Health Care Workers Overcoming Fear of HIV Contagion. Executive Summary and Final Report

摘要

The purpose of this study was to generate a process model explaining how providers successfully manage the threat of occupational HIV exposure. The grounded theory method of analytic induction was utilized. Data were gleaned from 51 audiotaped interviews of physicians and nurses practicing in Arizona and New York. The discovered process of Finding a Comfort Zone is evidenced by a litany of strategies used routinely and bolstered by mastery techniques such as 'self talk', personal algorithms or acronyms. An expectation of periodic recycling, reactive to 'close calls', through four behavior substages of the process was found. The four substages inherent to Finding a Comfort Zone are (1) Checking It Out, an active search for information about occupational exposure through scientific literature, clinical immersion in HIV care, and/or consultation with credible experts; (2) Bringing It In, an experiencing of the threat as personal rather than theoretical, evidenced by recalling past incidents of possible exposure and imagining 'what if' scenarios; (3) Fitting It In, or affirming a just cause for the threat through one or more of five rationales; and (4) Taking It On, an ongoing series of technical changes, innovations, and skill adaptations accompanied by a commitment to mastering the threat.