Surgical Trainees and HIV/AIDS; Perception and Associated Fear

Syed Imtiaz Ali; Hammad Hanif; Ghulam Mahboob Subhani; Rakesh Kumar; Abdul Basit; Shahkamal Hashmi

doi:10.29054/apmc/2015.320

Syed Imtiaz Ali Assistant Professor, Urology Zia-ud-Din University Clifton Campus Karachi
Hammad Hanif Assistant Professor, Surgery Sir Syed College of Medical Sciences Karachi
Ghulam Mahboob Subhani Associate Professor, Urology PMC/Allied Hospital, Faisalabad
Rakesh Kumar House Officer JPMC / Jinnah Hospital, Karachi
Abdul Basit House Officer Zia-ud-Din University, Karachi
Shahkamal Hashmi Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29054/apmc/2015.320

Keywords: Fear, Healthcare, HIV, protease inhibitors

Abstract

Objective: To access the level of awareness regarding HIV/AIDS among surgical trainees of Pakistan and the fear associated of getting transmitted while working in a healthcare setup. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at 10 hospitals in Sindh. The study was conducted on surgical trainees in those hospitals and a self-administered questionnaire was administered during the period of Jan-August 2015. Chi Square test was applied and P-values were commuted to find the significance. The data was analyzed by SPSS 17. Results: The questionnaire was administered to 400 surgical trainees of whom 310 opted to participate. The level of awareness regarding HIV was significantly high in both male and female surgical trainees, however in comparison females had a greater level of awareness about the treatment (30%), modes oftransmission (100%), and knowledge regarding dealing with needle prick injuries (96%) as compared to male trainees. However lack of knowledge about the HAART therapy was seen among both male (26%) and female surgical residents (30%). Moreover majority of both male (58%) and females (87%) surgical trainees had the point of view that government is not taking affective steps to counter the fight against HIV/AIDS. Conclusion: In spite of significant general knowledge about HIV and its prevention yet lack of knowledge was seen about HIV treatment i.e. HAART therapy in surgical trainees of Pakistan. Furthermore the Pakistani government needs to take proper initiatives to increase the awareness and to counter the fight against this fatal disease.