IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science (IOSR-JNHS) e-ISSN: 2320–1959.p- ISSN: 2320–1940 Volume 3, Issue 1 Ver. III (Jan. 2014), PP 01-07 www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org 1 | Page Develop and evaluate the effectiveness of guidelines on prevention and home care management of opportunistic infections in terms of knowledge of caretakers of HIV/AIDS patients Vandna Pandey 1 , Aashish Parihar 2 ,Himanshu Vyas 3 , Naveen Kumar Sharma 4 1, 2, 3, 4 Nursing tutor, College of Nursing, AIIMS, Jodhpur Abstract: The objective of the study were to develop the guidelines for caretakers of HIV/AIDS patients on prevention and home care management of opportunistic infections; evaluate the effectiveness of guidelines on prevention and home care management of opportunistic infections for caretakers of HIV/AIDS patients before and after administration of guidelines in terms of knowledge of caretakers; seek the association of post test knowledge scores of caretakers on prevention and home care management of opportunistic infections with selected demographic factors; determine the acceptability and utility of guidelines on prevention and home care management of OIs by the care-takers of HIV/AIDS patients. An evaluative research approach with one group pre-test post-test design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi. The sample consisted of 60 caretakers of HIV/AIDS patients selected by purposive sampling. The tools used were structured interview scheduled and a structured opinionnaire. Guidelines were developed for enhancing the knowledge of caretakers regarding prevention and home care management of opportunistic infections among HIV/AIDS patients The data obtained were analyzed using both inferential and descriptive statistics. The major findings of the study were that the mean post-test knowledge scores were higher than mean pre-test knowledge scores of caretakers indicating that the guidelines were effective in increasing the knowledge of caretakers regarding prevention and home care management of opportunistic infections among HIV/AIDS patients. There was significant association of post-test knowledge scores of caretakers regarding prevention and home care management of OIs with selected factors - age, sex, educational qualification, marital status, occupation, family Income. The structured opinionnaire revealed that the guidelines on prevention and home care management of OIs were acceptable and useful for the caretakers. Key Words: guidelines, prevention and home care management, opportunistic infections, caretakers, knowledge, HIV/AIDS patients. I. Introduction Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was first recognized among the homosexual men in the west coast of America. The first case of HIV (Human Immune Deficiency Virus) in India was diagnosed among commercial sex worker in Chennai in 1986. In India, the estimated number of HIV infections as of 2008 is 2.47 million. The distribution of HIV infection and mode of transmission varies by state. Most HIV infections in India (86% of reported AIDS cases) are due to unprotected heterosexual transmission (UNAIDS, 2008 Report on Global AIDS Epidemic). Information from person tested positive for HIV at the Integrated Counseling and Testing centers across the country during 2009-2010 shows that 87.1% of HIV infections are still occurring through heterosexual route of transmission. While parent to child transmission accounts for 5.4% of HIV cases detected, Injecting drug use 1.6 %, Men who have sex with Men 1.5% and contaminated blood and blood products account for 1%. (NACO annual reports 2010-11). Globally there were estimated 33million people infected with HIV in 2007 with 2.27 million new infections and 2 million HIV related deaths. Nearly an estimated 5 million people infected with HIV lived in Asia in 2007 and about 3, 80,000 people were newly infected (2008 UNAIDS Global Epidemic Update). At present, India, which has 2.47 million HIV patients, ranks third after South Africa and Nigeria, and her prevalence rate is 0.31%. India recorded 18,000 pediatric HIV births of 65,000 HIV +ve mothers. (AIDS epidemic report, 2010). India is one of the largest and most populated countries in the world, with over 1billion inhabitants. Of this number, it is estimated (2008) that around 2.27 million people are currently living with HIV, which equates to a prevalence of 0.29%. With a population around a billion , a mere 0.1% increase in HIV prevalence would increase the estimated number of people living with HIV by over half a million. (NACO annual report 2009- 2010). HIV prevalence tends to be higher in the industrialized and peninsular states. The six states with the highest HIV prevalence are: Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Manipur, and Nagaland.