Nursing care experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA): A phenomenological study from the West of Iran.

INTRODUCTION

Nursing care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) can be challenging and is dependent on the context. However, there is a lack of information about nurses' experiences in caring for PLWHA in the western region of Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the experiences of nurses in caring for PLWHA in Kermanshah, Iran.

METHODS

In this qualitative descriptive phenomenological study, data were gathered via semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The sample comprised 15 nurses employed at hospitals affiliated with Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, selected through purposive sampling. Colaizzi's seven-step method was employed to analyze the data, and MAXQDA 10 software was used for data management.

RESULTS

In this study, we obtained 579 codes and four main themes of "caring with fear", "Care ethics", "protective precautions" and "duality of feeling ".

CONCLUSION

According to the results, nurses confront numerous difficulties, challenges, fears, and stress when dealing with PLWHA. Participants' perceptions and practical experiences of AIDS patients enable patients to receive appropriate and high-quality care and provide valuable insights for nursing managers to enhance the preparedness of HIV ward nurses. To gain a comprehensive understanding of HIV nursing care, nurses require further education and awareness on this subject.