MANDATORY HIV TESTING AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS

Objectives. As the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in creases, so does the prevalence of HIV-positive health care workers. T his study explored what effect this will have on occupational therapy service provision. Attitudes and policies of 118 occupational therapy administrators were examined in relation to mandatory testing for HIV, attitudes on treating HIV-positive patients, working with HIV-positiv e staff members and students, and use of Centers for Disease Control's guidelines on universal precautions. Methods. A stratified sample of 200 occupational therapy administrators, drawn proportionally from all occupational therapy fieldwork centers, was sent questionnaires. The respondents (N = 118) were asked questions reflecting policy and attit ude regarding HIV-positive staff members, students, and patients and m andatory testing. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were computed to examine variances related to policy, ethics, and attitudes . Results. Few occupational therapy departments have policies regardin g HIV-positive health care workers or students. Those policies in plac e involve disability discrimination acts and using universal precautio ns. More than one third of the respondents support mandatory testing o f all health care workers and notifying patients if their occupational therapist is HIV-positive. A large minority of respondents would eith er refuse to hire or train an HIV-positive therapist or student, or wo uld restrict patient care responsibilities. Conclusions. Although most occupational therapy administrators adhere to CDC guidelines and anti -discrimination policies, some concern and fear was expressed regardin g HIV transmission through occupational therapy practice. This may res ult in administrative decisions regarding work and training responsibi lities that are unnecessarily restrictive, such as limiting all patien t care responsibilities.