The Experience of Ugandan Nurses in the Practice of Universal Precautions

• Author / Creator

  Nderitu, Esther

• The use of universal or standard precautions by health care workers (HCWs) is essential to avoid exposure to blood and other body secretions that may transmit infectious diseases. Health care workers in Uganda often find it difficult to translate the principles of universal precautions into practice. Without appropriate use of universal precautions, disease transmission to HCWs may rise. In a resource-constrained environment such as Uganda however, nurses typically do not practice universal precautions unless they know the patients’ HIV or AIDS status. There is a need to understand the experiences and the context in which nurses’ practice universal precautions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the experience of Ugandan nurses and midwives in the practice of universal precautions and to identify factors that influence the use of universal precautions by nurses while caring for persons living with HIV and AIDS. A qualitative research approach, using a focused ethnography was used for the study.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Universal
  • Precautions
  • Experiences
  • Practices
  • Nurses

• Graduation date

  Fall 2010

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Nursing

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3Q34X

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.