Program Brief The Evolution of HIV Education for Nurses in Australia Judith Dean, RN, RM, BN, MPHTM Shaun Staunton, BS (Psychology), MCCJ Stephen Lambert, BE, MPH Mary Batch, RN, BH (Nursing), MNL, PhD Warren Fitzgerald, RN, BA Bus (Health Admin), MPH Joanne Leamy, RN, BA (Soc Sci), MA (Nursing) Key words: education, HIV, nursing roles, professional development The number of people living with HIV infection (PLWH) in Australia is growing due to a gradually rising annual incidence of new HIV diagnoses (The Kirby Institute, 2012) along with an increasing life expectancy as a result of improved therapies and access to evidence-informed models of care (Savage, Crooks, & McLean, 2009). HIV is no longer an acute infectious disease requiring only prevention and management but an emerging chronic lifelong health issue that is continually evolving and inc- reasing in management complexity. This evolution and complexity is apparent in many different spheres. For example, male-to-male transmission remains the predominant mode of HIV transmission in Australia; however, rates of newly acquired HIV diag- noses attributed to heterosexual transmission have gradually increased and now account for 10% of newly acquired HIV each year (The Kirby Institute, 2012). Despite the changes to affected population profiles over the last decade, there continues to be lower awareness of women’s risks and needs among health care workers in Australia (Commonwealth of Australia, 2010). Another aspect of change is that the majority of new diagnoses attributed to heterosexual transmis- sions are occurring in people from or with partners from high prevalence countries (The Kirby Institute, 2011). HIV nurses in Australia have, therefore, been required to develop greater understanding of global HIV epidemiology, along with cultural aware- ness and competence to meet the needs of the diverse and continually changing community of PLWH. These and other pressures have placed significant demands on educators to ensure that nurses across a broad spectrum of settings have the awareness, knowledge, and skills to provide best practice, gender, sexuality, and culturally appropriate, client- centered care to PLWH. In Australia, HIV models of care vary across the states and territories, but clinical services are predominately provided in publicly funded sexual health clinics, specialist HIV services, and primary health care general practice settings (Savage et al., Judith Dean, RN, RM, BN, MPHTM, is the Sexual Health Program Convenor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University and State Nurse Educator, Sexual Health & HIV Service, Queensland Health, Australia. Shaun Staunton, BS (Psychology), MCCJ, is the Chief Executive Officer, Tasmanian Council on AIDS, Hepatitis and Related Diseases, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Ste- phen Lambert, BE, MPH, is a Research Coordinator, HIV & HCV Education Projects, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Mary Batch, RN, BH (Nursing), MNL, PhD, is a Clinical Nurse Consultant, Infectious Diseases Unit, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Queensland Health, Brisbane, Australia. Warren Fitzgerald, RN, BA Bus (Health Admin), MPH, is a Community Nurse, Positive Directions, Gold Coast, Australia. Joanne Leamy, RN, BA (Soc Sci), MA (Nursing), is a Clinical Nurse Consultant, Cairns Sexual Health Service, Queensland Health, Australia. JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF NURSES IN AIDS CARE, Vol. -, No. -, -/- 2013, 1-7 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jana.2013.07.007 Copyright Ó 2013 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care