5.2.1. Nurses demographic data
The ages of nurses’ ranged between 22 years and 65 years. The findings of the study indicate that there is an aging nursing population which concurs with a study by Vance (2011:9) & Kick (2003:1), that there is an aging population, not only in South Africa but globally as well.
According to Kick (2003:1), this does not only refer to the population alone but includes the ageing nursing workforce.
The sample consisted of majority females and a small minority of males. This supports the traditional belief that nursing is primarily a female profession which is a usual pattern in the nursing profession. According to the demographic statistics of the South African Nursing Council (2010:1), there are 463 535 female nurses and 43 762 male nurses, which is less than 10% of female nurses.
According to UNAIDS (2010: 53), gender and HIV are imperative issues and recognizes that females (women and girls) are at higher risk than males and are more susceptible to HIV infection due to social and economic inequalities. The findings of this research prove that the majority of the nursing workforce is woman. In Sub Saharan Africa, 52% of those living with HIV are women as indicated by the UNAIDS (2010: 10). The total public service constitutes of 51%
women and therefore all measures should be taken to empower woman because although they are employees, they are also at risk of HIV (DPSA, 2002:1). According to the WHO & UNAIDS (2005:9), some workforces comprise of 80% woman as in the case of this health care institution.
The highest qualification is a Bachelor’s Degree which was held by only 2.9% of Registered Nurses. This is the norm in nursing education in South Africa where basic nurse training is offered at a certificate or diploma level in nursing colleges, and it is more difficult to obtain a degree or post graduate qualification due to the limited intake at the universities. This is in a process of change as nurse educators are encouraged to register for a post graduate
87 qualification such as a Master’s Degree to prepare for the new nursing curriculum to be implemented provisionally in 2013 by the South African Nursing Council (2010:1).
The findings of the research reflect a wide range of nursing experience between Two (2) and 20 years. Most of the respondents had between 6-10 years of nursing experience, after which there was an increase in the years of nursing experience as the age increased.
Of the 96% of nurses who indicated that they would like to attend an HIV course, only 68% had actually attended a course in HIV. According to the DOH (2009: 46) the HIV/AIDS workplace policy aims to raise awareness and knowledge about HIV/AIDS, and education and training is an essential component of the program. This concurs with previous studies in Africa regarding the role of knowledge as a predictive factor in accepting HIV testing (Perez, Zvandaziva, Engelsmann, & Dabis, 2006:514; Weiser, Heisler, Leiter, et al, 2006:261; Iliyasu, Abubakar, Kabir, & Aliyu, 2006:1917). According to Perez, Zvandaziva, Engelsmann, & Dabis (2006:514), the findings of a study in the rural part of Zimbabwe indicated that knowledge of HIV was related with VCT uptake in an adult group. Similar results were also found in studies of HIV testing uptake in both Botswana and Nigeria (Weiser, Heisler, Leiter, et al, 2006:261; Iliyasu, Abubakar, Kabir, & Aliyu, 2006:1917). The study by Bassett, Giddy, Wang, Lu, Losina, &
Freedberg (2008:863) also advises that HIV knowledge not only forecasts readiness to receive testing, but may also be protective against acquiring HIV infection. Hence, it would be an advantage to increase training to those staff members that are not trained in HIV as a means to improving knowledge.
A large majority of the participants 91.5 % reported that they cared for HIV patients. This concurs with a study by Uebel et al (2004:3) that the HIV epidemic has placed a remarkable increase in the workload of the health workforce with 50% of hospital beds occupied by AIDS patients.
It was interesting to note that even though 97% (n=128) of nurses reported that they are aware that the hospital has an HCT program, only 84.1% (n=111) knew that the hospital had an HCT program for employees. However, the findings of the research indicate that the majority of the nurses employed at the selected public hospital are aware of the HCT program for employees.
This is supported by a study conducted by Ntuli, Kabengula & Msuya (2011:17) where all the
88 participants reported that they were aware about Provider-Initiated HIV Testing and Counselling (PITC) services.
5.2.2. Resources Available At the HCT Clinic
There were some resources that were available at the employees HCT clinic and some that were unavailable. HIV kits were kept at the clinic but at the time of evaluation only one (1) was in stock. There were two (2) chairs at the clinic and privacy was maintained. There were screens in the form of curtains and the door could be closed if need be. There was one sharps container in the one consultation room at the clinic and gloves were in stock.
There were no directions to the HCT clinic, and condoms, pamphlets and reading material were not available to the employees at the HCT clinic at the time of evaluation. The effective implementation of the HCT program depends on the availability of resources (DOH, 2009:25).
This is also consistent with the findings of a study conducted in Tanzania amongst health care professionals aimed at assessing the perceived barriers for effective implementation, revealed that Health care professionals perceived an absence of test kits and supply of consumables, lack of space and lack of special training at the facilities as barriers to offering PITC (Kapologwe, Kabengula & Msuya, 2011:17).
The findings of this study indicate that the selected public hospital does not comply with the National Guidelines for quality counselling and testing (DOH, 2009:24) which stipulates that all indispensable commodities in HCT facilities, including rapid test kits; condoms; and books, pamphlets and reading material, should be made available, affordable and accessible to employees at the staff HCT clinic.
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