionnaire was completed by 369 nurses in public health departments in a rural Southeastern state to examine the relationship between nurses' prior HIV training and their HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, concerns, and perceived training needs. The survey was conducted in three predominantly urban counties with the highest number of AIDS cases and in 38 rural counties with two or fewer reported AIDS cases. Knowledge answers were generally 70%-90% correct and attitudes more favorable than unfavorable.

HIV and the work intentions of public health nurses.

Studies have examined the association between attitudes about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and nurses' willingness or intentions to work with infected persons. However, the relationship between these intentions and perceived concern from nurses' family and friends, or factors of professional nursing experience is relatively unexplored. An anonymous questionnaire was completed by 311 public health nurses from areas with high and low prevalence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in North Carolina.