Registered Nurses’ Lived Experiences of HIV Counselling and Testing in Rural Primary Healthcare Clinics in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract

The increase in the global rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has had far reaching effects on healthcare services around the world. The aim of the study was to explore and describe the lived experiences of registered nurses (RNs) involved in daily implementation of HIV counselling and testing (HCT) in rural primary healthcare (PHC) clinics in Eastern Cape, South Africa. The researcher used a qualitative, descriptive and contextual design. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants. A total of 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the RNs until data saturation was achieved. The findings revealed that the RNs experienced HCT to be overwhelming. They also showed signs of stress, frustration, despair and sadness because most of the tested clients had positive results and the number of clients testing positive was increasing. Thus, it is recommended that all professionals working with HCT should be made aware of the emotional outcomes of working in HCT services. Furthermore, it is recommended that a programme to support RNs to cope better with HCT should be developed through further research.