Ethical issues in the Management of HIV/Aids Patients in Nakuru District, Kenya

Abstract

The cure of HIV/AIDS has not been discovered, hence causing fear, discrimination and stigmatization to the victims. The general objective of this study was to establish whether healthcare professionals understood and adhered to different codes of professional ethics while treating HIV/AIDS patients, and whether lack of this contributed to fear, discrimination and stigma. The study examined this problem through the utilitarian ethical theory propagated by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. The main goal of utilitarianism is to minimize pain, misery and suffering which is part of what Hippocratic Oath of doctors and other ethical codes of healthcare professionals’ state. The population of the study comprised of doctors, nurses, clinical officers, laboratory technicians and HIV/AIDS patients. The sample size consisted of 11 doctors, 91 nurses, 13 clinical officers, 10 laboratory technicians and 120 HIV/AIDS patients. The total respondents were 245 from the total number of 340 healthcare professionals and HIV/AIDS patients. The study was carried out in the Rift Valley Province, Nakuru, district, covering district government hospitals, namely Naivasha, Gilgil, Nakuru and Molo. The computer based statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used in data analysis. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, by using tables and means. The hypotheses were that the majority of the healthcare professionals do not understand and adhere to their codes of professionalism while treating HIV/AIDS patients, which the study established not to be the case. Chi- Square test was used to test the hypotheses of the study. Major recommendations were that, there was need for healthcare professionals to continually undergo short courses to remind them of their unique profession in society, and that healthcare workers should maintain high standards of ethical professionalism, should improve their skills and knowledge, in order to keep current with scientific advances in medical knowledge.