Methods and Findings
Fifty-four percent of the health-care professionals (550/1,021) were sampled from public
tertiary care facilities. Nine percent of professionals reported refusing to care for an HIV/AIDS
patient, and 9% indicated that they had refused an HIV/AIDS patient admission to a hospital.
Fifty-nine percent agreed that people with HIV/AIDS should be on a separate ward, and 40%
believed a person’s HIV status could be determined by his or her appearance. Ninety-one
percent agreed that staff and health-care professionals should be informed when a patient is
HIV-positive so they can protect themselves. Forty percent believed that health-care
professionals with HIV/AIDS should not be allowed to work in any area of health-care that
requires patient contact. Twenty percent agreed that many with HIV/AIDS behaved immorally
and deserve the disease. Basic materials needed for treatment and prevention of HIV were not
adequately available. Twelve percent agreed that treatment of opportunistic infections in HIV/
AIDS patients wastes resources, and 8% indicated that treating someone with HIV/AIDS is a
waste of precious resources. Providers who reported working in facilities that did not always
practice universal precautions were more likely to favor restrictive policies toward people with
HIV/AIDS. Providers who reported less adequate training in HIV treatment and ethics were also
more likely to report negative attitudes toward patients with HIV/AIDS. There was no consistent
pattern of differences in negative attitudes and practices across the different health specialties
surveyed.