Attitudes and normative beliefs of nursing students as predictors of intended care behaviors with AIDS patients: a test of the Ajzen-Fishbein theory of reasoned action.

Few investigators have studied nurses' or nursing students' responses to caring for AIDS patients. The purpose of this exploratory study was to test the Ajzen-Fishbein (1980) Theory of Reasoned Action in a student nurse population about AIDS patient care. This theory offers an approach to explaining individuals' intentions to engage in certain behaviors as determined by two components: attitudes toward the behavior and subjective norms. Forty-six second-year baccalaureate nursing students completed a questionnaire developed according to guidelines described by Ajzen and Fishbein (alpha reliability range was .69-.85) prior to and following an instructional unit on caring for AIDS patients. Consistent with the theory, students' attitudes and subjective norms were found to be significant predictors of intentions to care for AIDS patients in their clinical experience (R2 = .29, F[1, 43] = 6.63, p less than .003). In addition, qualitative data resembled those in previous reports of fear of contagion among health professionals. The effects of the instructional unit about caring for AIDS patients resulted in significant changes in both attitudes and subjective norms.