AIDS-related risk factors, medical diagnosis, do-not-resuscitate orders and aggressiveness of nursing care.

Three variables were experimentally manipulated through simulation in six case study vignettes: AIDS-related risk factors (gay v. IVDU), medical diagnosis (AIDS v. non-AIDS), and DNR orders (DNR order v. no DNR order). Following each vignette, the same 13-item, 6-point Likert-type Aggressiveness of Nursing Care Scale (ANCS) was used to measure nurses' attitudes toward aggressiveness of nursing care. Questionnaires were randomly assigned to 600 acute care nurses. Although AIDS-related risk factors were not found to influence ANCS scores, a non-AIDS medical diagnosis and DNR orders significantly reduced aggressiveness of nursing care attitudes. Study findings did not vary according to nurses' age, academic preparation, or previous practice experience with persons with AIDS or DNR orders.