Attitudes of Turkish midwives and nurses working at hospitals towards people living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Health professionals caring for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) show poor or negative attitudes because of fear of contagion. Therefore, it is important to know the attitudes of midwives' and nurses' towards people living with HIV/AIDS. The aim of this descriptive and cross‐sectional study is to assess the attitudes of Turkish midwives and nurses working at hospitals to people living with HIV/AIDS and to identify factors that affect these attitudes. A group of 46 midwives and 192 nurses working in hospitals were included in the study. Data were collected through AIDS Attitude Scale. Age, professional experience, number of children and marital status influenced the attitudes of the participants towards people living with HIV/AIDS. We concluded that higher level of education appear to positively influence the attitudes of the participants . Education programmes including evidence‐based nursing implications might be planned to improve positive attitudes and to prevent stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS.