Abstract:
Background: The implementation of nurse initiation and management of patients on ART in Primary Health setting has increased. This initiative in scaling up, improved patient outcome and improved accessibility to treatment and care. However this large rollout of ART program has created additional workload and challenges for nurses. Objectives: To explore and describe the challenges and experiences of nurses initiating and managing HIV/AIDS infected patients on ART in the Tshwane North sub-district clinics. Methods: In this qualitative study the researcher employed qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design to explore and describe the experiences of nurses initiating and managing human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infected patients on antiretroviral treatment (ART). The population was the NIMART trained nurses actively involved in initiating and managing HIV/AIDS infected patients. A sample of 4 (four) nurses from each of the 4 (four) Tshwane North sub-district clinics were used. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data. Qualitative content analysis procedure was used to analyse data. Findings: Four themes were identified: delayed initiation, interference in taking ART, young people infected and living with HIV infection, and patients already on treatment. The identified themes were discussed and supported with literature. Conclusion: The study highlighted the challenges of nurses initiating and managing HIV infected patients on ART are experiencing. These challenges have negative outcomes on the health of individual patients. Therefore the government came with a strategic plan to put the disease under control.
