Attitudes of certified registered nurse anesthetists toward AIDS and AIDS patients.

This study was intended to examine and identify the nature of CRNAs' attitudes concerning acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and patients with homosexual lifestyles. This research question has been previously addressed using sample populations of registered nurses, physicians, and medical students. This inquiry was conducted using a sample population of nurse anesthetists. The target population was 500 CRNAs who reside in areas of high AIDS incidence--New York City, San Francisco, and Houston. The participants were equally divided among the three cities using a randomized list provided by the AANA. The design for this study was an experimental 2 x 2 factorial with two independent variables: disease of the individual, either leukemia or AIDS, and the sexual preference of the individual, either heterosexual or homosexual. The randomly distributed questionnaire consisted of three scales: the interpersonal attraction inventory, the prejudicial evaluation scale, and the social interaction scale. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were conducted not only on the main effects, disease and sexual preference, but also on the interaction effects of disease and sexual preference. The significant findings of the MANOVAs were subjected to factorial analysis for each scale, and then the MANOVAs were conducted again. The statistical analysis indicated that CRNAs possess a negative attitude toward AIDS patients but not toward leukemia patients. Their attitudes are based on their perception that AIDS patients are responsible for their illness. Potential behavioral consequences were also reported by CRNAs, based on these attitudes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)