An exploration of undergraduate nursing students experiences of an HIV/AIDS support group and its activities

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection (HIV) and Acquired ImmunodeficiencySyndrome (AIDS) are critical concerns worldwide; this is particularly true of SouthAfrica. The consequences of HIV infection and complications of AIDS are achallenge that extends into the nursing profession and into the community of studentnurses. Support groups can form an important part in educating nursing studentsabout HIV and AIDS, as well as in supporting nursing students through theprocesses of counselling, testing and managing the physical, as well as otherimpacts of this syndrome.When considering the current situation at an Eastern Cape nursing college and theliterature reviewed on this topic, the research question posed for this study was:'Why is the support offered by the HIV support group to the nursing students havingsuch a limited effect on the students' motivation to participate in HIV counselling andtesting (HCT) and support activities to de-stigmatise HIV/AIDS?'The aim of this study was to explore and describe the nursing students' experiencesand perceptions of the support group activities in order to improve the relevance ofthis initiative for students.The objectives of this study were to - Explore and describe the student's experiences and perceptions of thesupport group activities - Identify and describe the student's expectations of the support group.A qualitative approach with an exploratory and descriptive design was used to elicitdata to answer the research question. Ethical approval was obtained from the HealthResearch Ethics Committee and access to the college campus was obtained throughthe appropriate authorities. The accessible population for this study were 1st, 2nd,3rd, and 4th year students at one campus of the provincial nursing college in theEastern Cape. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with eight participantswho met the study inclusion criteria of having had experience of the support group and its activities. Interviews were recorded and transcribed by the researcher.Content analysis was used to analyse the interview data through applying Tesch'seight steps of analysis.Data analysis revealed that participants did not experience the support group ashelpful; although they had joined the support group they remained fearful of receivingtest results and what their future may hold should they be diagnosed as being HIVpositive. The participants experienced rejection and discrimination by the supportgroup committee members; they also identified that the committee displayedhypocritical behaviours and a lack of respect for confidentiality of information whichfurther undermined the functioning and influence of the group. Results revealed thatjoining the support group means one is automatically stigmatised as being HIVpositive. The support group committee members were seen to be inaccessiblehaving only limited communication with participants.Recommendations from the study were to hold personal and group developmentsessions for the committee and interested students to assist them in learning how tomanage ethical issues related to counselling and testing, how to conduct effectivecampaigns to de-stigmatize HIV/AIDS, and to determine clearly what the purpose ofthis particular group is that it may better meet the needs of the student group.Limitations of this study were that the qualitative research approach that was appliedlimited the generalisation of the findings. The study focused only on experiences andperceptions of the undergraduate nursing students on one campus of the nursingcollege about the support group and its activities. Thus, the study offered an initialinsight into the current negative perceptions of students towards the support groupand offered a foundation for further investigation.In conclusion, experiences and perceptions of the support group were explored andelaborated on. Currently, the support group does not offer the support the studentswould like to be available as the fundamental functioning of the group iscompromised by a lack of trust between students and the committee members.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University