wILLINGNESS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO BE TREATED BY AN HIV INFECTED HEALTH PRACTITIONER. A STUDY DONE IN DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA

OBjECTIVE To assess willingness of high school students to be treated by HIV/AIDS infected dental practitioners in Ilala municipality, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. METHODOLOGY This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. RESULTS More than half (52.8%) of the high school students showed fear of being treated by HIV/AIDS infected dental practitioner, with 175 (55.4%) out of 316 students fearing even to be clinically examined by HIV positive dental practitioner. Out of 316 students, 163 (51.6%) students showed no problem in consulting a HIV/AIDS infected dental practitioner for dental problems. There were 170 (53.8%) respondents who were uncomfortable to undergo dental treatment provided by HIV positive dental practitioner. CONCLUSION The results of this study showed that there is fear an element of negative attitude and stigmatization among high school students on being treated by HIV/AIDS infected health care practitioner. INTRODUCTION According to the most recent statistics, more than 40 million people in the world are living with HIV/AIDS. Approximately 37.5 million of these individuals are adults and 2.5 million are children. It was estimated that 5 million people were infected with the HIV virus in 2003. Despite worldwide HIV prevention efforts, there are higher numbers of individuals living with HiV today than there have been in the last 5 years 1. From the beginning, the HiV/AiDS epidemic has been accompanied by an epidemic of fear, ignorance and denial leading to stigmatization and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS and their family members. Fear of being identified with HIV prevents people from learning their serostatus, changing unsafe behaviour, and caring for people living with HIV/AIDS. An ICRW study in Botswana and Zambia found that stigma against HIV-positive people and fear of mistreatment prevented people from participating in voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) 3. Studies in African countries estimate AIDS causes between 19% and 53% of Government heath employee deaths 4. Malawi and Zambia which are among the southern African countries have experienced five to six fold increases in health care related illness death rates. Although HIV infected health care workers including dentist have been identified in the past, proven HIV transmission to patients is very rare. Most authorities recommend that an HIV positive health care worker be monitored by an expert panel, which could then if necessary refer to the regulatory body to revoke or restrict the person’s license to practice. Mandatory HIV test is not required for health care worker because they generally do not pose a risk for infecting their patients, they are however ethically and legally obligated to report their HIV status to their profession’s regulatory body. There have been a large number of look-back studies involving patients of HIV-positive health care workers 7 but only 2 showed probable transmissions. Official Publication of the Tanzania Medical Students’ Association