Evolving HIV-related clinical experiences, knowledge, and attitudes of physicians: a comparison of 1994 and 2012 survey.

Objectives: This study compared physicians' HIV clinical experiences, and their knowledge and attitudes toward HIV care in 1994 and 2012. Methods: National mailing surveys among practicing physicians 70 years old and younger were conducted in 1994 and 2012. Weighted distribution, Chi-Square, trend test, logistic regression, Gamma (95% CL), and standardization were employed to make between-year analyses. Results: There were 1,702 and 1,590 doctors participated in 1994 and 2012 study, respectively. The percentage of physicians who had ever provided care for HIV-positive patients increased considerably (from 13.1% to 45.5%) along with a moderately improved average knowledge on HIV diseases. The climate of HIV care delivery has been markedly improved over this time period, which can be reflected in the significantly increased willingness to treat all HIV patients (from 26.7% to 43.2%) and a substantial decline in fear and anxiety. Nonetheless, we did identify two points of concern: (1) HIV-positive injecting drug users (IDUs) continued to be the most undesirable group for whom physicians provided care; (2) there continued to be a very high percentage of surgeons expressing fear/anxiety about the risk of being infected by HIV-positive patients. Conclusions: Even with the evolving HIV epidemic in Taiwan, there has been a remarkable overall improvement in the clinical experiences, knowledge and attitudes of physicians in treating HIV patients. However, there is still a need to strengthen continuing medical education on HIV care, particularly targeting the care of IDUs. It is also necessary to ensure that all surgeons who are exposed to HIV have access to post-exposure prophylaxis with highly active antiretroviral therapy as soon as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]