Attracting and Retaining Nurses in HIV Care

Attracting and retaining nurses in HIV care is essential to treatment success, preventing the spread of HIV, slowing its progression, and improving the quality of life of people living with HIV. Despite the wealth of studies examining HIV care, few have focused on the factors that influenced nurses' choices to specialize in HIV care. We examined the factors that attracted and retained eight nurses currently working in HIV care in two large Canadian cities. Participants were primarily women between the ages of 20 and 60 years. Interviews were conducted between November 2010 and September 2011 using interpretive description, a qualitative design. Factors that influenced participants to focus their careers in HIV care included both attracting factors and retaining factors. Although more research is needed, this exploration of attracting and retaining factors may motivate others to specialize in HIV nursing, and thus help to promote adequate support for individuals suffering from the disease.