The life expectancy of people with HIV has increased significantly nowadays. According to the latest figures from the Robert Koch Institute, more than half of those infected in Germany are over the age of 50. What happens when these people become in need of care and need or want to move into a care home? Many care facilities are often not prepared at all.
This was the conclusion reached by Angela Groß-Thebing, who surveyed relevant facilities in the Münster area for her bachelor's thesis, which she completed in 2014. For her study, the university graduate interviewed 16 managers of care homes for the elderly in Münster. This also confirmed the negative attitude of some homes. Two statements:
► "There are no reasons to admit older people with HIV in our organisation."
► "From my own experience as a care home manager at a Catholic organisation, I can say that people with this condition are of course accepted externally. Internally, however, providers often refuse to do so on the grounds that 'We would, but unfortunately we don't have any space'."
Secondly, Groß-Thebing surveyed 40 carers from various institutions using a questionnaire about their knowledge of HIV and their attitude to caring for HIV-infected people. The most important results:
► 80 % of those surveyed - registered geriatric nurses and nurses with several years of professional experience in some cases, as well as nursing assistants and nursing students - thought it was right for people with infectious diseases to be admitted to care facilities.
► However, almost as many would be in favour of employees being allowed to decide whether to accept HIV-positive people into their facility.
► The majority of carers rated their knowledge of caring for people with HIV as inadequate. For example, around three quarters did not know that the infectiousness of HIV-infected people is significantly reduced under successful antiretroviral therapy.
According to one study finding, the lack of knowledge promotes uncertainty and fear among managers and carers and thus also their negative attitude. A further consequence of this lack of knowledge is a falsely higher estimated need for hygiene measures:
► Seven of the 40 respondents assumed, for example, that HIV-positive care home residents need separate toilets or isolated living rooms. Almost half were certain that additional hygiene protection such as gowns and face masks were mandatory during care.
Groß-Thebing was surprised by the fact that "the over-40s in particular, whose training dates back much further, are much less afraid of caring for HIV-positive people. Younger colleagues, on the other hand, who were taught the latest information on HIV in specialised schools, feel far less competent to do so."
However, hardly any of the study participants had any practical experience with HIV-positive people. Groß-Thebing surmises that in Münsterland, the topic of HIV has apparently not yet arrived in geriatric care. Alternatively, HIV-positive people have no chance of finding a place in a care home in their neighbourhood and therefore look for one in larger cities, where they can expect more acceptance.
Detailed figures on Angela Groß-Tebing's study can be found in the article "Die Schatten der Vorurteile" (The shadows of prejudice) published jointly with Prof Dr Ingo Zimmermann in the January issue of the specialist magazine "Die Schwester Der Pfleger".
